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Q: whats up with smoking?
why do people here in Shenzhen have to smoke in shops.surely they can wait just 2 mins then go outside and smoke.I asked this guy yesterday to go outside and smoke as I did not want to breath in that shit.
and he got pissed off.I dont care if people smoke,I just think there is a lack of common sence whne it comes to smoking.
there is a no smoking ban here in public places,but the law does not get enforced that well.
I know this is China,but people here just dont give a shit when it comes to smoking.
when the guy did not go outside I lifted up my sweaty arm pit and made him smell my arm pit as I just finished the gym.
do you smoke?do you put up with other people that smoke? if you do smoke do you smoke in shops would you go outside if asked?
Sane people don't smoke in public places especially indoor public place...
Chinese do..
BTW you didn't tell his reaction after you attacked him with your best hit
the guy did not take any notice of me,just carried on smoking
Shops, taxis,hospitals, restaurants,gyms,elevators,buses... people here pretty much smoke everywhere and anywhere with no regard for others or the no smoking signs.
It's one of those things I hate about living here but just have to accept because I can't see people here changing their attitudes anytime soon.
I used to smoke, I stopped more than one year ago. I would never smoke inside a building, unless it's my own balcony, with doors closed and windows opened. I always found people smoking in a public area obnoxious. But smoking under a "no smoking" sign does rise any audible or visible concern here. Smoking in your own office, in a hotel room or whatever else, same. At Kong Zi time, tobacco was not yet known in China, so he said nothing about it ? As usual "what is good for me is good for everyone" seems the motto here.
Scandinavian:
yeah, I used to go to my balcony when I smoked, even when I lived alone, and this was in -20C Scandinavia, real men can smoke in -20C just wearing boxers
here in Shenzhen there is a 50-500 yuan fine if you smoke in a public place
I used to smoke, did stop before the first time I visited China, actually just a couple of months before, so the culture of constantly being offered cigarettes is mentally tough on a recovering smoker.
Anyway. In out building, there are several men who seems to be forced out of their apartment to smoke. So they will take the lift down, and stand near the lobby doors (inside naturally) They will light up in the lift, and they will fail to discard their cigarettes in a clean manner.
Generally, people are selfish, uneducated and rude. This is not just for smoking (oh, I've been out for almost 2 hours this morning and that is a good foundation for a BCD, wasted some perfectly good brake-disc on not killing to a-holes who didn't care about how they cross the street, I really regret that now)
I don't care about smoking and smoke a couple a day myself, but that is some good Yunnan untreated natural tobacco I get in the local market. Most cigarettes are crap with nasty ingredients added (chemicals that change how they burn, for one tobacco on its own will go out if you don't keep smoking it, but cigarettes will burn all the way to the end due to added chemicals) and I also don't want them smoked around me.
I don't care about smoking and smoke a couple a day myself, but that is some good Yunnan untreated natural tobacco I get in the local market. Most cigarettes are crap with nasty ingredients added (chemicals that change how they burn, for one tobacco on its own will go out if you don't keep smoking it, but cigarettes will burn all the way to the end due to added chemicals) and I also don't want them smoked around me.
There's no one reason for it, but probably several.
There's the lack of looking ahead. Sure it'll give you cancer, but that's in the future... it feels good now.
There is also conformity. In China, peer pressure is given as an excuse. Men feel they have to smoke to fit in, that the culture expects it, and with the attitude of conformity, you do what society tells you.
The prevailing "Me first" attitude is also to blame. Smoking harms people around you, second hand smoke, cigarette butts littered on the floor, and blackened walls, but thinking about the harm to others just doesn't factor into decision making.
Chinese gender roles are strict and extreme. Men aren't supposed to worry about their health. Men are to work until they die to support their parents and family (look at any construction site, mine, sewer, or other dangerous work environment, and see how many of the workers are men). Smoking is a way of showing disregard for your health, how tough you are. It's also why baijiu drinking is such a thing for men.
China also discourages talking about emotions, especially for men. If a man feels stressed at work, or has some other life issue, there really isn't the option to cry on a friend's shoulder, or even talk to a wife or girlfriend (that's a shameful display of emotion). Smoking to relax is seen as a much better option.
TBH, I've only seen people smoking inside on few occasions. You have to remember that in Western world public smoking ban hasn't been introduced immediately, so yeah... better get used to it. Sorry.
