I don't think you'll ever find yourself trapped in a smoky atmosphere with no available escape route but you may get odd whiff of smoke on the street whilst walking past a group of smokers and as others have said if you sit at a terrace cafe you could find other people's smoke drifting over to you.

I really have not noticed that many smokers gathering around buildings and on sidewalks that your clothes would smell smoky just from walking around in Paris. And some are in the outdoor spots, of course, but even there, it seems the majority aren't smoking. I think I read stats that the smoking rate in France isn't that different from the US. HEre is World Bank data, for female adults, it is 27 for France vs. 25 in the US. (pct of adults who smoke)

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.PRV.SMOK.FE

for males, it is a little bit higher in France vs US, 36 vs 33 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.PRV.SMOK.MA

I think I read stats that the smoking rate in France isn't that different from the US.>

maybe not for adults but for teens it must be much much higher - all my French sons and he smoked from an early age - in a recent return to France he said he saw young folk smoking everywhere - at lycee he said teachers would even share cigarettes with students - outside the school door. It is still a much much more smoking scene from what I know but maybe the youngsters quit early on - but for school kids smoking is way more than here I'd gather.

>> I think I read stats that the smoking rate in France isn't that different from the US.<<

I don't know where you live, but you rarely see people smoking where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I think the rate is lower than 10%. Maybe you see them smoking in Kentucky. My dad was raised in Kentucky (about a 7th generation Kentuckian) and he smoked like crazy. I think they taught smoking in his grammar school. He died of Lung Cancer.

Stu Dudley

http://www.ibtimes.com/ne-fumez-pas-...moking-1308287

Well this article says smoking in France is still really high - even though strict government measures like now nearly $10 a pack - something you think would deter youth smoking but does not seem to - if so it would only push them into cheaper hash (which however in France must be smoked in a spliff loaded with tobacco!)

Despite these bans and public education on the risks of tobacco, more 14 million Frenchmen smoke in a country of some 66 million.>

that 66 million includes babies, kids, etc so the 25% figure has to be parsed to get a real idea of the smoking rates of adults which I would bet all my old French francs on is much higher than in the U.s. - especially with younger folk.

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/he...-daily-smokers

this chart of the prevalence of smokers in each country gives France 27% and the U S 17.5 % - substantial difference but France is on the low end of Europe - tops is Austria 36% followed by Greece, the Netherlands 32%.