Living together: smokers and non-smokers

While the legal ban has the merit of being clear, it does require a change in behavior.
What do you do if you come across someone smoking in a non-smoking area ? 

While 72% of those questioned said they were bothered by smoke, only 28% asked the smoker to stop, while 32% did nothing, 23% preferred to move to another place, and 6% even decided to leave the premises! (Ipsos survey carried out in 2001 on 1015 people representative of the French population).

Non-smokers who find themselves smoked out in a restricted area will feel disrespected; smokers are seen as disrespectful, which can lead to conflict.
On the other hand, overly repressive attitudes towards smokers can make them defensive and demotivate them in their attempts to cut down or stop smoking.

Resolving this conflict can therefore only be envisaged in a non-hostile manner.
Above all, avoid running away, being aggressive... or just putting up with it !

In reality, not all smokers are alike. You need to adopt a different approach depending on the type of smoker you're dealing with: is it a "heavy smoker" or an occasional smoker ?
Sachez que 60 à 80 % des fumeurs souhaitent arrêter de fumer. Au-delà de la dépendance pharmacologique, il est important de considérer qu’une bonne partie des fumeurs trouve dans le tabagisme une manière d’éviter l’anxiété. En effet, par l’utilisation d’un dérivatif immédiat et facilement disponible, le fumeur recherche souvent un soulagement de ses tensions intérieures ou de son « mal-être ».
Dès lors, comment exprimer la gêne ressentie ?

Be careful about the wording you use: before asking to change, you need to explain why. Non-smokers must learn to express the discomfort they feel in this situation. This means using words like: "The smoke bothers me, can you put out your cigarette?" rather than: "You're annoying me with your cigarette" or "You're annoying with your cigarette". Even if the words are similar, the effects will not be the same.

In addition, there's nothing to stop you developing empathetic attitudes, for example by acknowledging the difficulty of quitting smoking, or by pointing out that you know it's an effort to go without a cigarette in certain situations.

All this will make it easier to express criticism or make difficult requests.
Taking these different factors into account is essential if you want to avoid feeling guilty or being put in check, whether by the smoker or the smoked person !