- Time of past OR future Camino
- Some, and with luck, some more.
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I'm a non-smoker, but I'm not bothered at all by the vice. It was actually refreshing to not experience the kind of anti-smoking zealotry I'm so used to in Canada.
I'm with you on smoking. I also enjoy the fresh air of a good mountain hike....Hmmm, I tend to find clean air more "refreshing". It's a top reason why I hike.
Yay for Canada! Texas anti-smoking zealot here. But I could be considered biased since I'm currently watching both my parents die slow, painful respiratory/cancer related deaths due to lifetimes of smoking.
I walked my last Camino back in 2001, and I don't remember much about the smoking situation. Didn't know Spain had passed laws recently - that's awesome. It will surely take a while for attitudes and habits to catch up to a law though - speaking as a resident of a city with very restrictive smoking ordinances passed years ago (Houston).
As long as I'm not a captive audience to any indoor refugio smoking. Otherwise I move as far away from smokers as possible, even outdoor ones.
Smoking was banned in enclosed public spaces in Spain in 2011. Also designated open-air spaces like playgrounds, schoolyards and some public parks. That's the law. The law, however, left it up to bars and restaurants whether to impose the law or not..
Look for a sign in the window as you enter a restaurant or bar telling you if smoking is allowed ("Está permitido fumar") or is not allowed ("No está permitido fumar") or if there is a smoking area ("Zona para fumadores").
I realize I didn't answer your question regarding attitude. On purpose
disgustingAnd yet I was still able to buy a large beer and a reasonably good cigar in those bars and puff away contentedly in their outdoor areas without be remonstrated against by management or cafe patrons. Although ex-smokers would often come to enjoy the fragrance.
disgusting
Gee, that's nice. Though isn't smoking one of the factors that leads to snoring and all its related health issues?hmm I kinda like the smell of a good cigar...
Gee, that's nice. Though isn't smoking one of the factors that leads to snoring and all its related health issues?
Me, personally, I'm not as concerned about the snoring. That's just one of the relatively lesser health and quality of life issues with smoking.
But no "yummy" smell is ever worth the suffering, addiction and death of loved ones. Ever.
I'm always a little confused and sad that people can be so glib and gloating about this addiction and the diseases it causes.
Well, people are "free" (as "free" as one can be to "choose" a crippling, chemical addiction) to "choose" slow suicide if they wish.
Just respect my freedom to breathe smoke-free air.
Good on Spain for adopting these laws. Hope they get strictly enforced. It will certainly make my future Camino more pleasant.
...I'm always a little confused and sad that people can be so glib and gloating about this addiction and the diseases it causes.
Well, people are "free" (as "free" as one can be to "choose" a crippling, chemical addiction) to "choose" slow suicide if they wish.
Just respect my freedom to breathe smoke-free air...
Just respect my freedom to breathe smoke-free air.
Smokers have rights too?Please respect the smokers' right to smoke in lawful open areas.
Smokers have rights too?
Golly, Alert the Press!
I'm very sorry to hear about your parents' condition. I understand it is very tough to bear. Cancer is endemic in my family and many close relatives have succumed to its evil grip. But I'm a smoker and smoked all along the Frances this summer. I'm not one bit glib and gloating about it and the fact that I do smoke doesn't make me any less of a person. I fully support the smoking ban in public buildings and in some public outdoor areas. Ireland was the first country in the world to introduce the ban and after much early grumbling, we just accepted it as the right thing to do - smokers and non-smokers alike. You'll find maybe a handful of places in the whole of Ireland and Spain where smokers or bar/cafe owners flout the rules. The vast majority of us respect the law, but more importantly the rights of non-smokers. Please respect the smokers' right to smoke in lawful open areas.
Smokers have rights too?
Golly, Alert the Press!
Your argument is the same of every non smoker. And some points are valid. However you non smokers assume rights to "where ever you happen to be" over those of the rights of the smoker to be there as well. That is what I take issue with...and your condemnation of smokers. Who says you as a non smoker has more rights to be somewhere than a smoker. If it is a law well that is one thing. But in a situation where there is one room and two people. Who has the rights...to the room? That is what bothers me about non smokers. Some how being a non smoker makes your rights more important that the rights of the smoker to their freedom of choice which is what you are making a big huge harry deal over. If I chose to smoke I have as much right to that choice as you have to not smoke. What I don't understand is when it comes to public areas why your rights and choices supersede the smokers rights and choices. That is very biased to me. You don't sound as if you hate smoking. You sound as if you hate smokers. That is a huge big difference. Its called intolerance. The smoker is a human being with their own free will and they chose to smoke. That doesn't mean they are stupid or less entitled or less educated or less spiritual or what ever. They might be smarter more spiritual and almost mother teresa like in their approach to people ...but smoke.I find the idea of "smokers' rights" to be.... perplexing and laughable.
One's "rights" do not extend over the line of infringing on someone else's rights, as smoking necessarily does! Imagine - an alcoholic sitting down next to a non-drinker in a public area and not just downing a bottle of whiskey himself, but also forcing it down the throat of the non-drinker.
When someone smokes around me, they are making me smoke right along with them. Smokers have the "right" to poison their bodies, tar their lungs, fill all their possessions with stench and shorten their years and quality of life. Sure, enjoy your rights, despite the devastating impact it can have on your loved ones. But smoking in public around non-smokers is rude and an abuse of your rights.
Even in "lawful open areas". What does it mean if I am told to "respect" a smokers' right to smoke in lawful open areas? Do I just have to smile and hold my breath walking through the cloud of smoke of a passing hiker (or worse, in their wake) or a smoker near the doorway of a building I need to enter or in a crowded queue? If I am enjoying my lunch on a cafe patio, or a break on an outdoor bench, and someone sits down and lights up next to me, is it on me to just smile and suck it up or move? Why do you imagine that smokers' rights trump my rights in cases like these?
No, you don't have the right to harm the health or quality of life of a non-smoker. You don't have the right to make us smoke along with you. The law has some catching up to do in that regard. But I'm hopeful.
Your argument is the same of every non smoker. And some points are valid. However you non smokers assume rights to "where ever you happen to be" over those of the rights of the smoker to be there as well. That is what I take issue with...and your condemnation of smokers. Who says you as a non smoker has more rights to be somewhere than a smoker. If it is a law well that is one thing. But in a situation where there is one room and two people. Who has the rights...to the room? That is what bothers me about non smokers. Some how being a non smoker makes your rights more important that the rights of the smoker to their freedom of choice which is what you are making a big huge harry deal over. If I chose to smoke I have as much right to that choice as you have to not smoke. What I don't understand is when it comes to public areas why your rights and choices supersede the smokers rights and choices. That is very biased to me.
You don't sound as if you hate smoking. You sound as if you hate smokers. That is a huge big difference. Its called intolerance. The smoker is a human being with their own free will and they chose to smoke. That doesn't mean they are stupid or less entitled or less educated or less spiritual or what ever. They might be smarter more spiritual and almost mother teresa like in their approach to people ...but smoke.
.... or is it just a general hatred and intolerance for those that smoke.
You could have fooled me.And that is not to say I do not feel for people who lose loved ones to cancer or other diseases that were specifically caused by smoking.
Your argument is the same of every non smoker. And some points are valid. However you non smokers assume rights to "where ever you happen to be" over those of the rights of the smoker to be there as well. That is what I take issue with...and your condemnation of smokers. Who says you as a non smoker has more rights to be somewhere than a smoker.
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