{"id":4761,"date":"2018-04-03T07:20:31","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T06:20:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=4761"},"modified":"2025-09-22T08:41:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T07:41:09","slug":"smoking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/visitorinfo\/smoking\/","title":{"rendered":"Smoking in Vienna"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ashtray.jpg\" alt=\"An ashtray\" class=\"wp-image-4803\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ashtray.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/ashtray-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Last time I checked the stats, just over a fifth of people aged 15 or older smoked daily in Austria. This presumably leads to exasperated headshaking among doctors and shrugs (and perhaps the wave of a cigarette) from too many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Smoking is banned in all the usual places, such as public transport<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This ban includes pubs, bars, restaurants, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-smokers should have no trouble enjoying Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/concerts-opera-vienna-tickets-l206741\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Smoking\" rel=\"sponsored\">classical concert<\/a>* in Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/eatingdrinking\/drinking-hours-and-age-limits\/\">Drinking in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The smoking situation<\/h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/smoking2.jpg\" alt=\"Smoking signs\" class=\"wp-image-54717\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/smoking2.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/smoking2-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(To smoke or not to smoke?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With just over 20% smoking daily, does this mean you can smoke freely in Vienna?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Does it mean you&#8217;ll often be exposed to smoke on your trip?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m a non-smoker, don&#8217;t like smoke, and never encounter any real problems anywhere. Just don&#8217;t be surprised if someone at the bus stop or standing outside a coffee house is puffing on a cigarette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where do people smoke?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Outside, mostly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smoking is generally <b>not allowed<\/b> in the conventional places, namely schools, offices, airports, museums, hospitals, shopping malls, stores, fitness centres, theatres, cinemas, petrol stations, etc., with some rare exceptions (like dedicated smoking rooms in a workplace).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What about public transport?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Smoking is <strong>not permitted<\/strong> inside trains, trams, buses and other enclosed forms of public transport (such as taxis and hire cars). It is <strong>banned<\/strong> in all subway stations in Vienna and in the entire country&#8217;s railway stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also <strong>illegal <\/strong>to smoke in your own car when any occupant is under the age of 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><em>Ad:<\/em><br><\/div><div data-tiqets-widget=\"discovery\" data-cards-layout=\"horizontal\" data-slug-ids=\"exp206741,exp238032\" data-partner=\"visitingvienna\" data-tq-campaign=\"DA_ConcTour\"><\/div><script defer src=\"https:\/\/widgets.tiqets.com\/loader.js\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What about bars, restaurants, etc.?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ah. This used to be a bit of a controversial topic in Austria. The current status is that <strong>smoking is not permitted at all inside<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until 2019, bars and restaurants simply had to provide a separate, non-smoking area for guests. This area also had to be the &#8220;main&#8221; room and the obligation did not extend to very small locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Efforts were made to get a general smoking ban implemented, as in many other countries. The legislation was even in place to do just that. Then a new government came in and decided to rescind the planned law and maintain the status quo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the government of experts that took over when that coalition collapsed resurrected the smoking ban and it became illegal to smoke inside pubs, restaurants, etc. from November 1st, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the situation at the moment is a blanket ban, and the current elected coalition shows no sign of wanting to change anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does this mean for visitors?<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/smokingashtray.jpg\" alt=\"Ashtray on a table\" class=\"wp-image-74416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/smokingashtray.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/smokingashtray-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The only ashtrays you&#8217;ll find inside bars, caf\u00e9s, and restaurants are purely decorative)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you wish to eat or drink in a smoke-free environment indoors, you can.<\/strong> All locations should now be completely non-smoking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If you wish to smoke while eating or drinking indoors, you can&#8217;t.<\/strong> You&#8217;ll need to nip outside for a cigarette. Many locations already have an outdoor area (especially in warmer months) for that purpose and some have installed outside heaters and chairs (where planning laws allow) for cold-weather smokers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Buying cigarettes&#8230;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Cigarettes are more or less only available from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/shopping\/trafik\/\">tobacconists<\/a>. Vienna has cigarette vending machines, but some (all?) may require a Bankomatkarte (bank debit card) to operate them. I&#8217;m not sure if non-Austrian bank cards work (but haven&#8217;t tried to be honest, being a non-smoker).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the precise ins and outs of the law around the legal age for smoking, check <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oesterreich.gv.at\/de\/themen\/reisen_und_freizeit\/vorschriften-fuer-jugendliche\/verhaltensregeln-im-alltag-und-auf-reisen\/Seite.1740250\">this page<\/a> (which also lets you know what tobacco and related products the law includes in the bans). It confuses me, but you&#8217;re safe if you think of 18 as the legal age to be allowed out with a cigarette.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last time I checked the stats, just over a fifth of people aged 15 or older smoked daily in Austria. This presumably leads to exasperated headshaking among doctors and shrugs (and perhaps the wave of a cigarette) from too many others. The smoking situation (To smoke or not to smoke?) With just over 20% smoking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4803,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-visitorinfo","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4761"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85859,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4761\/revisions\/85859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}