they have forbidden this in Basel...you can't even drink a bottle of still water in a tram without risking a fine

until about 10 years ago this country was a liberal place, with a relaxed and tolerant atmosphere, where you could walk around in daylight smoking pot and no one was bothered...these days it is turning into some weird pc rules driven society, where the moaners and whiners are gaining the upper hand

yeh. Im not talking about extremes. Banning smoking in restaurants and the like is no extreme. Not being able to drink water in a tram would be an extreme.
In Zürich a few years ago there was a slogan posted all around in trams and public places etc " everything that does not disturb is allowed"
http://www.spiegel.de/reise/europa/0...357344,00.html

Ten years ago this was a country where people wouldn't dream of chucking their fast food wrappers on the floor - there was no rubbish.

Laws change because people change (or new people move in).

Absolutely agree, this really kicks my brains off early in d morning.

Don't think that there isn't a significant possibility of this happening.

Of course it isn't quite as big of a surprise to ban tobacco use in the USA as it is also illegal to drink in public. Public consumption is a big no no over here.

Ref: drinking on the tram (so slightly off topic)...

What happens in Basel if I need to give my baby a drink of milk... will I get a double wammy fine : Drinking for the baby, Revealing my boob in public for me.

Sure to make me want to try it just to find out and let you all know the result!

you get fined for releasing the twins here? I thought this was Europe? That and drinking in public are the only reasons I'm here.

"long live the revolution"

hehehe.

Instead of delicately covering myself with a blanket, should I leave myself revealed just in case you are on the same tram?

Yes. I'll also be there-to call the " breast police".

Ok, I think this fits on this thread.

As if smoking on the train platforms wasn't enough, shortly after my train left this morning I was sitting in the upper deck when myself and several other passengers started smelling very fresh smoke coming from the bathroom below.

One very angry man walked down to the WC and pounded his fists on the door. When it opened, he asked angrily if the person knew there was no smoking on the trains. Their response? "...I wasn't smoking."

Yeah right.

At least be honest wíth yourself. (We can smell a liar). If you can't even make it 5 minutes into a maximum 45 minute train ride, you have serious problems. For all the pro-smoker's perfume arguments, it's not like the people wearing perfume *have* to re-spray themselves a few times every hour. If your vice takes over you, it's probably a good idea to quit.

I know my lungs aren't appreciating all the second hand smoke they gather on the train platforms every day. At this rate, I'll probably have cancer in the next 10 years.

Is Turkey really all that cold? Or was this a bit of a pun? Quite funny, if so...

What have you been smoking, then?

As for breastfeeding...I thought switerland had a law saying you could be naked almost anywhere? If I was a woman with child, and there was somewhere where breastfeeding was deemed illegal, or even innappriopiate, I would be there doing it.

Ban breastfeeding, allow guns? The worlds gone nuts...

The answer to this problem is the same as it is on airplanes. Smoke detectors with really, really loud alarms.

I am amazed that you were groaned by some of the self proclaimed "tolerant and reasonable people" in this thread.

BTW, I was made unwell by some person who had over dosed their perfume last night. It made my eyes swell up and my throat and lungs irritated and constricted. I eventually had to move whilst waiting for the bill to come. Truly, one of those situations where someone with questionable hygiene (usually the reason that people OD on perfume) was in the running with smoking. The only up side is that after I left the restaurant I recovered within about 10 minutes and didn't have the smell of the toxin on my clothes and in my hair more than an hour later.

That amount of second hand smoke will only give you cancer in 10 years if you are predisposed to getting cancer from airborne toxins. The problem is that you will never know until it is too late. Comforting, isn't it.

__________________
Many men, of course, became extremely rich, but this was perfectly natural, and nothing to be ashamed of, because no one was really poor -- at least no one worth speaking of. - Douglas Adams

Sorry, NO NO. As much I at times support certain restrictions like the ZH smoking ban, I generally do NOT like heaps of laws regulating every tiny bit. What we have now in Zurich needs to be protected and defended, Yes, but definitely NOT extended and stiffened.

I admit that stinking hamburgers and loudly "eating" passengers may be a nuisance, but to get against them with additional laws and regulations is NOT the way.

... without a suitable lubricant?

I'm a little surprised as well. First groans on here so far. For relaying my shared annoyance at someone breaking the law, or for defending the perfume argument?

I think we can all agree that perfume overdoes it sometimes and is extremely annoying at times, but I challenge any of the groaners to show me someone hiding in the bathroom on a train while they spray, or standing in front of the doors with their perfume spray ready. If we saw someone do that, we would call them crazy. But smokers? "Oh, we feel bad for them.... they just want to light up."

In the 1950ies and early 60ies, this country was even more pc rules driven and more regulated and controlled society than now. In the late 60ies and during the 70ies and into the 80ies came the times of liberalisations. Right now, the conservatives are trying to turn the clocks back. I mean, this prohibition in Basel clearly goes ways too far for my taste !

And, to say it clearly, it has nothing to do with Basel as such, as Basel in other respects is fairly liberal.

honi soit qui mal y pense

Qui mal y pense? without lubricant it would be more; Qui mal il aura!

Hey! I thought that we were supposed to stick to english?