Well, a carton used to last me about a week, now it lasts about a month - let's just say I am in the process of quitting :wink: (I know, I know, it's bad but, at least my stress and blood tests have been excellent for the past year) I, for one do not think most Czechs are gloomy - every one I have met, at least in a limited social context, has been warm, outgoing, and full of life. They are also realists and not prone to goofy, meaningless smiles but will readily give you a real smile when the situation warrants it.
A few comments: First, 15 to 18 year-olds may be well-educated (not university level!), but they generally don't have much life experience and are prone to peer pressure. Teenagers tend to try to act/appear as adult, and smoking is a common way to feel grown-up, given the taboo and even illegality (at least in the USA) of smoking as a teen. Second, you'll find that most smokers start smoking in these formative years (15 to 18 or so), and continue largely because they can not easily stop. So, most of the university students/graduates who smoke probably began smoking as young teens. Third, intelligence and common sense don't always go together, especially among teenagers. I mean, I'll bet there's hardly a university graduate (or non-graduate, for that matter), who can't look back at their teens and not find several stupid things they did during those years.
Even allowing for peer pressure, experimentation, etc., I just can't remember the proportion of smokers being so high when I was a teenager. Maybe a quarter, possibly even a third, but definitely not half. Hardly ever saw anyone smoking in college.
the problem is that when u are teenager, you think smoke and drink is "cool" and thats the start of a dangerous addiction. I was lucky to stop smoking and for good luck in italy and ireland I can enjoy my time in a pub or even in a disco without feel myself and my clothes as a smoked salmon... :roll: I'm looking forward CR takes this way. for me its not a "moral issue", there are many way for die, drink, drug or smoke are only 3 of those. its more about respect of the other, if I want to be drunk and I'm not driving a car or disturbing people, is just up to me, if there are smokers while I'm eating in a restaurant or drinking in a pub, they make me upset...and I dont think I should only give them my evil sight... :evil:
In the states, the best stats I could find showed that about 28% of high school students (age 15-18 ) smoke on a regular basis. This also tends to correlate with social/economic class. Smoking is more prevalent amongst those from a lower economic class vs. a higher/medium economic class.
If I recall it correctly someone said deep down in this thread that Czechs smoke more than Americans. I don't know the numbers, but it's definitely interesting, especially when all my all my classmates at my high school were non-smokers and most of the people I know from uni are non-smokers as well. And for some reason almost every american i tend to meet is a smoker. Weird?
Yes, very weird! The only American I know who smokes is Glenn. I almost never even saw anyone smoke when I lived in the U.S. In the Czech Rep., I see smokers constantly, everywhere. Interestingly, none of my Czech friends smoke. My parents and brother don't either and the majority of my plentiful relatives are non-smokers. Weird?
Seriously. What's your problem? Have you ever been here? Do you ever met any czechs? Could you introduce yourself before you claim all those offensive statements you claimed yesterday in culture section?
At first, I thought canadiana bases his (her?) opinions about Czech Republic on movies like Eurotrip or Hostel. But then I read this post of his, that would explain many things. He's just a child (based on his posts, I find virtually impossible for him to be a teacher). It must be harsh for a child to be taken (maybe against his own will) into a very different environment, so it's no wonder he suffers from culture shock. It also explains how comes he gets bumped into by other children, very likely some form of bullying (no wonder considering his attitude towards all Czech)?
