Back in Smokerland

I am back in Smokerland. Excuse me, Switzerland. And the first thing I notice upon stepping outside the airport? Smoke.

There are lots of cultural differences between the United States and Switzerland, each have their good and bads, but smoking is definitely one of Switzerland’s worst.

While in the U.S. I enjoyed smoke-free restaurants, bars, and beaches. So even though I was only gone for 10 days, it was still a shock to have to go back to breathing smoke everywhere. In Zurich, the Swiss recently rejected a referendum to ban smoking in restaurants. This is just sad. I don’t think the bar and restaurants realize how many more people would go out if they didn’t have to breathe smoke. After all, if two-thirds of the country doesn’t smoke, then it seems like common sense. And if Italy and France can survive by banning smoking, anyone can.