Cigarette Smoking in Poland

Tobacco smoking has become one of the most important death factors in Poland. Every year about fifty thousand of Poles die of premature death from post smoking illnesses such as lung cancer or heart attack. 47% of Polish men and 23 % of Polish women over sixteen are addicted to nicotine. Around 10 million of Poles smoke fifteen to twenty cigarettes a day. Almost 5 million people have been smoking for over twenty years. It is estimated that Polish children smoke 3 to 4 billion cigarettes every year. Tobacco is the only, legally sold, carcinogenic substance not just in Poland but worldwide.

Not only are negative consequences of the habit of smoking restricted to tobacco smokers; they also affect nonsmokers who inhale tobacco smoke. Children, who are put in risk of being passive smokers, are threatened by respiratory system diseases, asthma and chronic middle ear diseases. There is also strong evidence linking tobacco smoking with other serious illnesses such as, for example leukemia. 40 % of compulsive smokers will die before they are 65 whereas among nonsmokers only 15% will not reach this age. To end this horrifying statistics, we must admit that antismoking trend has finally reached Poland. New fashion, brought from USA and Western Europe, has found itself an important place in trendsetting and life style of Poles.

Gradually more and more people in Poland become aware of the importance of healthy living, and the impact which smoking has on their physical, mental and, last but not least, economic condition.

In order to reduce health consequences of smoking, economic foundations of health policy, based upon Health Protection Act of 1995, have been implemented in Poland. Smoking has been banned from public institutions such as universities, offices, cinemas, hospitals etc. It is not allowed to smoke on public transport and at the airports. It is no longer possible to purchase a pack of cigarettes at the university campuses or in hospital kiosks. Owners of public cafes and restaurants are obliged to allocate a non-smoking section in their facilities. Soon, following an example of some European Union countries, an act banning smokers from all pubs and restaurants is to be passed. Smoking has also become more expensive nowadays, which might warn off potential buyers. Tobacco companies, following European Union regulations, are obliged to mark cigarettes packs with visible warnings against health risk connected with smoking. Plenty of organizations, health protection initiatives and governmental bodies get involved in antismoking campaign, propagating healthy lifestyle, enhancing awareness of harming effects of tobacco use and abuse.

On the other hand, tobacco companies do not stop in constant efforts of influencing the target consumers, mainly young Polish people, with their marketing strategies. The war goes on. Hopefully, the new laws and regulations, that are to be implemented in Poland on the course of adjusting its policy to European Union standards, will help win more tobacco-free space, at least on legislative level.

Anja

polandsmoking.jpg

I take it you don't smoke, Anja?

I don't either.
Most restaurants in America ban smoking, some still have a smoking or non-smoking section. I remember when flying, they would ask you if you want smoking or non-smoking seats. In the 60's there were all kinds of commercials advertising cigs., but now there aren't any. I used to go play Bingo in church about 10 years ago, and everybody smoked. Mostly old ladies. And the room was packed, didn't win much. Now they banned smoking, and there are less people and the chances of winning are better. (But I don't go anyway, I have more fun on this forum).
So things are changing, but will that stop smokers??????

Of course, I don't smoke! In Poland some people smoke like crazy though.

In Poland smoking is very common and cigarettes very cheap.
U can see smokers everywhere.
Horrible is here are so many smoking children, the start in 11 or 12 and havent any problems with buying cigarettes

I smoke since I was 7 years old. I like it. Cigarette are helpfull.

Can you still breathe by yourself or with an aid of a plastic tube...?

I'm fine. The most importent is the fackt that when you are angrrry and smokst a cigarette u are not able to kill anyone. It's not a joke .

And (science prooft it) smokers have no problem with Parkinson's disease

Maybe because they don't live that long to experience that .

No it's true : if smoker don't "leave the building" with cancer he's gonna much,much less chance to have a Parkinson's disease than nonsmoker. There is some sort of migraine that resist the ordinary drugs and can be beated only when u smoke a cig.

