Diane

I have a severe allergic reaction to tobacco smoke, and MUST have non-smoking hotel rooms. In restaurants, I also must be seated as far from smokers as possible. Am I out of luck, or can I travel in France and/or Paris? Although many hotels say they have non-smoking rooms, I hear that people routinely smoke in those rooms. True?

Bob Brown

I frankly don't know how you can escape smoke in Paris. Our room did not smell of smoke, but we were perhaps lucky. <BR>There are a few, but very few, places to eat in Paris that are marked "no smoking". Most of these are tea rooms or vegetarian places. Get a copy of Cheap Eats in Paris. I have a copy and a few places are marked as "non smoking". I have heard that the restaurant chain known as the Elephant limits smoking, but I never verified this statement. <BR>We ate at one place that had a non smoking section, but that meant nothing to the table 6 feet away. <BR>If you have a severe allergy, I would be very careful if I were you because even on trains some sections of cars are marked "no smoking", but to go to the refresment car, you have to walk through a smoking car. Or the car may be separated into sections by a glass partition that is leaky. <BR> <BR>I am sure you will get several responses to this post.

Wendy

No. Smoke is everywhere. France is the worst in Europe. Forget about non-smoking areas ANYWHERE, the signs are completely disrespected.

Donna

While I have the utmost empathy for your allergy, I would highly recommend that you avoid Paris, where it is virtually impossible to avoid tobacco smoke - unless you reconcile yourself to the circumstances. I'm very sensitive to perfume and exhaust fumes and was very uncomfortable the entire time we were there. However, we're going back in June anyway.

Joe

<BR>It doesn't really matter if your room is 'non-smoking', because the rooms nearby may be occupied by smokers. My hotel room in Paris stank of smoke that filtered in from the other rooms on the hall. And don't forget the housekeeping staff who seem to constantly have a cigarette dangling from their mouths as they work. <BR> <BR>It's one of they few things that America seems to 'get' that Europe doesn't.

Tara

If your reaction is as severe as you say, it would be in your best interest to avoid practically all of Europe. Non-smokers are simply in the tiny minority there and are just not accomodated in particular. If you MUST have non-smoking rooms, your best bet would be to visit places that comply with non-smoking legislation. France is not such a place. Any room you occupy will be non-smoking just so long as you occupy same. Of course you can travel throughout France and visit Paris, but you should expect lots of smoke. Seriously, you surely should plan to visit places more dedicated to a smoke-free environment. Have you considered Vermont?

You need to talk to

I am not an allergist nor a pulmonologist, but I am sure of one thing. You need to talk to your physician about your so-called cigarette smoke allergy. There are asthmatics who have an exaggerated sensitivity to cigarette smoke, but it is not an allergic reaction. The hallmark of an allergic reaction is sneezing, runny nose and watery, itchy eyes. Swelling of the face, lips and/or hands may precede bronchial symptoms. There are essentially no known patients who react like this to cigarette smoke. A small number of patients have allergies to a variety of plant foodstuffs like peppers or tomatoes and they may have cross-reactions to tobacco. But that's when they are exposed directly to tobacco that has not been smoked. Anti-allergy medications may help protect these patients if they are likely to come in contact with tobacco, but not cigarette smoke. <BR> <BR>If you have bad asthma, and cigarette smoke is one of your "triggers", then you need to discuss how to deal with your triggers, both physically and psychologically. Many asthmatic patients are "triggered" by a sense of lack of control over their environment, including simple bad smells. You may need to have some help in knowing when the smell of cigarette smoke is giving you this feeling of lack of control. You and your physician need to review whether you are on the right forms of bronchodilator therapy, as well as many other appropriate medications aimed at reducing bronchial inflammation. There are new classes of ashtma medications that were not on the market even a few years ago. Many of these are more effective at preventing attacks than in controlling an acute attack. <BR> <BR>There are patients from every nationality, including France, who learn ways to cope with hypersensitivty to cigarette smoke. This is not a defense of cigarette smoking, which repulses me a great deal. <BR> <BR>Worldwide, there is an epidemic of increased deaths and increased severity of asthma attacks. Don't let yourself become part of these statistics without seeking the best possible medical advice. Traveling to France may be something you will enjoy very much, but it might be a lesser victory than gaining new ways to reduce your vulnerability to cigarette smoke exposure.

merriem

I have asthma and cigarette smoking is one of the real problems. In Holland I think it was the worst of any place I have travelled. We were in Spain, and we were able to work around it. We found restaurants that opened early, and always got there before the crowd, thus avoiding the smoke. Also, I do not know where you are staying, but the nicer hotels should have non-smoking rooms....which are true non-smoking. Good luck. It is a real problem, but with going in June I would think you could eat in the outside part of the cafe's and that could be better.

