I am not a smoker. In fact I've probably smoked no more than a combined total of less than 5 cigarettes in my entire life. It's just not interesting to me. It's not my thing.  But I didn't realize how shockingly oblivious I'd become to cigarette smoke until my friend K. was visiting this week.

We went to Pizza Ugo for dinner one night and half way through dinner she said: I feel like I am close to crying given all of the cigarette smoke. I looked around and thought: hey, she's right. There was a cloud of smoke and nearly every table had someone smoking.  In a year and a half it's become so common place that I no longer notice the smell or the smoke.  In fact, I don't even think twice about it.

In many ways, it just is. It just is in the same way the sidewalks are cracked, there are stray dogs and public transportation is dirty and smelly.

I didn't really know what to say to K. about it.  So I think I mumbled an apology as if I was somehow responsible and then explained how much  Bulgarians like to smoke. <!--more-->We then talked about how great the smoking bans in the States are.

At home that night, I smelled my hair and clothes and thought: bluch.  Then I wondered since living in Bulgaria how many cigarettes worth of second hand smoke I'd consumed. But that's probably not a question I really want to think about. This was followed by a quick google search. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have done this as it confirmed what I already knew <a href="http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/content/ped_10_2x_secondhand_smoke-clean_indoor_air.asp" target="_blank">second hand smoke is scary</a>.

Then just today I happened to stumble on a series of articles on the Sofia Echo about politics and a proposed <a href="http://sofiaecho.com/2010/06/04/911666_eased-regulations-on-smoking-introduced-in-bulgaria" target="_blank">smoking ban</a>.  The only problem seems to be that no one (aside from me) really wants the smoking ban. Hum. Well, I guess the good thing is that the issue of smoking in public spaces is being discussed but it doesn't look likely that there will be a full ban in place any time soon.

Just so you know, people smoke here. But apparently not as much as in Greece.

I just had the <em>best</em> idea--maybe instead of medical or dental tourism Bulgaria should start smoking tourism but not Amsterdam style just good old fashioned cigarettes.  The good thing is that country is already well equipped for this. The slogan could be something like: Bulgaria! Mountains, monasteries and guilt free smoking!! <em>Or maybe not. </em>