I knew a guy who answered me once I asked him "Why do you do drugs?":

"I do drugs because I prefer to kill my brain rather than my liver".. ;]

He was already brain-dead

Right, at least he talked like one... :|

At least he talked....

drug - biological subtance, synthetic or non-synthetic, that is taken for non-dietary needs. It is usually synthesized outside of an organism, but introduced into an organism to produce its action. That is, when taken into the organisms body, it will produce some effects or alter some bodily functions (such as relieving symptoms, curing diseases or used as preventive in medicine.b I mean drug like those in the FDA not a fking coke, or opium & consortes.

i am not on smokers side ::

How old do you actually have to be to smoke in poland? I'm from England, and we're going to Krakow (sorry if i've spelt that wrong) in March. I've heard that the drinking law is 18 to buy, but no age to actually drink it?
I was wondering what the smoking laws were like?

Anyone have any ideas?
I'm 16, by the way. Hope I can still get served!

This is not true. For example, some kinds of food contain carcinogens.
Should barbeques be banned?

We are actually forcefed some carcinogens - petrol fumes and the like.
Should cars be banned?

actually the quote is already wrong.
it is not the tobacco that causes the cancer but a few of the approx 200 chemicals that are put into cigarettes, such as fire accelerators...

luckily after 23 years of heavy smoking i woke up one morning in march 2 years ago, realising that i do not need that stuff anymore...

vicious things like all the drugs...

interesting by the way how a 15 months old thread got dug out again... ;-)

Normal cigarettes don't go out if you put them down - they just burn away in the ashtray.
Normal cigarettes don't do anything for me - if I smoke one, I only want a roll-up afterwards.

I know smoking is bad, it's unhealthy. It's more unhealthy than the low quality food so many people eat, and the quality cheese I eat (but at least that's enjoyable) and it's probably more unhealthy than sitting on your arse all day, driving instead of walking and so on, getting no exercise.

But what I really don't understand about why I and so many other people smoke is that it's not really all that enjoyable. There's the initial sensation of quenching that need for a smoke, then... Well, I like the smell of cigarette smoke before it goes stale.

Right, time for me to roll another one. (They are strictly tobacco only these days)!

Outstanding replies... they quite made me giggle cause it's so true.




I have heard parents(smokers) who tell their children(15+), "do not smoke, smoke is bad for you! I can't stop smoking because I'm an addict, but you children are just beginning and there is still time to quit." *no comments* ;)




osiol lol I don't, it smells deadly for me. In fact, when I inhale smoke for a bit, i feel like i'll shortly stop breathing.
:( lots of my friends smoke! :) they are like addicts lol

&& I'll share something... when I kiss a smoker, I feel like I'm kissing a tree or grass. I have that taste for quite a while, even after I brush my teeth twice hahahha it's just too sour, my mouth feels sore i don't know... is just bad for me.

This should be in my 'Donkey Goes To Poland' thread, but I bought a very large bag of very cheap tobacco once when I was there. I was missing my roll-ups, so we went to a kiosk and asked for tobacco. Hang on - I still have it here. I'll just go and have a look...

250g of Korsarz - no price label though.

It was disgusting. It was like trying to roll cigarettes with tree bark. It tasted like a bonfire. I have since used it for killing aphids in the garden (which actually worked quite well, although it is illegal)!


I am a professional horticulturist. That doesn't mean I know what that's like.

You can smoke in malls, bars, clubs etc. Buying cigarettes/alcohol should be no problem for you, most bars/clubs don't check i.d.

well,youi cant get served in england(legally) so ,kid,give up. Im with Donkey,I smoke,but it tastes like sh*t........sad thing is,I didnt even start till I was nearly 18....

My dentist told me to stop smoking.

My dentist!!!

I said 'Who are you to tell me how I live my life? If I want to destroy my health, that's my concern.'

He said 'Can't you just stop smoking while I do this filling?'

