They already have smoking and non-smoking areas in restaurants (somebody commented that this was like introducing a 'no peeing area' in public swimming pools ).There's a lot less smoking in France than there was.My impression is that, as in Britain,there are far more young female smokers than there are young male smokers.In Antibes, it's now quite unusual to find people smoking in restaurants, except in the more popular ones at lunchtime.The government has increased the duty on cigarettes in recent times,in the expressed hope of reducing sales, but cynics amongst us think that it's a case of trying to get the same amount of revenue from already declining sales
What is difficult to imagine is a French bar without smokers.Smoking and drinking go together. But we said the same about Dublin's pubs and bars. There a bar wasn't a decent bar unless you couldn't see the length of it (at worst) or the width of it (at best) because of the smoke.Dublin bars still flourish, though smokeless, but methinks they have lost something of their atmosphere
Effective January 1, 2008, the state of Illinois went smoke free. The Smoke-free Illinois Act prohibits smoking in virtually all public places and workplaces, including offices, theaters, museums, libraries, educational institutions, schools, commercial establishments, enclosed shopping centers and retail stores, restaurants, bars, private clubs and gaming facilities.
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Yes Honi, we have had a similar ban in Ontario for some years now. The thing is, Ontario and Illinois lack a certain je ne sais quoi, that is part of the French café identity. I guess it really is time to quit. I thought we smokers would always have Paris.
Fred, I thought the British wouldn't put up with the no-smoking laws in their pubs. One year I go there, and they are all grumbling about the prospect of the law being passed. The next, they seem to have accepted it with quiet resignation. Now if they would only ban cell phones in the pubs over there too!
dg The warning sign in my local pub reads " If we see smoke coming from you, we'll assume you are on fire and take the appropriate action" (Bad idea: now the women are smoking in the hope of catching themselves a fireman )
What is odd is how dedicated smokers break off to go outside for ten minutes for a smoke.Suddenly they get the urge to smoke so they disappear, leaving their mates all talking. This is very much an older person's practice. Truly addicted young smokers are a rarity
In what pubs were you in where mobiles were a nuisance? It ought not to be possible to hear anyone over the conversation all around .People with phones step outside the bars, just to hear and be heard. I suppose you could use a mobile at table when eating in a pub, but who'd want to or need to?
In what pubs were you in where mobiles were a nuisance?
In ALL the pubs I go to in the UK, cell phones are a nuisance. I'm not talking about standing drinking at the bar, but sitting down. I'm sure they wouldn't be a probelm around a crowded bar.
Cell phones are everywhere over there. I wouldn't be surprised if my Mum, who is in her 70's, develops carpal tunnel syndrome, considering the amount of texting she does! I don't even know how to text.
Originally posted by dance girl: Cell phones are everywhere over there. I wouldn't be surprised if my Mum, who is in her 70's, develops carpal tunnel syndrome, considering the amount of texting she does! I don't even know how to text.
Intriguingly,mobile (cellphone) ownership is a lot greater in Britain than in the US. In Britain there are far more mobile accounts than there are people: it's averaged out as over 1.16 phones per head of population (2006: 69.7 million active connections for 60 million people).And this market is increasing. In the US there are about 250 million for 300 million people.
A strange side effect is that 51 per cent of us now don't use an alarm clock, using the mobile instead
Everybody, young and old, texts (except me: I find it too laborious but the rest of the clan is adept at it and, mysteriously, opts to text when a short call would be easier. The reason, with youngsters, is cost. The texts are free up to a very large number on the package and cheap to send anyway)
Still puzzled about 'cellphones' in pubs being 'a nuisance'. It may be that I simply don't notice because everyone here is using the phones all the time and everywhere .I'm not aware of ever being disturbed by someone using one in a pub.People talk quietly.The original complaint here was people on trains shouting into the phone. An "On the train" is an annoying person who doesn't consider others when using one anywhere (on a train or not). It's because we first noticed the nuisance on trains, when businessmen were the first users here of mobiles and comes from "I'm on the train" being their opening (and usually irrelevant)words.In the early days the shouting was a problem: there was some technical reason whereby the user got a false impression of their own sound volume.Long distance trains have 'phone free' carriages for those who wish to travel without sharing a table or carriage with people discussing sales figures with their office,however quietly. There are times when you wish to be secluded and distanced from the business or private dealings of the world
).There's a lot less smoking in France than there was.My impression is that, as in Britain,there are far more young female smokers than there are young male smokers.In Antibes, it's now quite unusual to find people smoking in restaurants, except in the more popular ones at lunchtime.The government has increased the duty on cigarettes in recent times,in the expressed hope of reducing sales, but cynics amongst us think that it's a case of trying to get the same amount of revenue from already declining sales 
)
It ought not to be possible to hear anyone over the conversation all around 
