The show of civil disobedience in relation to the smoking ban goes against Holland's reputation for being staunchly law abiding
IT'S NOT often that the Tehran Timescites the liberal Dutch as an example on how to get tough on law breakers.
Ongoing resistance to the ban on smoking by owners of small cafes and bars in the Netherlands and their customers, and the Dutch Health Ministry's plans to impose draconian fines and prosecutions under criminal law, was headline news recently in the Iranian media.
Since last July, when the Dutch became one of the last western European countries to ban smoking in bars, cafes and restaurants in compliance with EU laws to protect hospitality workers' health, efforts to enforce it have descended into chaos.
Now those who persist in breaking the law risk being closed down and facing fines of up to €16,000 for repeated offences.
At first, a handful of owner-run bars and cafes, fearful of losing their smoking regulars, decided to ignore the nationwide ban altogether, dump the 'no smoking' notices with which they were issued and carry on as before.
Soon hundreds of businesses were taking their ashtrays out of short-lived storage and slapping them back on counters, others were pooling cash to pay the resultant fines while the smokers arranged a kitty among themselves to pay expected penalties rather than be evicted on to the pavement to light up.
The show of civil disobedience is at variance with the nation's reputation for being staunchly law abiding.
As the stand-off between defiant opponents of the smoking ban and the authorities worsened - up to 3,000 small bars and cafes could go under, it was claimed - the "Irish experience" was cited as an example of how well the ban has worked elsewhere.
Dutch TV programmes reported that the smoking ban in Ireland - a country traditionally seen as a bedrock of rebellion - enjoyed overwhelming public support, had been a seamless transition, respected by the hospitality industry and smokers alike.
In an effort to make sense of it all, some Dutch observers point to an endless stream of EU rules and regulations, adding to the bureaucratic load in this tightly regulated society.
As one commentator put it, "we are sick and tired of being told what to do, this was just one rule too far for many people here".
In the premier league of smokers - 30 per cent of the Dutch population smokes, compared with 24 per cent in France and 25 per cent in Belgium.
Opponents campaigning for some cafes and bars to be reserved for smokers also include non-smokers who believe that an all-out ban goes against valued Dutch principles of tolerance.
The campaign of co-ordinated resistance is also rooted in previous governments' policies of giving in to the powerful hospitality industry and agreeing to a system of self regulation until that proved unworkable and the EU regulations on providing a smoke-free environment for workers became legally binding.
The European Commission estimates that nearly 80,000 people die each year in the 27 nation bloc from inhaling other people's tobacco. Experts say smoking bans in other countries have greatly improved public health.
They expect the number of smokers in Holland, which according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) has one of the highest percentage rates of smoking in the EU, to drop significantly as does Onno van Schayck, professor of preventative medicine at the University of Maastricht.
Research led by van Schayck into the anti-smoking vaccine Nic VAX , the most advanced of the smoking vaccines being developed, has started a debate on whether it could eventually be administered as a preventative vaccine by health authorities in Holland.
When the smoking ban was first implemented in the Netherlands, it was thought that coffee shops - the soft drugs dens where smoking small amounts of cannabis is tolerated - would be the first offenders, but there is no evidence of that yet.
The Dutch Health Inspectorate has no statistics for compliance by coffee shops which faced a unique conundrum under the new law as its patrons are allowed to smoke marijuana as long as it is not blended with tobacco.
The nationwide ban, notwithstanding all the furore, is actually more liberal than other countries, allowing for separate rooms and areas where smokers are cut off from staff and other customers.
Several bars have installed model trains loaded with drinks, running through a tunnel to the smoking room, where orders are made via intercom.
Another enterprising cafe owner is planning to set up a self-service bar with vending machines, dispensing beer cans and wine.
More than 1,000 bars in the Netherlands, who claim profits have slumped by between 30 and 50 per cent, are deliberately flouting the law, it is estimated.
The organisation that represents them in a court application, soon to be heard requesting an exclusion, says they were doing so because they were facing bankruptcy.
But the Dutch Health Minister Ab Klink has little sympathy. He warns that laws were made to be obeyed and inspectors, who have issued 500 fines for contraventions since October 1st, will now work closely with public prosecutors, enforcing criminal law and closing down repeated offenders.
There have been calls for adjustments so that smokers are also punished.
That demand at least seems to be heard. A customer has just been barred for six months from his local pub for ignoring the smoking ban after the owner called in the police.