Bob Brown

I have several questions for our contributing physician. <BR>1. If smoking is as bad as the medical literature in the USA suggests, then it seems to me that tobacco related diseases must be rampant in France and other European nations where the populace seems dedicated to smoking. <BR>So, is the rate of cardio-pulmonary disease higher in France than the US? <BR>How about the prevalence of lung cancer and other cancers related to smoking? <BR>2. If I don't have an allergy to smoke, then why is it my nasal passages swell shut, tight as a drum, when I am around smokers?? I don't have asthma that I know of because I am not bothered much at other times, except when I get sinusitis.

Lori

Diane, <BR>It's possible to enjoy Paris without inhaling gobs of cigerette smoke but it's tricky! We don't smoke and have visited Paris many many times and have managed to avoid major problems (I did say major, you can never completely be safe from smoke I think). We've been lucky with Best Western Hotels (their international division, they are not like American hotels, they are smaller places all individual in size, decor, atmosphere). Many have non-smoking rooms and truthfully we have been lucky, the rooms and furnishings did not stink. Maybe it was luck, but it's great for us!! <BR> <BR>What I would suggest is when you get to your non-smoking hotel room you open the windows and leave them open for awhile and air the place out just as a precaution. As for eating, well McDonald's is all non-smoking! I know no one goes to Paris to eat at McDonald's but we ducked in them several times (to use the restrooms) and grab a quick bite in a smoke free environment. If you have a truly non-smoking room you can opt for having your breakfast delivered to the room, this will eliminate going to the breakfast room and running the risk of smoke. Most hotel breakfast rooms are fairly small and if they do have separate sections (not likely) the smoke still drifts around. On our trip last year to Paris I asked a gentlemen not to smoke near me while I ate breakfast, he grumbled a bit but went out into the patio with his coffee. As for regular cafe's and other places, well it's hard but not impossible, trouble is most places only have a few tables for non-smokers and the smoke does drift. If you eat slightly off hours it is not apt to be so crowded tho. You can also picnic in the parks depending on the time of year you visit. Buy some goodies and sit on a park bench. There will be smokers walking by tho, but at least you are outdoors. <BR>Dept. stores are smoke free, at least all I've ever been in. You could spend a lot of time shopping . Seriously, it's a huge problem for my husband and myself too, luckily when we visit his relatives only the older generation still smokes and they actually refrain while around us, or they go outside. I can still smell it on their clothes but at least they make an effort for me. <BR>The Metro itself is non-smoking but people do light up upon exiting. If your reaction is truly severe you might talk to your doctor about recommendations. It's nearly impossible to avoid smoke tho in most places in Europe (not just Paris).

Ross

The name of the restaurant chain that Bob is referring to is &lt;&lt;L'Hippo Malin&gt;&gt;. It's sort of like a French version of TGIF - Friday

