How's the non-smoking in Italy working out?
 

Just wondered if anybody who had been to Italy lately noticed the new anti-smoking laws. Are they working? Thanks.

Yes! and Yes! Delightful.

Yes,they are,but the al fresco dining has become the new smoking tables.

We were in Italy in April and found the smoking ban is being respected for the most part.

massagediva:
Ha! That's what has happened in my town. You can barely stand to walk through the sidewalk cafe areas they are so smokey! Oh well, better that than indoors.

wliwl- it seems like a reasonable compromise to me. I don't like sitting in restaurants next to smokers,but don't really feel the need for them to be banished to Siberia(although there were a few days in Rome in late January in felt like Siberia,but there they were,smoking outside in their black puffy coats!) ((f))

I'm braced for hearing complaints about the smoking in Europe from my teenagers on our upcoming trip. Happily enough, they HATE smoke! I've already warned them, though, that I don't want to hear a single word about it while we're there. Not only do I not want to hear ANY complaining on vacation, but I have tried to explain to them that they are out of bounds complaining about someone else's customs when away from home.

Here is a list of smoking in different countries. It looks like European countries are not any smokier than USA, it is almost the contrary:

Cigarette consumption per adult, annual average 1992-2000:

Norway 763
Sweden 1060
Finland 1222
Austria 1709
France 1772
UK 1790
Germany 1803
Belgium 1910
Italy 1960
Denmark 1963
Iceland 2035
Portugal 2071
USA 2193
Ireland 2246
Netherlands 2377
Spain 2572
Switzerland 2871
Greece 3571


Source: http://www.undp.org/hdr2002/hdi.pdf

Wow look at the USA. I'll bet that has changed at least in New York state (and other states that have strict smoking bans) because you really can't smoke anyplace here anymore. I think a lot of people have quit, or been forced to cut back.