As a non-smoker, I’ve never been particularly bothered by smokers 2nd smoke until I contracted a form of asthma induced by a nasty bronchitis a few years ago. Ever since then, I have become vehemently anti-smoker even to the extent that I actually walk out of restaurants that openly flout the non-smokers’ rights.
Why? Because even the whiff of fresh smoke threatens me with a bout of asthma, and after the nasty bout I experienced at Mr. Paco’s. I had to use my inhaler for nearly two days, just to mitigate the effects.
I loved the food, would go back again and again if I could. Loved the pizza, the soup was great, etc… Just wonderful. But last time, I went there, there was some insensitive idiot smoking in the restaurant.
They wouldn’t tell him to stop… The a/c ventilation was quite insufficient and the 2nd hand smoke wafted right over to me. Overall They couldn’t accommodate smokers and non-smokers indoors. Result: I had a horrible asthma attack that needed 48 hours of inhaler use before my lungs recovered. Staff: unhelpful, uncaring… ‘what can i do?’ attitude.
I wonder how much money they’d have made from me and my friend if we’d been able to go back… Would love to go back but can’t take the risk. 2nd hand smoke victim in Taipei.
Such a callous attitude without any apology offered… Now with a proper no-smoking ban in place, I can go back there without fear, but I’d rather go to a restaurant that respected my rights in the first place.
So today I actually took action against a restaurant that was openly flouting the quite strict anti-smoking laws enforced in Taiwan now. Our own business received notification of the rules so we actually had an idea of what we were supposed to do: absolutely no smoking indoors and clear signs that say so (in essence).
But one of my favorite coffee shops (though I ask myself why)… has been openly flouting those laws since their introduction by not having clear signs and by not telling clients NOT to smoke in the non-smoking areas. It isn’t the only coffee shop having these issues, there are many in Taipei City and Taipei County.
The staff at the restaurant were unwilling to confront the question, only promising to tell the manager that there was a problem. If I visit the restaurant again, I might be prompted to call the police and have the customer and the restaurant fined. I don’t really want to do that…
I will post an update once I hear about it from the Mayor’s special hotline, though I’m not confident that anything will be done! At least in Taipei City, I have a chance of making a point.