I have never been to Europe. I do not claim to know much about it. But it surprises me when people say that Europeans are more likely to smoke than Americans. The French in particular are said to use tobacco in far greater numbers than folks in the United States.
Is this true? Is smoking more socially accepatable across the Atlantic (I realize that there are many countries in Europe, and that what is true for some may not be true for others)? Do the public health folks in European countries not make as much of an effort to try to prevent people from smoking as the United States Surgeon General does?
I can tell you that in Spain and Italy smoking is allowed in many places where it would not be allowed in the USA and where it is not allowed. . . people smoke anyway. if you don’t like smoke you’ll be miserable there.
In Berlin the smokers were out in full force. Smoking in elevators, taxis, everywhere. Not sure if smoking was allowed on the subway, the subway trains seemed to be very clean, unlike US subways. Check this out, they have beer in the pop machine at work!!! And beer is one of the beverages available in the cafeteria!!! I like Germany
Oh, I forgot to ramble on. Many of the smokers I saw in Germany rolled their own. Also, it seems like a nice social gesture in Germany to offer your friend a smoke.
You are right in pointing out that Europe is a culturally diverse continent. There is a big difference between Northern and Souther Europe when it comes to smoking. In Northern Europe (Norway, Sweden etc) smoking is rather frowned upon - and expensive. (A couple of years ago Sweden was the first country to reach the WHO target of <20% smokers. I’m afraid that it has increased since, though.)
In Souther Europe (Spain, Italy, France) smoking is more tolerated. It’s difficult to find restaurants with non-smoking sections. (I think they’re obliged by law to provide non-smoking tables, but there’s often no barrier between the smoking/non-smoking sections. - Often it’s just a case of removing the ash-tray.)
There was a new EU law last year that really changed the tobacco advertising. It is not allowed in TV, not even products linked to tobacco (such as ‘camel watches’). All advertising has to have in huge lettering ‘SMOKING KILLS’ or similar slogans. And cigarette packages need to have something like 60% of the cover with ‘health warning’.
Smoking certainly is more acceptable socially in Germany than in the US. The larger restaurants/bars have non-smoking zones; otherwise when a party eats together not all of which are smokers it is considered polite for the smokers to light up only after the meal. Where smoking is banned in railway stations etc. the main reason given is usually not the nuisance to other patrons but cutting down on littering and fire hazards.
Tobacco ads seem not to be present on TV (can’t say definitely as I usually don’t watch the private TV stations where shows/movies get interrupted by commercials). Tobacco ads are alive and well in the cinema, always followed by a standardized health warning.
The widespread use of roll-your-own and tobacco stick/filter kits is an artifact of tax law: tobacco is taxed at a lower rate than cigarettes
This is actually quite timely in Ireland. The Minister for Health plans to introduce regulations as of the 1st of January banning smoking in the workplace (which would include restaurants and bars). However, his own party is split on the measure; just this morning it was announced that the Minister for the Environment disagrees with it and feels it is reflecting “American political correctness” rather than the “European irreverence” he favours.
I suspect the ban will go ahead but with greater modifications than currently intended. But I could be wrong.
Smoking is banned in stores and most shopping malls.
Smoking is banned in nearly every single office building.
There are smoking and non-smoking sections in most restaurants, but bad ventilation often means some of the people in the non-smoking section get the “benefit” of second-hand smoke.
It’s usually considered OK to smoke between courses in restaurants and at weddings.
In pubs, people smoke everywhere, and the lack of ventilation in some places can make the fug intolerable, even for smokers themselves.
The government is thinking of banning smoking from all pubs and restaurants next year. I’m a smoker, and I feel very sorry for non-smokers in this country, especially in pubs. I would prefer to see enclosed smoking areas with proper ventilation, rather than a total ban (since we don’t really have the weather of California, for example), but que sera sera. The pubs just won’t be the same without the nicotine stained walls and ceilings, but it’s going to be a Good Thing in the long run.
On the whole, non-smokers in Ireland tend to be way way way more tolerant of smokers than in the US.
Legislation is being harmonized by the European Union, as Popup said. Not all EU countries have the large health warnings on the packages yet (my favourite is “Smoking can cause a slow and painful death”…), but they have to do so by next year or something.
Social acceptability varies from country to country, but it´s probably a lot higher than in the US, from what I hear.
**ccwaterback **, smoking is not permitted on the subway in Berlin, but just about everywhere else.
I’ll lay a large amount of money on the fact that the weather isn’t quite as bad in California as it is over here… I’ve been to SF in the rain, so I know it can get chilly, but for sheer horizontal-rain shittiness, you gotta visit Ireland. I do feel sorry for the subzero smoking New Yawkers though.
I also hope they push through the ban, it might help me give the damn things up… I 've always fallen off the wagon in pubs, will power takes a bit of a hammering after a few pints and all those people smoking around you.
In Italy almost everyone smokes and probably the quickest way to get people to light up is to put up a no smoking sign. There are
no smoking cars on the train but you probably have to walk through several smoking cars to get to one. They smoke in most public places, restaturants, train stations, motels etc, you just get used to it…I didn’t smoke when I moved to Europe but picked it up when I moved there and quit when I moved back.
Russian tobacco is completely disgusting. In Soviet times, a pack of Marlboros was a popular bribe for people like doormen. I initially thought it was because it was a “luxury” Western brand, but after smelling Russian papyrosy (fat, unfiltered cigarettes with tobacco as black as the inside of a black hole), I realized why. People smoke everywhere in Russia, but then the public health situation there sucks in general.
Sometimes one encounters a mixed message. I passed through Schipol Airport outside Amsterdam a couple of years ago, and there were signs indicating that smoking was not permitted. But there were ashtrays all over the place, so a lot of people were smoking.
If you want a facility to be smoke-free, put up the signs, and get rid of the ashtrays. The smokers will get the message pretty quickly.
I think you just misunderstood the signs, Early Out. Smoking at Schipol is not permitted except in designated smoking areas. Those ashtrays are an indication that that particular area is a DSA.
One of my coworkers went to Ireland on vacation. He sent back a postcard that just popped back into memory as mentioned the horizontal rain.
Picture of a guy standing in the rain, rain blasting into him from the left. Underneath the caption “the weatherman predicted a change in the weather.”
Next picture, same guy in the rain, rain blasting into him from the RIGHT side.
How much did you want to bet? I’m finding a hard time finding a significant difference between the weather in Dublin and Eureka, California, for example, except that there is a short dry season in California. If you want to see temperatures that are much colder than those experienced in Ireland and average lower than NY, try anywhere in the mountains, e.g., Truckee. California is a very big state, with many different climates.
