A Non-Smoking Section
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Though I currently do not smoke and prefer to live, work, and play in a non-smoking environment, in general smokers do not, and really never have, bothered me as much as they do some people.
Even so, as a mostly non-smoking American I never realized how much I took the smoke-free environment of public buildings and the non-smoking sections of restaurants in the United States for granted until I was in college and I took my first trip to Europe.
At that time, I thought that I was used to smoking: After all, I had been working as a cocktail waitress for a few years, smoke was always present in the bars, and from time to time I indulged in a cigarette myself.
But I really didn’t have any idea what a smoking culture meant: When I arrived in Europe (France to be specific) I was greeted by a population that smoked on a scale that I had could barely fathom. It didn’t matter if they were riding a bike, waiting for the bus, sitting in the café, or working behind a desk, everywhere I went it seemed that the people were smoking. And to be honest, since it was more acceptable, I smoked more frequently in France than I ever had before.
Luckily, once I returned to the U.S. after my first trip abroad I more or less quit smoking (I still had the occasional cigarette at the bar, but as time passed even that got less frequent) and by the time I met A. four years ago, I hadn’t even lit up a cigarette in over a year.
Therefore when A. and I decided to move to Germany, it was only natural for me to wonder if smoking would tempt me again. Of course I know it is bad for my health and since I have always detested the taste of cigarettes, I hoped not; but I also know that it doesn’t take much to pick a habit back up, especially when a culture is so tolerant of it.
I would be lying if I said that the thought of lighting up hasn’t appealed to me now and again. I especially considered it during those first six to eight months when everything was so stressful, but I stood my ground and have never even bought a pack of cigarettes in Germany.
Fortunately for my health and marriage, the longer I don’t smoke and live with someone who is strongly opposed to it, the less it appeals to me. In the time that A. and I have been together I find that while I don’t really mind if someone smokes, I am much less resistant to the second-hand smoke that inevitably drifts my way: My eyes burn faster, my throat gets scratchier, and my stomach churns.
I believe that people should have the freedom to choose whether or not they want to smoke, but I also believe that non-smokers should be able to separate themselves from a smoky environment if they so desire. Therefore, while things don’t necessarily have to go as extreme as prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars here in Germany, I am sure a few more non-smoking sections in public buildings would be welcome.
