Smoking in Europe

I saw the post about a new no-smoking law in Switzerland. How is
travel through the rest of Europe (at least, Italy, Germany, Belgium,
France, Austria, Netherlands, and Scandinavia)?

One thing that I know my wife is really concerned about for our
forthcoming trip to Europe is the amount of smoking in public places
(trains, restaurants, hotels, etc.). She is a reformed smoker and
gets really annoyed at smoke in her breathable space. I, on the other
hand, have never smoked and have always been tolerant of smokers
(including my wife until she stopped about 17 years ago), though I've
been away from a smoke-filled environment for so long now that it does
really bother me, too.

Does my wife have a lot to worry about? I appreciate your input.

Stan

"Owlman" wrote in message
...
I saw the post about a new no-smoking law in Switzerland. How is
travel through the rest of Europe (at least, Italy, Germany, Belgium,
France, Austria, Netherlands, and Scandinavia)?

One thing that I know my wife is really concerned about for our
forthcoming trip to Europe is the amount of smoking in public places
(trains, restaurants, hotels, etc.). She is a reformed smoker and
gets really annoyed at smoke in her breathable space. I, on the other
hand, have never smoked and have always been tolerant of smokers
(including my wife until she stopped about 17 years ago), though I've
been away from a smoke-filled environment for so long now that it does
really bother me, too.

Does my wife have a lot to worry about? I appreciate your input.

Stan

It varies from country to country, but non-smoking laws are now being
steadily introduced into many countries. You can ask for non-smoking rooms
in hotels (but they aren't always guaranteed). Some long distance trains
still permit smoking in dedicated carriages, so make sure you ask for
non-smoking when you reserve a seat. Carriages which had smoking/non
smoking sections were totally ineffective, see if you can get an entire
non-smoking car. AFAIK all shorter distance regional single class trains,
metros, trams, buses etc ban smoking entirely. A couple of years ago I
found that smoking was permitted in the buffet car on Spanish trains, and
found that most unappealing hanging around in a smoke filled environment
waiting for food. Some restaurants are smoke free, others may have
segregated areas.
You might do better with further google searching, but I found the article
below interesting:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,...453590,00.html

David Bennetts
Australia

Owlman writes:

Does my wife have a lot to worry about?

Take the situation in the United States, turn the clock back 35 years,
and you have the situation in Europe.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

If you come to Scotland later next year you will find a ban has been
implimented in all public places - not the same as in the rest of the
UK where they are still debating the issue and appear unwilling to
follow Scotland's example.

Lindsay
www.caledoniahilltreks.com

Germany is hell for non-smokers. You might find a restaraunt with a
no-smoking section, but generally when you do it's surrounded by
smoking sections. In any case, many people don't respect the
no-smoking sections, and smoke there anyway. Going into a Kneipe at
night is only possible for people with iron lungs or an Iron Lung.

The German government has paid lip-service to creating non-smoking
areas in public, but mainly this hasn't translated into any real
changes. One thing that has improved my life: in 2001, the government
legislated that employees can demand a non-smoking environment where
they work! Previously, even during work I was surrounded by smoke.

If you do come to Germany, do it in the summer so you can sit in
Biergärten, and then make sure you sit up-wind!


Walter Gildersleeve
Freiburg, Germany

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On Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:43:27 -0800, Owlman wrote:

I saw the post about a new no-smoking law in Switzerland.

Beware, it is valid only in trains, train station and in general in
public transportation. Some restaurants are now introducing
non-smoking sections though - you'll have to ask.

Nathalie in Switzerland

Lindsay wrote:

If you come to Scotland later next year you will find a ban has been
implimented in all public places - not the same as in the rest of the
UK where they are still debating the issue and appear unwilling to
follow Scotland's example.

Not quite. N. Ireland will have a full ban, and the Welsh Assembly has
made it clear they'll implement one. Only England has the grey area that
they might allow smoking in pubs which don't serve food, but it's quite
possible (I think likely) that that will be struck out of the final
legislation.

--
David Horne- http://www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk
http://homepage.mac.com/davidhornecomposer http://soundjunction.org

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
Owlman writes:

Does my wife have a lot to worry about?

Take the situation in the United States, turn the clock back 35 years,
and you have the situation in Europe.

But, as on your own admission you never go outside Paris, you aren't
exactly an authority on the subject.

JohnT

Owlman wrote:
I saw the post about a new no-smoking law in Switzerland. How is
travel through the rest of Europe?

Western Europe is not too bad, but it gets worse the farther east you go. Hungary is a
little bit worse, Romania is quite a lot worse.

K.

schrieb:

The German government has paid lip-service to creating non-smoking
areas in public, but mainly this hasn't translated into any real
changes.

The tobacco lobby in Germany is stronger than anywhere else and the
national income from tobacco taxes (13.8 billion euro in 2004) is
already in the budget for the next few years. Germany is the only
country that still strongly resists to the ban of tobacco advertising
planned by the EU.

The German Federal Doctors Association (Bundesärztekammer), certainly
not a bunch of left-wing activists, just demanded once again a break of
the collaboration of the tobacco lobby and federal politics in very
clear words
(http://www.bundesaerztekammer.de/25/...200512101.html,
for those who read German).

I'm pretty sure, however, that the new government will not change the
general direction earlier than they will be forced to by European
legislation.

BTW: I'm an opportunist smoker myself.

Jens