Spainglorious blog #5 Smoking?
I don´t know how many of you smoke or don´t. I for one don´t and I´m not about to start but I´m indifferent to smoking (unless I´m locked into a figurative iron maiden of smoke or if I get burned by someone carelessly wielding their cigarette as if it were a magic wand of expression). In fact, one of the (many) smells that I associate with travel is cigarette smoke to the point where smelling it will bring on nostalgia for the beach or a city or something. However, I do realize that there are people much more sensitive to smoking than I am (most of the rest of the people in my group for example). That said, my views on smokers in ¨my¨ culture tend to be negative whereas in other cultures I accept it. Probably because in many other cultures smoking is accepted as a norm. For example, ¨no smoking¨´signs are just for decoration and restaurants don´t really have a smoking or non smoking section. What do you think?
I as born in London, England to children of Jamaican immigrants. I have lived in England, Venezuela, USA, and China. I am currently a university student stateside.
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4 Comments to “Spainglorious blog #5 Smoking?”
September 10th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Smoking in China is a HUGE thing. A co-worker of mine (American guy) admitted he started smoking socially ever since he started working in China. If you don’t smoke, especially as a man, it is sorta considered offensive and “unmanly” so you pretty much have to accept the cigarettes they give you. However, both of my Chinese male coworkers don’t smoke so it’s not true all across the board, but that’s very rare.
I don’t smoke and I don’t like the smell of smoke because I grow up with a dad that smokes a lot and the smell irritates me. However I do admit that there are certain types of cigarettes that do bring nostalgia, especially the Indonesian cigarettes, they have a unique smell.
I would prefer people don’t smoke if they can help it but I never really say no when people ask me if they can smoke, I think it’s a choice they make and usually smokers do need to smoke even if you force them not to (in my opinion).
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September 10th, 2008 at 9:01 am
My childhood in the US has made me completely intolerant towards smokers…If it were up to me, I’d ban it everywhere except for private households because, seriously, isn’t it annoying when you’ve just taken a shower and the idiot walking in front of you decides to light up and you end up wrapped in a cloud of disgusting smoke?
One of the things that shocked me the most upon arriving to Spain was how smokers didn’t hesitate to light up while sitting right next to you in bus stops or in places where it was supposedly forbidden (the subway, university buildings, non-smoking side of cafeterias, etc). Although it is true that Spanish non-smokers are generally more tolerant of smoking than Americans, recent anti-tobacco legislation seems to have empowered those didn’t dare speak up before. Things have improved a bit, but I think the laws that have been passed recently are still half-assed and insufficient.
I personally favor the American attitude towards smoking. Banning it everywhere makes it socially unacceptable and encourages people to quit and discourages youngsters from starting…Some people may say that you shouldn’t ban anything, but from personal experience, leaving things to smokers’ common sense (like in Spain) results in abusive, dirty, and unhealthy situations.
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October 1st, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Growing up with a mother who smokes I hate it. Like anoutsider if it were up to me I’d ban it everywhere. Don’t even get me started about smoking in the bathroom!
I loathe the smell so much you could say I impersonated a rabid cat. Then again, I also grew up in the Navy so being anti-(insert harmful substance here)is a part of me.
As for socially smoking. That, like starting to smoke is a choice so I would just leave. But if I am in an area that explicitly says smoking is not allowed and someone lights I will not hesitate to complain.
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October 2nd, 2008 at 12:31 am
“One of the things that shocked me the most upon arriving to Spain was how smokers didn’t hesitate to light up while sitting right next to you in bus stops or in places where it was supposedly forbidden (the subway, university buildings, non-smoking side of cafeterias, etc).”< —-This is pretty damn annoying. I’ve seen people light up even inside the airport in the baggage claim area. When you remind them about how they’re not allowed to smoke in that area they even argue with you cooking-up some BS.
My Italian friend explains this phenomenon like this: The non-smoking laws in Spain failed because the Spanish rejected the law.
Since when are we allowed to ‘reject the law’? Well, I guess that’s another lesson in Spanish culture right there.
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