Smoking in... Frankfurt? 2

Last night I went out to a bar in Frankfurt. I had a really good time except for the fact (and this will probably be a major theme in Germany) that it was a smokers’ paradise. German law states that a bar can be pro-smoking if its floor space is less than X amount of feet, separate from the non-smoking parts of the venue and does not serve food. Still… that doesn’t stop the fact that I still reek at the end of the night and inhale everyone’s second hand smoke.

Most of Europe is non-smoking (except Germany (but Bavaria is smoke free), Austria, and Greece which passed one anti-smoking law with 21 loopholes) so to the ex-smoker smoking in a bar is almost sacrilege. What makes matters worse is that Frankfurt is an international city and therefore is filled with Europeans and Americans who, away from their country’s laws are making the most of the lax German laws and so are smoking like chimneys… although chimneys are less smelly.

Last night, at the table next to mine, sat three English gentlemen, all of which smoked constantly as they non longer have this right in the UK. You can imagine how I smelt at the end of the night with all their smoke wafting over me.

I asked my German friend why this law was so and he explained that the tobacco industry great contributes to the economy of Germany and banning smoking would have an adverse effect on the economy. Well they managed to ban it in America, which surely generates more revenue from the tobacco industry than Germany, and yet they have banned it, so why is Germany the hostage of the Marlboro Man? Another argument is that it is too cold for Germans to smoke outdoors. Well the Swedes seemed to have managed.

So what’s the solution for ex and non smokers? I suppose it is to go out, inhale other people’s fumes and have a shower at the end of the night… providing there is hot water in the reservoir. And the clothes? We can’t keep washing them! Well… I guess we’ll have to buy some new ones… and charge it to the smokers. With around 70% tax on a packet of cigarettes, surely they can afford it.

And then today, on the way to work I accidentally tipped over one of those huge outdoor ashtrays with my bike, knocking the whole thing to the ground and spilling out all the trash and cigarette butts. The smokers around me helped me clear up. Thanks for your help guys…and I’ll admit it… you are not the root of all evil.