Hi all,

I'm planning a 1st time trip to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. While we're widely travelled and tolerant of many things, California has spoiled me and having to inhale cigarette smoke for long stretches really bothers me. Our last trip to Italy after they banned smoking in restaurants was heaven!

So, I've read that SE Asia is pretty much a smoker's paradise. Is it very prevalent in restaurants, hotels, boats, etc? What's the best way to avoid it?

Well, in Thailand, there is no smoking inside ac spaces (restaurants, hotel lobbies, stores, etc) but smoking is allowed in outdoor restaurants and in indoor and outdoor bars. In Cambodia, VN, Laos, we asked to be seated away from smokers in restaurants. We ran into more smoke in VN than in the other countries.

Frankly, SE ASia is no where near as bad as much of Europe or as bad as China, for instance.

Here in Japan .......

A friend told me that trying to find a Non Smoking section in Japanese restaurants & coffee shops is like trying to swim in the non chlorinated portion of a swimming pool. Although Starbucks has already imposed a non smoking policy, most restaurants here do not really have a clear delineation between the 2 areas. In some places, the non smoking/smoking sections is only separated by an imaginary line. You can actually reach out & touch the smoker. In Mc Donalds & other places, there are smoking floors & non smoking floors. I will have to say that it has gotten better since we arrived 11 years ago.

It's a LOT better in Thailand than in many parts of Europe. There isn't supposed to be smoking in Thailand inside of air conditioned spaces, however, when I was at Bed Supper Club in Bangkok, the French couple sitting next to my Thai friends and me, lit up their cigarettes and wouldn't put them out.

They were right next to us. It's good we had just finished eating. We wanted to stay longer, however, got up and left to get out of the smoke. Once the cigarette has been lit, the damage has been done.

The other time I experienced smoking, in Bangkok, was when I was waiting for my room at the ROS. A Thai friend and I were sitting downstairs, in a sitting area, near the lobby when a group of Japanese businessmen types lit up and polluted the whole space. This was the same friend who was with me at Bed Supper club. We just looked at each other, got up, and had to move out of the cloud of smoke. She looked quite ticked off and commented that they were not supposed to light up in an air conditioned space. The problem is that when it happens, a lot of times, the staff isn't assertive enough to do something about it...even after it's been reported... and I get tired of taking this type of matter into my own hands. Happy Travels!

Overall, it's not such a problem in Thailand. I'm also from California so I know how you feel. Our non-smoking laws in restaurants went into effect about 25 years ago if I remember correctly, so it's a no issue to us to have to even think about it. Happy Travels!

Thanks for asking this question. It's something that has also been on my mind as I'm also from CA and very spoiled by the lack of cigarette smoke.

I guess you just have to bite the bullet to a certain extent. I asked for a nonsmoking room in our hotels (ROS, Shinta Mani, Apsara and Salisbury) and they said they would do the best they could.

Maybe I should bring a can of febreeze or something similar just in case??

Wear a gas mask otherwise second-hand's gonna getcha!

if you honestly think that having to inhale cigarette smoke occasionally is a big enough deal to stop you going somewhere, then I feel sorry for you.

Like everywhere has to conform to YOUR idea of what is OK.

Well, it's just SE Asia - guess you think you are being mega adventurous but you're not really.

You'll be able to find smoke free areas, but wonder how many locals will be there.

But I think I have your number - one of those who likes to holiday somewhere where it's just like home except for ..

We were just in Japan, South Korea and China. Smoking was a non-issue except in a couple of restaurants. Maybe we were always upwind but it was much less of a problem than I anticipated.

afterall, I think we have your number!

Afterall...What fun will it be if the person gets really sick from it?
Folks are quite aware that one can't totally get away from smoke. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out., but there's a difference between possibly being saturated in it everywhere) as in some countries in the world) and possibly having minimum contact with it.

And neither is the poster nor anyone else asking anyone to conform to his/her idea of what is right...as you stated. This has nothing to do with right or wrong...it's totally a health issue. The poster is merely trying to get information so that one she can make a decision on what to do and or what to expect. Happy Travels!

Thanks for the (mostly helpful advice. If it's not any worse than China and Japan, than I think we'll be ok. We've been there countless times since I'm Chinese (my family still lives in China and Taiwan), and have been to Japan for business at least 2-3 times a year for the last 12 years. I was looking for advice on how to deal with the smoking in a polite way.

Travel to me is all about experiencing differences. That said, the days of me being able to sit through a 3-hour dinner while the person next to me is chain-smoking is gone. Afterall, it is also about actually enjoying the experience!

Oh, if you've been to China and Japan, you'll think that SE Asia is smoke free! (well, almost)

Cigarette smoke will be the least of your pollution worries anywhere in S.E.A........particularly in Bangkok.

Get away from the cities, if air quality is an issue for you.

Personally, I much prefer tobacco smoke to diesel fumes, though both are quite obnoxious.

Been meaning to give my 2 cents to this.

Second-hand smoke is not a health issue with me. After almost 30 years of cigarette smoking I was forced to stop 5 years ago.

Now, a whiff of cigarette smoke and there is a good chance that my throat will choke up, eyes water, and I will cough. It is not as bad as it was a couple of years ago.

A couple of years ago I was given a smoking room. Not only did it have an awful stench, but my eyes burned and watered and I just couldn't take it. They (Sahara in Vegas) then gave me a smoking suite that somehow was tolerable, maybe because of the space or ventilation.

I don't recall smoking to be an issue for me in Hong Kong, Japan, Bangkok, or Vietnam. The casino in Macau was a bit much, but it was fun for a short time.

Of course, I did stay in nonsmoking rooms at the Holiday Inn in Bangkok, Hilton in Hanoi, Sheraton in Saigon, ... I am not going to apologize for that. I was on my vacation, not yours.

There are many "local" who don't smoke, especially in S.E. Asia, so to say that you'll not be mingling with locals if you don't smoke is rubbish.

Out of the four countries the OP had asked about(Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia) Thailand has the strongest anti-smoking law and you'll find it quite hard to find a place to smoke in any building or restaurant here.