Half of nightclubs ignore smoking ban

Bars and nightclubs are behaving stubbornly when it comes to the smoking ban, reports De Standaard. Spot-checks last year showed that one in four pubs was in breach of the law, while almost half of nightclubs were flouting the ban. Health ministry inspectors conducted 4,700 daytime and 900 evening and night-time checks. The latter were targeted because of the high number of complaints against smoking ban violations late at night or early in the morning. At night, a quarter of bars and 44% of clubs were caught out. During daytime checks, 9% of bars were found to be allowing smoking on their premises. Nightclubs’ flouting of the ban is thought to be partly down to the fact they are open outside normal work hours. “They think, wrongly, that we do not conduct checks,” said Paul Van den Meerssche, head of the smoking inspection unit.