European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 26, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Lance Gay Scripps Howard news service smokers of the world unite. There s a Refuge left for you and it s not on some Remote Island it s Europe. While America forces die hard smokers to snuff out in offices air planes and restaurants smokers can Light up to their hearts Content anywhere in Europe. And it s not just cigarettes. The dutch Are so proud of their cigars that not a thought is Given when someone lights up an indonesian Stinker after dinner at 6ne of Amsterdam s Brown cafes a so named because years of nicotine have discoloured the White paint. On a recent flight from Budapest Hungary 1 watched As american tourists furiously sought to invoke an Faa Rule barring smoking on their  Faa Quot asked the stewardess. Last year France adopted the toughest anti smoking Laws in Europe requiring restaurants to set aside nonsmoking areas and threatening $180 on the spot fines for violators. But Oliver Pascal mousse lard of France s committee against tobacco complains the Law is a failure because it s never enforced. Quot it s rank hypocrisy Quot he fumes. Trendy Paris restaurants like the Brasserie Lipp favored by France s caviar left responded by putting the nonsmoking tables on the second floor a the social equivalent of Siberia. The cafe insists that some of its regular patrons have taken up. Smoking to keep their ground floor tables. Off the champs Elysee the restaurant be Pichet merely put a sign outside. Declaring Quot this is a smoking area. Nonsmokers Are . And at restaurants in Normandy whereas tables Are labelled As being set aside exclusively for nonsmokers the waiters bring ashtrays with the menus Quot it does t matter Quot explained one waiter. Panellists regularly Chain smoke on the nightly to talk shows broadcast in France. The archives of the newspaper be Parisien record Only one Case of a Fine that Given a smoker who threw a Glass of water in the face of the policeman who told him that he could t smoke in the seat where he was smoking. Court rulings in Germany have enshrined the rights of smokers As part of the German Constitution which is Why you can t find a nonsmoking seat there these Days. A. A a smoking is booming in Eastern Europe. While czechs poles and hungarians were fleeing West the first to Cross the dismantled Berlin Wall going the other Way were agents representing Western cigarette manufacturers. Today Prague s once dowdy trams have All been repainted yellow and purple by Camel red and White by Marlboro or Blue and White by rothmans. In Warsaw the outdoor cafes that were discouraged by the communists Are blossoming with Marlboro and rothmans umbrellas. The a waiter looks on so optically As the cafe s owner posts a no smoking sign in pars. Marlboro Man even rides in Remote cafes in the Bohemian Hills. Europeans end to be lighthearted about their tolerance for smoking. A common observation in these lands of socialized Medicine is that smokers Are actually doing the state a favor by saving the National health systems from bankruptcy by dying off sooner than  Britain an outfit called enlightened tobacco company is marketing cigarettes under the Brand name Quot death Quot and Quot death lights Quot the latter with the advertised Promise of Quot slower death Quot each packet is marketed in a Stark Black packet with a Skull and crossbones. Quot we re directly confronting what we see As the major Bugaboo of the tobacco Industry a that smoking kills a and we re doing it in As honest and responsible Way possible Quot said Sten Bertelsen enlightened s finance director and a reformed smoker. David Pollock director of the British anti smoking organization Ash insists the Brand is a Clever Campaign aimed at enticing teen agers to smoke. Quot adventurous 1 a year Olds will be attracted by the dare Factor and the nihilist mentality of the death Brand Quot he says. There is one exception to Europe s open embrace of smokers. In Russia where All other rules have collapsed communist Era no smoking rules on the Moscow subway and Aeroflot flights Are still strictly observed. Bijoc Gay la european correspondent for Scrippa Howard Nawa ser let air Garmisch outdoor sports sea amp ski weekends in a a a july 2 amp 3july 23 amp 24 aug. 6 amp 7 aug. 20 amp 21 sep. 3 amp 4 sep. 17 amp 18 raft Austria a spectacular inn River ski Solden Glacier excursion package includes rafting trip amp equipment. Overnight in Solden a breakfast # full Day ski lift ticket ski equipment All transportation minimum age 1-4 yrs. For reservations and information Call 8afrc outdoor sports office Dan 4402-591/644 or Civ 08821-52066 a amp a Block preparation june 15 is overseas filing deadline serving the Darmstadt Mannheim Worms area Call 06151-69-6520 or 0621-738518an Exchange service concessionaire May 26, 1994 stripes Magazine 17