If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
Hello, fellow travelers: We just came from trip to Europe, and our biggest disappointment is that while in Europe we have had constantly endanger our health by breathing second hand smoke because smoking in Europe is widespread and unrestricted. For example, after arriving to Vienna, we found the air in the arrival area full of smoke and hard to breath. Sure, there were signs restricting smoking to specific places, but those places were not physically separated from the rest of the airport, the ventilation fixture above was inadequate, and the smoke freely spread thru the whole arrival area. We really expected better from the city that prides itself with high sophistication of classical music. While in Europe, we experienced inconvenience of second hand smoke everywhere. On some occasions we had to leave (more like run) in classy restaurant when two or four people would take the next table and immediately start puffing cigarettes or cigars. We never complained to management because, it seams such unrestrictive smocking is accepted as normal in Europe. But does it have to be like that? Being from Canada, and non-smokers, we really enjoy the clean air and smoke-free environment we have here thanks to our smoke-control regulations. Do not Europeans understand that second hand smoke is dangerous? Our desire to avoid endangering our health with second smoke may be the reason we are very hesitant to travel to Europe again until they introduce some reasonable smoking restrictions. I am wandering what others feel on this issue? Regards. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
"vmkng3" wrote in message
... Hello, fellow travelers: We just came from trip to Europe, and our biggest disappointment is that while in Europe we have had constantly endanger our health by breathing second hand smoke because smoking in Europe is widespread and unrestricted. snip Do not Europeans understand that second hand smoke is dangerous? Our desire to avoid endangering our health with second smoke may be the reason we are very hesitant to travel to Europe again until they introduce some reasonable smoking restrictions. I am wandering what others feel on this issue? We are both non-smokers (as in neither of us has ever smoked, period - and we're both now retired.) and were pleased to find our first totally non-smoking restaurant this afternoon. Most restaurants make some weak attempt at providing a non-smoking area, but the problem I suspect is that the ventilation required to make it work properly is rarely maintained. We did find a non-smoking area in a restaurant in Northern Italy with totally separate areas for smokers and non-smokers. Marvellous! We used to eat out regularly some years ago, but gave up after my birthday celebration was spoilt by a smoker lighting up at the far side of a Chinese restaurant in Milton Keynes. Smokers simply don't realise how pervasive their smoke is. And, managers of public houses and similar know that in the UK, they get more sales if smoking is allowed. (Not to mention that much of our health service is funded from cigarette taxes.) The sad thing is that the totally non-smoking restaurant we found is located in one of the major food supermarkets, where smoking isn't allowed anyway. Hardly the place for a celebratory meal! -- M Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
"Malcolm Stewart" schreef in bericht ... "vmkng3" wrote in message ... Hello, fellow travelers: We just came from trip to Europe, and our biggest disappointment is that while in Europe we have had constantly endanger our health by breathing second hand smoke because smoking in Europe is widespread and unrestricted. snip Do not Europeans understand that second hand smoke is dangerous? Yes, we know that second hand smoke is a bit bad for your health. However, Europeans value freedom and we don't like to be told what we can and can not do. A little bit of second hand smoke will kill nobody. Live and let live. Sjoerd (non-smoker) |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
"vmkng3" wrote:
I am wandering what others feel on this issue? Some mind; some don't. Very few people who post in threads such as this are temperate. Let's sit back and enjoy the row. -- PB The return address has been MUNGED |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
"vmkng3" wrote in
: Hello, fellow travelers: We just came from trip to Europe, and our biggest disappointment is that while in Europe we have had constantly endanger our health by breathing second hand smoke because smoking in Europe is widespread and unrestricted. For example, after arriving to Vienna, we found the air in the arrival area full of smoke and hard to breath. Sure, there were signs restricting smoking to specific places, but those places were not physically separated from the rest of the airport, the ventilation fixture above was inadequate, and the smoke freely spread thru the whole arrival area. We really expected better from the city that prides itself with high sophistication of classical music. While in Europe, we experienced inconvenience of second hand smoke everywhere. On some occasions we had to leave (more like run) in classy restaurant when two or four people would take the next table and immediately start puffing cigarettes or cigars. We never complained to management because, it seams such unrestrictive smocking is accepted as normal in Europe. But does it have to be like that? Being from Canada, and non-smokers, we really enjoy the clean air and smoke-free environment we have here thanks to our smoke-control regulations. Do not Europeans understand that second hand smoke is dangerous? Our desire to avoid endangering our health with second smoke may be the reason we are very hesitant to travel to Europe again until they introduce some reasonable smoking restrictions. I am wandering what others feel on this issue? Regards. When we were in Vienna we stayed at the Mariott, the manager remarked to us that the once a week smoke free restaurant was always sold out, did he jump to the conclusion that he could sell out other nights, NO, did he even consider it, NO. He just didn't get it and neither do many. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
For example, after arriving to Vienna, we found the air in the
