Legal age is 16... and yes there is a huge amount of smokers here... cannabis is almost legal in Switzerland, and readily available (if youre into it) ... wait till you go to a concert...

I agree Emma there is a HUGE amount of people smoke here. What I have noticed is the high number of women and young girls. It is almost becoming the situation in Australia now (Melbourne at least )that it is just about illegal to smoke in public. Can't see the Europens liking that !

Well you pays the mandatory medical insurance, may as well use it!

Recently at the smoking area at my office the number of e-cig smokers has outnumbered the traditional smokers.

I've never noticed the smell of weed in Nyon i must say.. But I'm not usually out at the hip places :)

Regarding cannabis each canton has different regulations more or less strict. For about the entire year 2012 it has been legal for citizens in Vaud and Geneva to grow  up to 4 plants for personal use but is has since been revoked. The possession and sale of drugs including cannabis is illegal and punishable. The plant itself however can be bought and grown for decorational purposes (!)

Then there is the federal law on drugs which has loophole that says production of minimal quantities of narcotics for personal or third party use (no sale) is not punishable.

Among these discrepancies the smoking is florishing.

DISCLAIMER: I don't smoke anything and I don't encourage other people to do, but I don't care if they do unless they are in my face in which case there will be repercussions.

Netherlands has had legal smoking of canabis for a very long time and the rate of smoking it there is much lower than any of the surrounding countries. I have been around in Nyon for the past 4 years and I cant say I have been confronted by the smell of it much at all, I wonder where you hang out.

That would explain why the dutch are so... high.

@Emma Allen: it is STILL legal to smoke, thus what is your issue?

I think all Emma was doing was purely making an observation. No need to be so abrupt about it ..

I live on the ground floor, and there is an old Swiss lady in the appartment above who feeds the birds. Not sure where she sources the birdseed from but there are quite often Marijuana plants growing in the flowerbed beneath that window.

As an Australian the high smoking rate in Europe is one of the first things I noticed when we moved to Geneva. In Australia, it has been illegal to smoke inside public buildings for more than 20 years. In the last few years the laws have been tightened significantly, you now cannot smoke within 100m of a public building or doorway. All hospital and school grounds are smoke free. You can't smoke in restaurants, and in Canberra even if the restaurant has an outdoor area smoking it is forbidden. As a non-smoker, I have really struggled in Geneva - even just waiting at the bus stop can be a problem with groups of people smoking while they wait. I've been pleased to see the growing number of e-cigs and that they are freely available in Europe - in Australia they are very rarely seen.

Personally, I think if someone wants to smoke and risk developing cancer, coronary artery disease, hypertension and all of the other health problems associated with it, then that's their problem. But I strongly object to being exposed to it myself simply because I am walking behind them on the footpath, waiting next to them at a bus stop or sitting at a restaurant table.

clearly you missing the health implications of smoke (primary or secondary) to understand this thread. There is a reason every country is moving towards a smoke free environment.

'Stinky and dirty' people cant kill you from their mere presence...thats just being judgemental

oh Flying Spaghetti Monster, not this line of argument again...

Why should we compain about theft, when there is still murder and worse around? Thiefs could also complain about murders, and they would be right to do so, but that would make their line of work not any better.

I am not equating smokers with thiefs, just trying to show, why your argument is invalid and shouldn't be used.

Fancy stitching up a little old Swiss lady !!! Enjoy your crop ....

@Jeffery: Everyone is entitled to post on this forum so please do not tell me how to write and not to write.

yep. I am happy to admit that I am judgemental about smokers who put me at risk through exposing me to passive smoking. I don't throw rubbish around at bus stops, and am not 'stinky or dirty.' Last time I looked at the research there was nothing to say that I could get cancer by being next to a piec of paper thrown on the ground! but there is plenty of evidence of the risk of passive smoking. I am an oncology nurse, I see first hand the horrific head and neck and lung cancers every day, and I don't want to be one of those people thank you!

You can write whatever you please but why not do it in a friendly and non confrontational way ??

Have a nice day.

I'm sorry if this sounds a bit rough, but when it comes to smoking, I really encourage smoker discrimination!  Meaning, I'm not standing next to them, I'm not walking behind them, I'm not sitting outdoors drinking a coffee next to a smoker as long as they are puffing smoke all over the place.  Cigarettes are killers traveling in packs.

