It may sound old-fashioned, but in all my travels, Holland is probably still one of the “smokiest” places around. There are still many people who smoke, and unlike Asia, the women smokers here are as many as the men! On top of that, there has been little incentive to quit smoking here. Prices are under €4/pack and you can smoke anywhere… one time a couple years ago, I was in a France (ok, not Holland) airport, and when I asked the guard where I could smoke, he told me to just discretely smoke in the corner over there…

The most popular nightclubs and pubs (where you might go to just have a drink) greet you from the shoulders up with a refreshing cloud of smoke… gross, whether you smoke or not! Restaurants, hotels, lobbies, malls, inside many people’s houses (not ours :)) smoking is the norm.

All that’s gonna change from July 1^st, , 2008. As of that date, there will be no more smoking in bars or restaurants – what the Dutch call HORECA for HOtels, REstaurants and CAfes.

Let me predict what will happen, as I saw it in California first, then Ottawa and then the little home of North Bay where we grew up:

There will be a total ban on smoking that will last 2 days. Bars and restaurants will complain that they are losing clientele who are used to smoking but who don’t come anymore. Some bars and restaurants will still let their patrons smoke, and get hit with huge fines. Some restaurants “a la Phil’s dinner in Guelph” will even sue the government and after spending much money will lose and go out of business.

Shortly thereafter, the government will issue “compromising” laws that saw only “nightclubs” who have people >18 can still smoke, but only in some places. Other pubs and bars will try to cling to this rule too, but will be denied. They will fight and the government will cut a little more slack. Things will start to loosen up again for a couple months and then the government will crack down again. This time, there will be no warnings – fines and no excuses will be the rule.

People will start to see that there is no going back this time and slowly, Holland will be like California, Ottawa and North Bay – smoke-free everywhere. I’m all for the movement, I’m just curious to see how it will play out.

The big question will be… are you still allowed to smoke joints in these places…? J