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I had a conversation with friends who live in LA yesterday about the fact that they thought smoking is more prevalent in Melbourne than in the LA. Amused by th

I had a conversation with friends who live in LA yesterday about the fact that they thought smoking is more prevalent in Melbourne than in the LA. Amused by the timing :-) (If I'd guessed, I would've assumed smoking was less prevalent in Melbourne (because of the reasons mentioned in the article, but mostly the cost), although I've not actually paid enough attention to compare.) (We all agreed it seemed more common in Europe, very vaguely speaking.)

jpgvm 10y ago
Most smokers in Melbourne CBD are Asian immigrants (anecdotally). I think it's culturally hard for them to give it up, which is a real shame as I hate walking through clouds of smoke on Little Bourke St. Not sure what can be done about it though, banning it outright I think is too far as it's an assault on people's personal freedoms but I would like to see a ban on smoking on the street/public places. I don't want to be secondary smoking the stuff, it smells awful and probably does a decent chunk of damage if you are walking through it every day though that is unsubstantiated, I haven't read any studies on secondary smoking. Atleast most smokers here seem responsible when disposing the butts. Silver lining I guess.
- exodust 10y ago
  Can confirm truth of that. Chinese neighbours on either side of me smoke, and I only ever see young Asian people smoking at the back of my building here in Melbourne. My annoying neighbour smokes on his balcony every day and the smell drifts into my apartment. Still figuring out what to do about that if anything.
bluGill 10y ago
Note that the story was from the BBC and compared Europe to Australia. I didn't see anything about US numbers. I wouldn't be surprised if the US had similar numbers to Australia. I suspect not though - in the "deep south" of the US smoking is still common, so if we have lower numbers here it is because the rest of the country has low enough smoking rates to balance out that part of the country.

jpgvm 10y ago

Most smokers in Melbourne CBD are Asian immigrants (anecdotally). I think it's culturally hard for them to give it up, which is a real shame as I hate walking through clouds of smoke on Little Bourke St. Not sure what can be done about it though, banning it outright I think is too far as it's an assault on people's personal freedoms but I would like to see a ban on smoking on the street/public places. I don't want to be secondary smoking the stuff, it smells awful and probably does a decent chunk of damage if you are walking through it every day though that is unsubstantiated, I haven't read any studies on secondary smoking. Atleast most smokers here seem responsible when disposing the butts. Silver lining I guess.

exodust 10y ago
Can confirm truth of that. Chinese neighbours on either side of me smoke, and I only ever see young Asian people smoking at the back of my building here in Melbourne. My annoying neighbour smokes on his balcony every day and the smell drifts into my apartment. Still figuring out what to do about that if anything.

bluGill 10y ago

Note that the story was from the BBC and compared Europe to Australia. I didn't see anything about US numbers. I wouldn't be surprised if the US had similar numbers to Australia. I suspect not though - in the "deep south" of the US smoking is still common, so if we have lower numbers here it is because the rest of the country has low enough smoking rates to balance out that part of the country.