thank you for smoking

Chi scrive non ha mai toccato una sigaretta.Giuro...ed il titolo del post e’ preso pari pari dal film del 2005...
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...come il protagonista, Nick Naylor, anche gli olandesi pare si siano dovuti rassegnare. Da oggi in Olanda e’ vietato fumare in bar e ristoranti. Era ora! Uno degli ultimi paesi ad adeguarsi alle normative europee. Non ne potevo piu’ di assaporare il mio “caffe’ da penitenza” in nuvolette di fumo...e diciamola tutta: le future mamme fuori a cena con amici saranno salve dall’ingoranza di certi figuri che non ci pensano due volte a fumarti una sigaretta in faccia.
La posizione dell’Olanda pero’ e’ un po’ particolare....nonostante la marijuana sia illegale, dal 1976 e’ tollerato fumarla nei coffee shops...e siccome il consumo di marijuana e’ esente dal divieto che entra in vigore oggi (che riguarda solo il fumo da tabacco), chissa’ cosa si saranno inventati quelli di Abraxas...avranno infornato un batch in piu’ di space cakes? Pipe e bong al posto delle cartine? Non saprei dirvi: dovete venir voi a provare di persona, perche’ io ho messo piede per l’ultima volta in un coffee shop nel 2003, a “scopo turistico”...invece, per caffe’ e ristoranti: se vi offrite come baby sitter, porto fuori a cena il MGP, cosi’ proviamo una cena fuori “smoke-free”...mi accontenterei di una cena fuori...ci siamo capiti? ;-)

The writer here has never touched a cigarette, I swear...and the title of the post comes straight from Hollywood (remember the movie? It was 2005)…
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...like the protagonist Nick Naylor, also the Dutch are now facing the end of an era…from today, there is a smoke ban in cafe’ and restaurants. ABOUT TIME! It’s one of the last countries to comply with the European Law. I was really fed up with having to “enjoy” my penitence coffee in the fog of cigarette smoke…and let’s be honest: future mums will be finally safe from the ignorance of so-called friends who don’t hesitate to lit up a cigarette after dinner.
The position of the Netherlands is somewhat peculiar…marijuana is illegal but tolerated since 1976: you can smoke it in coffee shops. And marijuana is not part of the smoke ban (which regulates only tobacco smoke). I wonder what the owners of places like Abraxas came up with…did they bake an extra batch of space cakes? Pipes and bongs instead of rolled joints?I wouldn’t know…last time I set foot into a coffee shop was 2003, and it was for “touristic porpouses”…if you are interested in the “new face” of dutch coffee shops, come and look for yourself (and then let me know)…as for cafes and restaurants…if you offer to babysit I’ll take MFJ out for dinner, so we can enjoy dining out “smoke-free”…although I would be happy even just with dining out…got it? ;-)

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