arrival area full of smoke and hard to breath. Say what? I just traveled to Vienna and found the airport as clean (air-wise) as any other airport. You must have walked by a bar with lots of active smokers. That is true of some airports in the USA as well. Smoking was not allowed in the airport proper, only in bars and specified places. Casey |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
Do not Europeans understand that second hand smoke is
dangerous? Yes, we know that second hand smoke is a bit bad for your health. However, Europeans value freedom and we don't like to be told what we can and can not do. A little bit of second hand smoke will kill nobody. Live and let live. Your comment concerning freedom is ironic, considering that America (and our province to the north, Canada ..... JUST KIDDING!) think of ourselves as the land of the free. Yet more and more of us now choose to live in covenant controlled areas where we have yet another government telling us what we can and cannot do. That said, you are forgetting something. You are correct that a passenger walking through an airport will not suffer any health problems from breathing some second-hand smoke, as he/she is only exposed to it for a short time. But remember the people working in the area who breathe the smoke all day long. There are many studies showing that breathing second-hand smoke for an extended period is definitely detrimental to good health. Casey |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
"Sjoerd" staggered to the nearest keyboard
and wrote: Yes, we know that second hand smoke is a bit bad for your health. However, Europeans value freedom and we don't like to be told what we can and can not do. A little bit of second hand smoke will kill nobody. Live and let live. If I could cut through Sjoerd's typical self-righteousness for a moment, one difference between the US and Europe involves the class distinctions related to smoking. In the US smoking is more a blue-collar ('working class') phenomenon. It is much less common to find professional or highly educated people who smoke. As an example see http://focus.hms.harvard.edu/2000/Se...o_control.html In contrast, when traveling to Europe I've noticed there is less of a class difference in smoking habits. Often I work with European professors and senior staff who smoke, something that would be relatively unusual in the US. As a result smokers have more political representation in Europe so that smoking restrictions have not progressed as far as in the US. Were Europe to develop class associations with smoking similar to those in the US, I suspect that Europeans would see greater restrictions on smoking, any professed value on 'freedom' notwithstanding. Full disclosu I used to smoke; I haven't for years; for me, being exposed to secondhand smoke an annoyance but not a big deal (except for having the odor in my clothes and hair). -- |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
"Darby Jo" wrote in message ... On Fri, 17 Oct 2003 15:49:53 -0700, "vmkng3" wrote: We just came from trip to Europe, and our biggest disappointment is that while in Europe we have had constantly endanger our health by breathing second hand smoke because smoking in Europe is widespread and unrestricted. snipped for brevity Our desire to avoid endangering our health with second smoke may be the reason we are very hesitant to travel to Europe again until they introduce some reasonable smoking restrictions. I am wandering what others feel on this issue? I live in a state in the U.S. where smoking is prohibited in government buildings. Also, in my city, smoking in restaurants is prohibited except when the restaurant has physically separated and separately ventilated smoking and nonsmoking areas. As a nonsmoker, I appreciate this. I live in a large populous state in the U.S. where smoking is prohibited in all public buildings including all offices, shopping malls, restaurants, bars, sporting arenas (both indoor and out) and airports. (You can smoke in your own home, certain hotel rooms and parking lots everywhere.) Having lived here my whole life, I get spoiled, and notice smoke a mile away. I like to travel to France, where smoking is acceptable virtually anywhere. When I get off the plane at Charles de Gaulle (a nonsmoking facility), the blast of stale smoke that hits me as I walk through the hallways always lets me know I've arrived and reminds me of the nonconformist attitudes of the French. I can't say I enjoy it, but I would never dare dictate or even request that they change their way of life. I also don't let it keep me away--if the smoke bothers me, I usually try to go outdoors to get away from it. In restaurants, I'll sometimes eat early to avoid the majority of it. Surprisingly, last fall, on a trip to France, going through Charles de Gaulle and spending a few days in Paris, I didn't notice people smoking. It was so rare I just didn't see it. For most the trip I was on a bike tour in central France that stopped and ate each night at a one star Michelin restaurant. In every single restaurant there was either a real nonsmoking room or the entire restaurant was nonsmoking. (It would have been a shame for any of those meals to be tainted with smoke, they were incredible.) This last June we went to Rome, Sorrento and London. Again, the smoke wasn't overwhelming. Perhaps it was eating outside that the smoke dissipated quickly, but we just didn't notice it. Or perhaps smoking in Europe isn't as pervasive as it used to be. Only you can decide if it's a big enough deterrent for you to vacation elsewhere. If you wait for smoking restrictions to be instituted, you might be in for a long wait. Darby Jo |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Smoking Restrictions in Europe
In article t,
"Casey" wrote: There are many studies showing that breathing second-hand smoke for an extended period is definitely detrimental to good health. What are some of them, and by who ? jay Fri, Oct 17, 2003 -- Legend insists that as he finished his abject... Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move." |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
NEW - Free Travel Guides Europe - NEW | Leon Ritt | Backpacking and Budget travel | 0 | January 7th, 2004 12:47 PM |
The Smoking Gun Arrives from Iraq | devil | Asia | 1 | January 1st, 2004 12:16 AM |
rec.travel.europe FAQ | Yves Bellefeuille | Europe | 0 | October 10th, 2003 09:44 AM |
Haven for Holocaust Victims from Nazi Europe | Lawrence Ling | Asia | 1 | September 11th, 2003 11:13 AM |