LIFESTYLES
It spices things up a bit. Now you have to go out into the cold, although, yes, he can offer you his coat, which is also romantic. But being outside is always sobering to a certain extent. Having a legitimate excuse to sneak outside with a date does make it easier to slip into a dark alley to share more than a fag. This said, however, I still prefer the old romantic option at the bar. Additionally, there is no such thing as feeling fabulous when emerging from a bathroom, after a lil’ make-up session, smelling like you just set yourself on fire, since the toilet has been used as an illegal smoking room by the person before you!
Rebels with a cause The funny thing about the ban is that, on the one hand, it seems to have an anti-social side; fewer people go out, and if they do get to the bars, the smoking breaks keep interrupting good conversations. On the other hand, it might just be good in a bigger sense. The fact that many people are disappointed because the government tells them they can no longer light up also promotes ‘rebellious’ behaviour. In these practical times, when responsibility and awareness go before anything, people do not seem to have the drive and/or courage to protest. Even though the smokers are not collectively protesting on Museumplein, they protest in their own way: by continuing to smoke in bars. The group spirit that sustains itself when people smoke where they are not allowed might just bring people closer than it did when smoking was the norm.
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chistic times are over, I believe this is our way of creating a ‘lil’ old protest’ now. And if not, smoking where you’re not allowed does, at least, takes us back to that lil’ fence behind which you secretly smoked your first cigarette. And, if you never did that, at least it gives you the feeling that you are ‘alive’, because you are kicking against the law. According to this theory, the website will only make the isolation of the smoking-bars versus the non-smoking set stronger. It is like the kid you never liked at school telling the others who you do not get along with that you did something naughty. The smoking bars might become romanticised and deliberately going to a non-smokers’ bar sounds more like a well-planned evening than a spontaneous good night out. Indeed, if you are more the quiet romantic type instead of the deeply rooted anarchist, there is a strong chance that the smoked-up bar already offers you a nostalgic feeling, because it takes you back to all your pub memories.
‘For now, we should cherish the last remaining smoking adventures and hope that nostalgia in the ‘At least it gives you bars doesn’t disapthe feeling that you pear’ are ‘alive’, because you are kicking against the law’ The new website tries to paint smoking bars as bad seeds but, in my opinion, this will only differentiate this ‘rebellious’ group in a positive way: although the wild anar-
I believe the non-smoking bars deserve great respect for trying to retain their atmosphere even though patrons are no longer able to light one up. At the same time, I am afraid a website like this will differentiate them negatively, which they do not deserve. Soon enough, I believe, all bars will have to be smoke free. So, for now, we should cherish the last remaining smoking adventures and hope that nostalgia in the bars doesn’t disappear. And, unfortunately, unless people find a very interesting way to eat peanuts, romance in bars will never be the same.