Sorry, but what exactly is astonishing ? I mean, the impact of cigarette smoking has been known for decades.

It's astonishing that there's been so little change in the culture...a culture that typically makes sound choices in how they live

Maybe that choice has been made, and that's the point. Perhaps, because it doesn't fit with everyone else's opinion from the outside looking in, it doesn't sit well with some.

I was using trains last year .... It's been almost 10 months now I bought a car and last week when I had gone to drop my friend in the station & I tried giving him company till the train came & I felt like I was in a land of shit suddenly which was not the case before ten months .. So moral of the story is you will get used after some time .... This ain't going to change no smokers ;-)

What I find strange/annoying is smokers in children's playgrounds. I am used to people smoking everywhere else around town, but I still can't get used to seeing parents puffing away on a bench while their children are going down the slide.

But there have been heavy changes, for example both in offices and in private homes as well as in private motor cars.

Annoying it IS, but many smokers regard smoking as normalcy and simply cannot see their habit as not normal

Well, at the risk of going down a tangent here smoking is also known to be an addiction nevermind unhealthy...So choice perhaps isn't the best way to characterize it...Plus, for all the things Suisse, it remains one of the filthiest habits going in a country where the people are usually quite mindful of making sure what they do does not infringe on others - smoking does not fit into that thinking

Although as I remarked earlier, it has improved but the changes are quite minor compared to many progressive western countries

Waiting for the bus this morning, some dude stands near me upwind with a heavy tar cigarette. Once we got to the railway station (10 mins later), he proceeded to light up another near me despite the imminent train arrival. He frantically tugged on the ciggy before ending up throwing most of it under the train.

Cheers mate I really enjoyed the lung full of thick smoke on a bracing morning.

The addiction of some people just beggars belief.

I had a lady walk past me (going the same direction) with a cigarette last night. I'm not sure which way the wind was blowing but it seemed like I was breathing her second hand smoke for the rest of the block. I made sure to make dramatic gagging sound effects the entire time she was within ear shot.

Then this morning I was standing at the crosswalk waiting for the green man and this dude walked up and stood next to me, puffing away on his cigarette. *cough cough, bleeeeeeeeeeh* oh yuck!!! nasty!!!! I just knew I was going to smell like a smoker for the rest of the day. gag.
So I made sure to make faces at him and horrible choking noises until the green man appeared and we could cross so I could get as far away from him as possible.

__________________
I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies. - Pietro Aretino

Can we close this thread now??
Leave it for 1 hour then someone will start a new thread off and all these folks can repeat again what has been said here and in a dozen same threads elsewhere yawn yawn......

Good idea.

And anyway, instead of this, I think we're due for another homeopathy thread or one where people state that in Switzerland, people aren't obese due to genetics.

I love people that hate smokers. I get a lot of pleasure from it.

I smoke wherever I want when I am outside, because I am outside. I don't see people moaning about the fumes from vehicles and factories saying, "oh they're killing me along with themselves".

The fact is, it might stink, but so does your arse, your breath after a coffee or in the morning or in general because maybe you have health issues. Some people hate the smell of certain foods and what not, but what can you do about it? NOTHING, live with it!

So, if you find someone lights up a cigarette next to you, maybe its me, then if you dont like it move. If smokers are following you everywhere, then tough. Walk around with a gas mask if it bothers you so much.

But please, somebody think of the chilren

Why? The children are into other more exciting things ...... like buying up boxes of eggs at Haloween time to throw at peoples houses. And drinking Energy drinks to get a wizz if they`re too young to buy beers. And getting drunk in subways if they do buy alcohol. And smashing windows of public buildings. And leaving piles of their discarded fast-food and drinks cans on benches or wherever they gather.

Why do they do this?

Because no-one seems to REALLY care about the children.
About what they do, where they go, or to provide them venues to gather and to allow them to learn how to actually socialise without becoming pests to society.

I disagree. I find these threads enlightening and entertaining, always filled with the new and vibrant thoughts of those thoughtfully comparing the diverse considerations in favour of and against a fundamentally enjoyable pastime with a nonetheless undeniable impact on others.

I was being sarcastic, I think it came from a Simpsons episode many many years ago.

But are you talking about Swiss teenagers? Please, the kids here are like angels compared to the UK. Waiting to they all start stabbing each other and getting pregnant at the age of 12, thats when its all going wrong.

A thread of smokers vs non-smokers is certainly boring,

But I'm not bored the subject of the fairness of second-hand smoke, and always open to new arguments, or to throwing my 2 Rappen in:

I've no interest in complaining about smokers doing their thing, except perhaps for occasionally reminding friends of the downsides of their habit.
But getting a face full of second hand smoke in the street or the train station is always annoying. Its a burst of dirty air so always more painful than general city pollution, it compares to a particularly stinky car/bus driving past. Standing next to a smoker compares to standing next to a sweaty stinky man - one tries to avoid it but its true that Zurich HB is a smokers haven.

But its funny that it seems so prominent here in Zurich, the question is why? A brief escape from the regimented life of a Zuricher?
And could clever old Switzerland come with a way to reduce the offense that a train station or street full of smokers can cause?

The thing is it actually only takes a few smokers to employ their smoky influence on a larger number of non-smokers..

I am certainly interested to hear the best way to get a smoker to not smoke next to you too (but I'm not big on being very much new here still and going telling strangers what to do)

Fire extinguisher? Could claim you were doing a public service ...

Justin Bieber may have fathered a child. I knew all that winking at the camera was going to get him in trouble.

This morning in the Canadian news, they said 5 millions of people die every year from smoking.... 5 millions!!!