It’s very common to smoke in bars, clubs, restaurants, hotels and most public spaces in Minsk, that’s why most of these places have special areas for smoking. So if you enjoy drinking coffee or beer while smoking a cigarette, there will be no problem doing it in a cafe or restaurant. At night you can meet lots of smoking people in bars or clubs also drinking cocktails or shots. Because of wide spreading of smoking some Belarusians can’t imagine their rest without a cigarette:
- Around 30% of people in Belarus smoke (male - 50%, female - 20%).
- There are smoking areas in most of bars, clubs and restaurants in Minsk.
- Many people smoke in clubs or bars even if they do not smoke during the day.
- Cigarettes in Belarus are cheap – around $0,5-2 for a pack
Belarus still remains the country where fashion on smoking among youth exists while in the USA or in Europe it has almost disappeared. Many young people start smoking at school. The highest percentage of those who smoke time to time are in the period between 15 and 29 years old.
Despite all the anti-smoking campaigns, high cigarette prices and bans on smoking in some areas, millions of people all over the world still smoke cigarettes both of habit and for pleasure. It is sad that many of them would say they don’t actually like smoking, but considers they’re addicted and do not have enough self-control to quit.
By the way, the most popular cigarettes in Belarus (Kent, Camel, Dunhill) cost $1-2 for a pack (in European countries – $5-10 and even more).