Two-thirds of Swiss voters rejected a referendum to tighten a smoking ban, to the relief of hotels and restaurants.

Only Geneva voted slightly in favour of tougher controls, while results from the country’s other 25 cantons showed that 66 per cent rejected it, the ATS news agency reported.

The Swiss Business Federation called it a “heartening” result, saying the stricter laws would have been a burden on the economy, especially the restaurant sector.

“The initiative would have imposed more costs on restaurateurs who have already made considerable investments to protect non-smokers,” it said in a statement.

Hotelleriesuisse, representing the hotel sector, said it was relieved by the outcome, adding that a yes vote would have made “some investments obsolete”.

The referendum had asked voters whether to strengthen a smoking ban in indoor workplaces and public spaces.

The Socialist party “deplored” the result, saying stepping up protection against passive smoking would have “incontestably been a major step in the improvement of (workers’) conditions”.

Opinion polls had shown the country deeply divided on the eve of the referendum over the initiative by the Swiss Pulmonary League, which aimed at clearing up confusion about the current law and claimed that working an eight-hour shift in a smoke-filled environment is equivalent to smoking 15 to 38 cigarettes.

Switzerland introduced a federal ban on smoking in enclosed workplaces and public spaces more than two years ago, but the law has been applied unevenly across the country’s 26 cantons.