Geneva has voted to ban smoking on outdoor terrasse in cafes and restaurants during mealtimes.
Not sure how they plan to determine what constitutes meal times but it is a good thing in my opinion. The restaurant owners would beg to differ.
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Sounds a bit crazy. Read the article and nothing mentioned about seasons.
We went for pizza in the afternoon and the only people seating outside in the terrace were having coffee and smoking. And, itâs only Nov 1st and around 10°C. Who will seat outside to eat during winter?
About ruddy time.
In July we went out for our wedding anniversary to a rather expensive restaurant in Carouge, a rare treat and I,d been looking forward to it. The restaurant was only serving on the terrace so we had no choice over seating arrangements, which is often the case during the summer months here.
Half halfway through our meal a middle-aged couple were seated at the table next to ours, ordered, then promptly lit up. We politely asked them to step away while they waited for their food, at until theyâd at least finished their cigarettes as we were eating, they just laughed.
The serving staff were embarrassed but said there was nothing they could do,
The ignorant gits then proceeded to chain-smoke through their own meal just because they could.
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When will Zurich hold a referendum to ban smoking at bus and tram stops, as well as on train platforms â and introduce fines for people who start smoking immediately after getting off public transport, blowing smoke into the faces of those walking behind them?
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Probably about the time hell freezes over.
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I thought Zurich already banned it, no? Itâs just that they do not enforce it.
People skiing?
Thereâs usually no wind up high so any smoke lingers and warm sun and blue skies is perfect for sitting on the terrace.
A couple of years ago, I did this with my kids and just as we started eating, a man at the next table lit up a massive cigar and proceeded to smoke it whilst we eat.
People have such bad manners here.
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In Geneva? It only gets snow once a decade or so. They still talk about the blizzard of Feb â85 with awe.
I may be wrong, but I was replying to AXA and Iâm pretty sure he wasnât eating his pizza in Geneva either.
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No, immigrant town, Aargau. We were warm inside. Guys smoking outside, only table. The system works. No complains.
Itâs not unreasonable to ask in a friendly way âdo you mind pointing that thing away from our mealâ. Unless the person has got zero interpersonal skills, the usual result is an apology and an immediate stub-out. Thereâs an unwritten code that they will immediately lose the AITA argument if they resist. 
Was that inside our outside?
I thought it was pretty clear that it was outside:
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I think I was clear enough in my post, the restaurant was only serving outside.
It seems to be the norm here (Geneva, no idea about elsewhere in Switzerland) during the summer months.
A few here along La CĂŽte, some places have more seats on the terrace than indoor and are reluctant to increase staff for just a couple of months.
Letâs see how it goes in Geneva. Maybe other cantons will follow.
I donât know why left/green parties are completely ignoring this issue in their initiatives. Maybe they are waiting for a generation to change to increase the chances.
Please keep in mind that this is Geneva and Geneva is special.
The Geneva Grand Council was one of the very first Swiss governments to introduce restrictions on where people could smoke. It passed with a large majority in 2005 however one of the members opposed, a heavy smoker, appealed the decision to the courts due to some procedural reason. He won. Back and forth in the courts for over five years until it ended up in the Supreme Court who upheld the restrictions (although they rejected some transitional measures)?. So despite being the first to adopt restrictions it was one of the last to implement them.
The heavy smoker is still on the Grand Council and is threatening to take this one to the courts as well.
plus ça change, plus câest la meme
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Youâd think nature would have taken its course by now, right..?
So, it seems there are some other issues beyond people smoking in the terrace. Issues like restaurateur not finding a solution for eating smoke free, poor management of workers. It could be as simple as serving inside and in the terrace. Itâs a surprise for me that a restaurateur chooses to not use the space (tables) theyâre already paying the rent for.
Maybe itâs just people that thinks too highly about themselves, talk about making âartâ, not only cooking. Leave tables empty and then blame a food truck or kebap place when they go bankrupt a couple years later.
I find it sad, and quite common here that decisions which affect the lives of many people are made based on the personal preferences of those holding the power.
(perhaps with a financial incentive from a company or trade organisation with a vested interest).
What happened to âserving the publicâ?
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