To smoke or not to smoke?

02/02/2007

Romanian smokers are up in arms over EU-inspired restrictions. Some bloggers even call for the establishment of an NGO to protect them from discrimination.

By Paul Ciocoiu for Southeast European Times in Bucharest – 02/02/07

Smoking has been banned in many public places in Romania due to EU regulations. [Getty Images]

With smoking bans imposed on trains, in hospitals and clinics, prospects don't look good for those who indulge in this habit. Recent press speculation that smokers could have a hard time finding a job in the near future has ignited debate further.

"I agree that smoking is harmful to my health and the ones around me (the message on today's package of cigarettes) and I consequently agree that smokers' smoke ought to be kept away from the non-smokers. Period." says The Simple Woman.

"I am glad you've quit smoking and I congratulate you. Good for the effort you're making to inform others about the risks of smoking. It is a laudable thing to be involved in creating a better world and to share your experience with other people. 'Don't smoke near me' is a justified request on the part of a nonsmoker."

"But let's make one thing clear, this where your mandate ends. When you step in and tell me 'Quit smoking!', you're trespassing on my personal area. This is an unsolicited advice and invasive," she concludes, demanding the establishment of a smokers' NGO.

"I have this theory about the 'new orthodoxy'", comments Ilinca. "It all started with political correctness and it will end unfortunately with a 'dictatorship' of do's and don'ts. In 3 to 5 years, we will be the outcasts of the society because we smoke! Marginalised, anathematised, like those who don't exercise regularly or read fancy fashion magazines. I say we should found the NGO while the court still allows us to."

"To smoke or not to smoke, that's the question," paraphrases Partizanu’ (The Partisan). "I choose the first variant. The new Western pranks are already traditionally copied and applied in Romania. I have a friend who happens to be a HR manager with a multinational company and he's already been given instructions not to hire smokers anymore. "

"Who cares if someone goes behind the factory which is out of Bucharest and smokes a cigarette? After all, this is the Balkans," he writes.

“Not hiring someone on these grounds is really absurd; it opens the door to other similar measures, not to hire those too fat or too thin, no to mention the E (food chemical ingredients) consumers. Then come the alcohol, coffee and, why not, the meat consumers,"predicts Irina.

She admits, though that banning smoking in public places discourages and reduces the likelihood of the younger generation taking up the lethal habit.