Austria fights label of ‘ashtray of Europe’

It’s regularly rated one of the world’s most livable countries, and its capital Vienna draws rave travel reviews. But Austria is fighting a much less welcome reputation these days: the “ashtray of Europe.” Now pressure is mounting on the government to ban smoking in cafés and restaurants after a petition by the country’s medical association garnered nearly 900,000 signatures. According to a report in AFP, Austria is one of the last European countries that allows smoking in bars and diners, despite calls going back 13 years for an end to the practice. The medical association says 13,000 people die each year in Austria from smoking-related causes, and allowing it in public runs “contrary to the trend across the rest of the world.” Research, however, shows many businesses are taking matters into their own hands by becoming smoke-free.