Trying to answer the question on cancer and

Statistics on worldwide cancer are available, but I can't put my hands on them right at this moment. The last good update was in Jan-Feb 99 issue of CA, but I never keep more than the last one or two issues of this useful little throwaway publication. <BR> <BR>I am not sure that if one looks at the last 20-30 years as an aggregate, whether smoking incidence is higher or lower in the United States than in other countries. Smoking is on the decrease in the US, but a 2-3 decade area-under-the-curve average might not be different than in any other country. <BR> <BR>The conventional view of global cause of death statistics is that cardiovascular diseases are often lumped together but not necessarily cardiopulmonary diseases. The role of smoking is generally thought to be quantitatively greatest in myocardial infarction, lung cancer, emphysema and stroke, in roughly that order. It is also generally accurate to say that smoking contributes to the incidence and morbidity of coronary artery disease. Many smokers and non-smokers have coronary artery disase but do not die of myocardial infarction. Likewise, many patients have a myocardial infarction but it is not their cause of death. I don't think that the general public realizes just how difficult these statistical questions are. I don't even know if many doctors understand them a whole lot better than your average Joe college graduate. <BR> <BR>Whether one looks at death due to myocardial infarction or other indicators of coronary artery disease in living patients, the incidence is lower in France than in the United States and many other industrialized nations. This is also true when a comparison is made for populations with similar blood cholesterol levels whether high, normal or low. This phenomenon is called the French paradox in the research vernacular of world and public health research. Much attention has been focused on the beneficial effects of red wine, at least from the standpoint of population statistics. It may or may not be the same as, or similar to the so-called Mediterranean diet effect. I don't even know what countries are included in this effect, but it is not a straightforward generalization to make. The Mediterranean diet effect holds that high fat content intake is more than offset by lower meat consumption, higher consumption of grains and wine also. The Mediterranean diet is conventionally viewed to have higher fat content due to vegetable oils, particularly olive oil, but not necessarily higher animal fat content, such as butter or cheeses. The French paradox focuses on the fact that high animal fat intake is a part of culinary tradition in France with its lavish use of butter, high fat cheeses and cream and cream sauces. It is postulated that something in the skins of red grapes has a cardioprotective effect. There are various anti-oxidants and possible natural anticoagulants in the skins of red grapes, but the biochemistry of a lot of this is still not fully known. <BR> <BR>I realize that a lot of this is way far afield from the issue of smoking and the epidemiology of lung cancer and related diseases, but to the best of my knowledge, there is no big contrast in any other smoking-related disease when the French are compared to any other country. <BR> <BR>Back to Diane's original point, here is one last observation. On the one hand, hotels that cater to the American view of keeping non-smoking rooms truly non-smoking surely do exist. They may be "less French" and more "modern" or oriented to an international business traveler clientele. But you may need to careful in the public spaces of such hotels, as they may have more Japanese travelers. At the risk of over-generalizing, Japanese travelers may be more prone to constant smoking without much regard to the airspace of others than even the most brazen of the French. From the little bit I have traveled in Japan, I am not sure that this is true in the country of Japan. but the Japanese who travel abroad seem to smoke continuously and almost recklessly.

Steve

Diane - The poster who suggested eating earlier in the evening in France was correct. Arriving by 6:00 pm mean you have much of the restaurant to yourself. Ask, politely, if they have an area where smokers might not be seated. Some will accomodate you. We also found the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay pretty "fresh" smelling. Unfortunatley, the quaint little bistro-type restaurants seem to attract Parisians who love to smoke. An entire table seated 2 feet away will light up just as your entrees arrive. And smoke all the way through your dessert. After a while, we sort of ignored it and just tried to make the best of it. I hope you get to see France. If the weather is good, picnics are cheap and fun.

elvira

I am a smoker, and I love Paris because I am not alone. Even in 'no-smoking' areas of restaurants, you can smoke (example: 4 women in a small Chinese restaurant, on a rainy night. All the tables in the smoking section were filled; the hostess sat us right under the no smoking sign, and waved her hand at it in that Gallic fashion that equates to "oh piffle"). Imagine doing that in the U.S. <BR>The cab drivers smoke, and so do their passengers, so cabs are no haven. On trains, the buffet or bar car is usually right behind the smoking cars, so you have to walk through clouds of smoke to buy food or drink. Even in no smoking areas of train stations or lobbies of theatres, people still smoke with impunity. <BR>Diane, I'm afeared that Paris and most of France is off-limits to you. Italy is about the same; Spain, too. <BR>I haven't been to Switzerland in years; maybe they are more militant (weird word to put with the Swiss)? <BR>

Louis

First to Diane, I can only repeat what everbody else has said about France: No matter where you go or where you are there will be plenty of smokers. I lived there twice, briefly, and found smokers in abundance EVERYWHERE I went: Paris, little city, small town, country village. <BR> <BR>More to the point, however, is what our friend the doctor has pointed out; that in France many people are just as affected by cigarette smoke but they do not react the same way. And that is the main difference between us and them. About half of my French friends do not smoke and don't like it -- but they don't become aggressive when they see a smoker, as I've seen a few Americans do in France. One man and his wife made complete asses of themselves in a restaurant because a Frenchman at another table lit up in, of all places, the smoking section of the restaurant; they carried on as though the Nazis had just re-occuppied the country. I think they were perfect examples of the "Ugly Americans." <BR> <BR>The bottom line is that we have been made hypersensitive not only to smoking but also the very 'idea' that someone would dare smoke in our, the non-smokers, presence. Aside from those who are bossed with the notion of abolishing smoking, there are some of us who are too in tune with current dogma and find smoking, eating meat, driving SUVs and cathcing sun rays a violation not only of common sense but also moral or ethical standrards -- and therefore can't leave it behind even briefly when going on vacation.

