Vienna, May 27 (IANS) Over half of Austrians between the age group of 20 and 50 are regular or occassional smokers, a new study has found.
About 2.5 million, or 60 percent, of those in the 20-50 age group were regular or occasional smokers, said Horst Olschewski, director of the Pulmonary Division at the Graz University Hospital.
‘This is actually a world record,’ Olschewski said, demanding ban on smoking at restaurant ahead of the ‘World No Tobacco Day’ May 31.
About 24 percent of the boys around 15 years old smoke cigarettes, as do 30 percent of the girls of the same age, he said.
Otto Burghuber, former chairman of the Association of Pulmonologists Austria, said regular smokers account for 41 percent of those aged 15 to 20, with another 8 percent being occasional smokers.
Austria has had in place a ban on smoking in restaurants since early 2009, requiring all restaurants with a business floor area of more than 50 square meters to have non-smoking areas.
Anit-tobacco groups have been campaiging for a full ban on smoking in restaurants in the country.
Some of them also called for the introduction of heavy duties on tobacco to make manufacturers pay for treatment of addiction.
However, according to experts, fighting smoking is not easy as only 19 percent of the respondents in a recent survey supported a full ban on smoking in restaurants.
