A NEW GOVERNMENT in the Netherlands has decided to row back on a two-year old smoking ban in the country.

The government has said that the ban will remain in force for large establishments but will be removed for small, owner-operated bars that do not employ other staff.

The smoking ban has been in place in the country since 2008 but many restaurants, pubs and cafes have ignored it, saying that it costs them custom.

Health Minister Edith Schippers said in a letter to Parliament that the law would be amended and that small pub owners would not have to pay fines with which they had previously been issued.

The measure to reverse the ban will affect a couple of thousand bars across the country, the minister added.

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New Dutch government backtracks on smoking ban

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