tobaccokills

Diane, I noticed many Americans in France who were smoking with an impunity and arrogance that they would never get away with here in the states (as Elvira described). They were flaunting their habit in every place imaginable. You'll be choking not only from European smokers, but Ugly American smokers as well. <BR> <BR>I worked as a hospice volunteer for several years and finally had to quit because EVERY single cancer patient I tended and EVERY one of their family members smoked incessantly. I couldn't take all that second hand smoke any longer. I wonder what all these smokers are going to do when they're dying long, slow, painful deaths years from now; their fellow smokers are dead or dying and every else who is left to care for them can't tolerate their poisonous habits. The population is aging. <BR> <BR>Diane, stay in a Best Western International hotel -- they have real nonsmoking rooms and are very honest about it. In my experience, many European hotels will artfully dodge your questions about nonsmoking rooms if you let them. Tell them you have asthma and tobacco smoke causes you severe attacks -- they will usually be more forthcoming with the true status of their rooms if they think they may have a guest who will require emergency care after breathing the smoke in their hotels. Looks bad to the other guests, doesn't it? <BR> <BR>Good luck!

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Diane, as a fellow asthmatic who's been to Paris and other places many times, I wish I had some comforting words for you but I don't. But I hope you totally disregard the person who didn't have the guts to include his/her real name and offered "real" advice about asthmatics. He/she is waaaay off base. Only someone who has suffered from asthma can truly identify with Diane's concerns. <BR>Diane, one thing my husband (also an asthmatic but not as severe as me) always do is dine early, as mentioned above. It does make a difference. We have also been in hotels/restaurants in Paris and elsewhere, where the clerks/wait staff were more than accomodating when we explained my health needs politely. The only other suggestion I have is to try Paris, and if it is too much, then try the countryside, or ocean resorts. I hope you have a wonderful trip wherever you go.

Cheryl Z.

<BR>Diane, sorry, I pressed the send button before I was ready, but I DO agree with the anonymous msg that you SHOULD discuss this with your allergist/physician before you leave if you haven't already.

lola

To stay: a hotel with non-smoking FLOORS (not rooms). This would have to be a large international, business-oriented chain hotel, such as intercontinental. Call the major chains first. <BR><BR>To eat: le pique-nique.

Liza

So interesting the responses from those posting incognito here! Anyway, Diane, if you are really and truly allergic to tobacco smoke, you simply must avoid Europe altogether. If you are merely "sensitive" to tobacco smoke, you may be okay. I have never, ever, known anyone with a "severe allergic reaction to tobacco smoke" (what's that like anyway?), you simply will not fare well anywhere in Europe, as there is no way whatsoever of avoiding tobacco smoke anywhere you may be or go. I, myself, have a "reaction" (not categorized as "allergic" but debilitating all the same) to PERFUME. Just try and avoid THAT! Certain fragrances make my ears start to ring followed by intense episodes of vertigo. Not at all pleasant and very, very scary. Believe it or not, I used to think my problem was tobacco smoke. Turned out to be the perfume! Since I have every confidence that no country on the planet will ever be able to legislate "fragrance" use, and it is virutally impossible to keep away from folks wearing fragrances (not to mention shops filled with pot-pourrie), it's obvious that you can either just stay home, or venture out and about doing the very best you can with your "condition". Several years ago in Paris, on the rooftop of La Samaritaine, after being "exposed" to perfume and exhaust fumes all over, I attempted to head for the rest room. In the hallway, I felt as though I were aboard a tiny craft in a huge hurricane in a big ocean. And, though I've never, ever, experienced sea-sickness, this must have been what that is like. Overwhelming urge to throw up and rubber legs. All in all, you must either totally avoid situations which would create a "reaction" or just learn to COPE.