Milan prohibits all outdoor smoking as ban takes effect | Hacker News Reader

Milan prohibits all outdoor smoking as ban takes effect

rte.ie

47 pointsaustinallegro23 comments

Last time I went to Milan, I remember that when I was in an empty alley with my wife I noticed something and my wife did as well, it was the only moment in the city we weren't smelling cigarette smoke. The city is beautiful and alive, but the pervasive smoking everywhere diminished my interest in ever going back.

Milan is the industrial heart of the country. If you didn't want to smell smoke (implying that exhaust smoke doesn't outweigh cigarette smoke by several orders of magnitude) you should've gone to a place near the sea or the mountains instead of going to one of the only landlocked regions that is known especially for its still air and constant fog (because it's a huge plain), on top of being one of the most densely inhabited areas.

Seriously, take a plane from anywhere to Milan and you'll know you've entered Lombardia when you can't see shit anymore. One moment you see circular rainbows and hills and mountaintops and rivers, and the next moment everything fades to white.

Also that city is not beautiful. It's like one of the ugliest places in Italy. It's so sad. There's this lone building all covered in trees [1] that taunts you by showing you how much prettier the city would be if it wasn't a soulless slab of concrete and advertisements where people with rich parents go and waste their fortunes on worthless startups.

[1]: https://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/project/bosco-vertica...

Impressive, if just to reduce pollution from cigarette butts.

And even more impressive if it is executed: > In November, a proposal in Britain to phase out smoking by young people passed its first parliamentary hurdle […]

> The bill would prevent anyone born after 1 January 2009 from legally smoking by gradually raising the age at which tobacco can be bought.

New Zealand was the first country to enact that type of absolute-date smoking ban a few years ago, but was recently repealed.

Previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38443957

What an awful proposition!

Why? The idea is to ban smoking for people who never smoke while still allow already addicted people to smoke. So no prohibition (because there is still a legal market anyway), nobody have to change any habits.

And I’d add that contrary to a lot of other drugs (including alcohol), cigarette is too old school and not cool enough anymore for youngsters to brave the law.

It’s pretty clever, no ?

> The idea is to ban smoking for people who never smoke while still allow already addicted people to smoke

The idea seems to be about banning smoking based on age, not if they ever tried to smoke or not, which may seem like a minor distinction, but it's a vital one. I bet you most of the people who are addicted to smoking started smoking before the age limit (if there was one), not afterwards.

It seems to me like smoking was decreasing by itself already (probably because of vaping if anything), and making it more illegal could counter that decrease.

Seems neat indeed... But

> nobody have to change any habits.

That could still be confusing though for tourists which are used to smoke at home

OTOH laws regarding which substances are ok to consume/purchase differ by country anyhow. I mean, tourists used to purchasing weed or alcohol already have to be mindful that it is not necessarily legal to purchase in countries in which they might travel to.

> That could still be confusing though for tourists which are used to smoke at home

Tourists are required to follow the laws of a country the visit. Visiting without researching the laws is your own fault.

To the contrary of you last statement, my understanding is that alcohol and drug use is down and cigarettes are up among young people.

Just for cigarettes as e-cigarettes get a pass and if you can find a place that is 10m away from people. Smokers will find a way.

“The ban - which comes ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics - does not apply to e-cigarettes.

Situated in the middle of the industrial Po Valley and filled with road traffic, Milan is one of Europe's most polluted cities in terms of air.”

As they should - smoke lingers order magnitudes further than actual nicotine

So how's this work for people who live in non-smoking apartments? Or is that not a thing in Milan?

Cigarette smoke is one of the most disgusting and at the same time lasting odours. I think smokers are not aware of this. I can smell a smoker at 50 meters distance on the street.

one person’s odour is another person’s aroma :) /s

> Cigarette smoke is one of the most disgusting

I bet you have never been near McDonalds. /s

Reply on news.ycombinator.com