“Are you allowed to be European if you don’t smoke?” someone in the States asked me recently. It’s a good question. Without cigarettes would the French be so French, Bond so Bond, or Churchill so Churchill?
That said, Europe hasn’t always been smoke-filled. According to a history of smoking found on the Internet, in the course of discovering America, explorers also discovered tobacco. The first recorded European smoker, explorer Rodrigo de Jerez, made history in 1493 when he was jailed for several years for smoking a Cuban cigar in public. By the middle of the 16th century, tobacco shipments began arriving in Europe. But the use of a substance indigenous to an unknown land and smoked by its natives alarmed European leaders. In 1604, King James I issued a “Counterblast to Tobacco,” calling it “an invention of Satan.” Similarly, Russia, Turkey, Persia and India deemed the use of tobacco a severely punishable sin, and Pope Clement III was so anti-smoking that he threatened excommunication to anyone smoking in a place designated holy.
Regulations softened over time. King James I eventually acted in support of England’s budding tobacco industry by lowering taxes, and the habit slowly took hold in Europe. It was not until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, however, that smoking became part of social life and cafe culture. In the 20th century, images of sophisticated smokers became synonymous with “European.”
As smoking’s acceptance grew, so did the understanding of links between tobacco and illnesses. According to a report by CNN, German researchers first linked smoking to cancer in 1930. The American Cancer Society soon followed suit, and in 1964 the U.S. Surgeon General released a report damning the practice of puffing.
The health movement in Europe has been slow, but it is occurring. Small gyms have given way to health clubs. Healthy eating, while arguably a habit on the Continent, has become vaunted elsewhere. And the use of tobacco in public is again being regulated.
In March 2004, the Republic of Ireland became the first country to ban smoking in all enclosed spaces. Sweden banned smoking anywhere that food or drink is sold in 2005. In 2006, Spain forbade smoking in bars and restaurants serving more than 100 people. In 2007, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England will follow suit. France also banned smoking in all public places, but cafes, restaurants, bars and clubs are exempt until 2008. Other countries are weighing bans.
Some restaurants already forbid smoking, and people are abiding without much ado. While diners in New York might run outside during their meals to light up, in London smokers tend to remain seated, smoking only upon leaving restaurants. How the ban affects nightclubs remains to be seen. But I expect Europeans in those venues to act more like Americans, making bans difficult to enforce.