Thursday 31 January 2013

Cough! Splutter!

I don't like smoking.

Here in the south of Italy, a LOT of people smoke. Really, a lot. So, after having lived here for over 2 years now, I've had to get used to it. If you want to go anywhere, you have to be prepared to meet a whole load of smokers. If the smoke gets on my nerves too much, I just move away.

But this becomes somewhat problematic when people smoke inside. During the winter months, I'll be damned if I'm the one who has to go outside to get away from it! Now, this is not to say that all bars and restaurants have one of these special smoking rooms (smoking is technically banned inside, but there are ways around it...hence said smoking rooms), and even if they do, there's also another area where you can stay warm and smoke free. OK, so far so good. Ish.

It gets worse though. A good few shop owners actually smoke inside their shops. Now, I know the property is theirs, but it's technically a public place isn't it, so why are on earth are they sitting there greeting customers (I say greeting...I mean grunting at), surrounded by a cloud of smoke?? All I can say is YUCK. And how RUDE. I went into a coffee shop the other day and, after enjoying my espressino, went up to the cash resister to pay. I realised that there was a really strong whiff of smoke and... what do you know, the man behind the desk was puffing away without a care i the world. How is this ALLOWED?! 


Here's hoping that this sort of thing will be stamped out in the future, because it's just plain horrible. Like a lot of things in southern Italy though, it may take a while... ;)

3 comments:

  1. That is discouraging. I've been looking forward to our next trip to Italy now that they cannot smoke inside. Hmmm.....we were there in 2011 and it was much better than in 2006, but we were not as far south as you are.

    Next trip we'll go all the way to the bottom of the heel, so based on your post, I will change my expectations!

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    1. It's not very nice is it Laura? But don't despair, because like I said, there are always places with no smoking sections :) And my town is a small one, so I think in the bigger towns and cities they would pay more attention to obeying the smoking rules. Or at least, I would hope so! Have a lovely time on your next trip to Italy :D

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    2. Thanks, we will be in Puglia in October!

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