smoking in nepal

[katwmn06]

hi all, i read an article about 1/2 the people in nepal smoke(cigarettes)...whether it's true or not, my question to the forum is....does nepal have no smoking restrictions in the restruants and teahouses?.....i have bad allergies to smoke, are the room and places smoked out bad?.....don't want to sound like a nit picker but i get real sick from the cigarette smoking....kat:confused:

[ganeshgiri]

no problem every thing and every where possible

[Escher]

I don't think Ganeshgiri understood your question?!

I think only twice I have had to put up with someone smoking in the lodge dining room (out of 9 treks) so it is rare. There aren't any restrictions but most people are courteous when it comes to lodges and dining rooms out trekking. However I have found it a problem in restaurants in Kathmandu occasionally with westerners sparking up. I detest cigarette smoke especially when I am eating so you may have to be prepared to get up, leave and eat somewhere else if it is too bad. It isn't really Nepalis smoking that I have had issues with , it is other tourists.

[Oli]

Heh, Rich, I will apologise for Tom's lack of manners, though he is unrepentant. Most Uncool indeed. ;)

There are many Nepali who smoke and there are no restrictions, but as Escher says, they are unlikely to make a problem out of it if they know it bothers you. Sometimes the lodge living room can be a bit smokey, especially if you are sitting by the fire in the kitchen. The incidence of emphysema is (so I am told) quite high. That said, the smell of burning juniper and yak dung is something special. :)

[Sharon]

From my first visit in 2001 to last Fall there has been a decrease in smoking in tea houses. It has definitely gotten more pleasant.

[katwmn06]

thanks for all your input....just curious to see what i'm up against with smoke condtions......kat

[thesilvertops]

If trekkers and their staff ask you if they can smoke in a lodge say "No" We said "yes" and then found they were almost chain smokers. Not very nice. Smoking in the bedrooms in timber lodges is also a problem. We were woken by the stink of cigarette smoke in our bedroom at 4am. The two trekkers next door were smoking in bed. I told the lodge owner next morning that she should have a no smoking rule in the lodge or one day it will burn down with loss of life.

[julia]

I noticed a lot more people on the trek smoking this time around, Nepalis and tourists alike. I agree, smoking in the lodge/rooms is dangerous. We noticed the smell of cigarette smoke from people in the lodges on quite a few occaisions.

Also smoking in restaurants, it is ok for the person who has finished eating, not pleasant for us others still eating.

Changing the subject a little, the dust on the trek, particulary on the road sections, you get a vehicle go pass and the wind blowing like hell in the afternoons, its not pleasant! It was one of the things that made me really miserable on the Jomsom to Marpha section, it was a long hot dusty day, tired, hungry and grumpy, that was also the day we were served up our stale cabbage sandwich for dinner! :(

[katwmn06]

i can see there might be a real fire hazard involved with people smoking in bed in the lodges (probely no smoke alarms either)....it's a good thing that my trekking partner and i are both firefighters!.....they might need our services!........

[Escher]

i can see there might be a real fire hazard involved with people smoking in bed in the lodges (probely no smoke alarms either)........

Indeed. The combination of cooking on wood burning stoves, people smoking and wooden framed buildings can't be good.

A few years ago this happened in Lukla http://www.trekinfo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3379&highlight=lukla+fire, when we were in Manang in March a large fire took hold early one evening. We saw a house being rebuilt in Marpha that had been completely gutted and another one on the Marsyangdi side. They have no real way of putting out a fire once it has started, in Manang the locals were throwing handfuls of snow and ice at it.

[julia]

Fire fighters offering their services eh! :D

[Landfall38]

I too am VERY bothered by smoke. :eek: Like Escher, I can think of only one significant problem in my 7 treks (smoking trekkers in lodge main room in tengboche in a cold December 1998... I retired rather grumpy to my room:mad: ). Occasionally there are minor problems in town (Thamel probably the worst) or on the trail but nothing that would keep me away. As noted below, dust storms and burning juniper bushes caused more problems for me.


I agree that there is a surprising increase in the number of smoking trekkers! :confused: Most of these (on AC last Nov) were members of large European groups. Few if any carrying their own pack, some had great trouble on the pass but, again surprising, most seemed to survive the pass just fine.

I have enough trouble with high altitude and the pass -- could not imagine the added difficulty of smoking high up.

Fire in lodges/house is a big issue! Last Fall there was a major fire in Manang which many trekkers joined in trying to put out (by bucket brigade -- there is NO fire service or facilities). Lodge owners generally do not allow smoking in rooms.

Landfall38