The edft here was a speeeeling correction

Please look up Allen Carrs book Easyway to Stop smoking.....it will explain to you EXACTLY why you smoke...Nobody enjoys smoking! To prove me right or wrong, read the book!!! Not meaning to get anyones back up....I smoked rollies for years!
Nicotine is a deadly poison, used effectively as an insecticide..It's an extract from a plant indiginous to South America and from the same genus as deadly nightshade. It is one of the most addictive drugs known to mankind, and gradually destroys the immune system, causes breathlessness and lethargy and kills more than one in three of its victims! (More if you happen to be an aphid!!). It tastes bad and systematically destroys the nervous system, causing insecurity and lack of confidence (never mind heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, circulatory...) It costs the average addict £50000 in a lifetime and what does it do for you?? Absolutely NOTHING! What high do you get from this drug?? Absolutely NONE!! Email info@allen-carr.pl or phone 022 621 36 11 (Warsaw) for a 90% chance to quit???

I have used it professionally. It is a killer. The most reliable one I know.


Actually, deadly nightshade is in the same genus as potato, tomato and aubergine.
Aubergines contain some nicotine as well - more than in any other foodstuff.
Tobacco is in the genus Nicotiana. The flowers smell fantastic, especially in the evenings.

I still don't know why I smoke, and I'm smoking right now.

Thought that would get attention of a horticulturalist...I have geology degree so not qualified to argue on plant genus...quote from internet...(but technically if you get your nicotine fix from an aubergine, then it's same genus as deadly nightshade, right?)! But, irrelevant anyway...you only smoke cause you are addicted to nicotine!! You hate the taste, you hate the cost, you hate the smell, you hate the slavery, you hate the toll on your health...and it takes just about a week to break the cycle!! In that week you may choose to kill everyone close to you, but if you survive the week (and your loved ones do, and you don't get arrested) you will start to recover...really is that simple!

I have an in-built horticulture-detection device.


I got thrown out of my geology course before going into the world of plants, so I prefer my Crataegus to the Cretaceous.


That must explain why my spag bol always includes aubergine.


Even before I started smoking, I liked the smell of smoke. Strange. I think that if I tried to give up, I'd have to learn to hate it. I've always found ex-smokers to be much more anti-smoking than people who have never smoked.


Long enough for a mass-murder.

, the free encyclopediaThe family includes the Datura or Jimson weed, eggplant, mandrake, deadly nightshade or belladonna, capsicum (paprika, chile pepper), potato, tobacco, ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanaceae - 41k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

belladonna, or Atropa belladonna, or deadly nightshade, or dwale ...Tobacco belongs to the nightshade family Solanaceae. It is therefore related to the tomato and potato as well as to the deadly nightshade, from which the ...
www.britannica.com/eb/topic-59724/article-9015249 - 42k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

NightshadeIncluded in the nightshade genus are such common weeds as horse nettle, a spiny, ... Deadly nightshade has gone by many names, including belladonna, ...
www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/plants/nightshade.htm - 22k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Spotlighting the Deadly Night Shade FamilyThe family's common name 'deadly night shade' reflects a precautionary note ... Of the well known family members, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is a very ...
asgap.org.au/APOL34/jun04-5.html - 15k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

JUST quoting my source (google)


No intention of joining the born again anti smoking brigade! I smoked form the age of 12 until I was 30, then quit for 5 whole glorious years, in which I took up running, walking, camping, riding, cycling, surfing....Wow! Couch potato conversion in one simple move!! Then, like an ass (no pun intended!!) I started smoking again to p*ss off my then husband...it worked..we got divorced within the year! Another 7 years of Golden Virgin, before I found the same book in the airport (Easyway) just after Christmas. I cried when I finished the last page cause I knew I could do it....but smoking is still so fresh to me I have no intention to berate you for "choosing" to smoke. Only to offer you hope???

MASS MURDER??? Have you GOT a chainsaw then?

No, but without a cigarette, I'd probably still be able to do it with a teaspoon.