I just find it interesting that even considering the high cost of health insurance and doctors in this country, people still go and buy those darn things.  And they are such good sellers too!  Just yesterday while paying for fuel at the gas station, I noticed the wall behind the counter was entirely full with nothing else but cigarettes!  I get the impression that cigarette companies are trying to make up for the sales lost in North America, Australia, and other countries that have promoted non-smoking habits.  But like they say, one cigarette per day keeps the doctor with pay. 

Cannot agree more with Juliane. If you take a train, it is even worse!  Not only smokers are everywhere around you, but also they litter cigarette butts everywhere. I don’t know why a “clean” country like CH allows such behavior.

Smokers in CH should learn from smokers in Tokyo.  The smokers there smoke their cigarettes in a defined area in the street (not like smoking areas annexed to your working place, but in the free-air street!). In this case, one doesn’t have to passively smoke on the footpath.

Don’t take me wrong, I am not against anyone who smokes in the street. Keep your freedom to smoke, but just think about not to bother other pedestrians with you smoke, that is not too much demanded, I guess?

Cannot agree more with Juliane. If you take a train, it is even worse!  Not only smokers are everywhere around you, but also they litter cigarette butts everywhere. I don’t know why a “clean” country like CH allows such behavior.

Smokers in CH should learn from smokers in Tokyo.  The smokers smoke their cigarettes in a defined area in the street (not like smoking areas annexed to your working place, but in the street!). In this case, one doesn’t have to passively smoke on the footpath.

Don’t take me wrong, I am not against anyone who smokes in the street. Keep your freedom to smoke, but just think about not to bother other pedestrians with you smoke J, that is not too much demanded, I guess?

Youre all free to hold your breath when you pass me on the street when I am smoking....

youre welcome.

People can know other people by learning small details like how people think and how to treat different situations ...  

Wow, what an elegant and generous solution to share cancer promoting agent! –> I am the center of the world, no one else exists. 

I smoke outside... I dont try and inflict my habits or views on anyone... so please stop worrying about my health and inflicting your views on me... free country free choice...

Can I just point out that I said I DO NOT have a problem with smokers, I was just stating that its differnt then from where I was from and wanted to know about what Switzerland was like. Its a shame there are people likeLegalkitty who just go on the attack and dont read the full post.

Don't take it personally, you will find similar posts on most of the forums today. There can't be much going on in the feline judicial business today.

Please don’t take comments personally. No one is imposing anything on anybody.

But one’s freedom should not be built on another one’s sacrifice of freedom (freedom to breathe clean air). If this point of view is agreed, we are on the same side, although I will be away to the other side if some smoke is around.

Non-smokers do worry about their own health. But honestly, smokers give job opportunities to the society (workers of anti-cancer and anti-cardiovascular drugs, cancer research funds, healthcare givers including nurses and doctors/oncologists...).  

Which side of the street do you go to when a truck or bus comes by pumping out diesel fumes? 

It must be a foreign truck, so it depends which side the nearest police station is on to go and report it.

You are on fire today Richard !! Giving up smoking made me cranky to !!

The only smoking I ever did was the type demonstrated by this Nun:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po0nqgrzWyE

And in countries where breast-feeding has stopped, more smoking will automatically be there. That's why the West smokes more than the East -- because no mother is ready to give her breast to the child because the shape is lost. So smoking is increasing more and more; even small children are smoking.

http://oshobytes.blogspot.in/2008/05/smoking-and-breastfeeding.html

I totally agree with the OP... there are far too many smokers in Switzerland. I come from Australia which has some of the strictest anti-smoking laws in the world, so it was (and still is) a huge shock for me. In Australia hardly anyone smokes anymore. In Australia its even illegal to smoke outside in areas with people. 

In Switzerland the worst is when you're waiting at a train station and some inconsiderate person decides to light up next to you and blow smoke in your face. 

Where are you from Emma? 

Here is a video some of you may find amusing:

A traditional swiss breakfast...

the age of smoking is variable from country to another, if it's 16 in Switerland, the world age is not under than 18, thanks