Shanghaiist: Shanghaiist's favorite cafe, now smoke free!

Thomas Kruemmer

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:01:44 +0800

Ginger Cafe & Deli has been completely smoke-free from the very day it opened. 299 复兴西路靠近华山路 299 Fuxing Lu West, near Huashan lu Tel 6433-9437

yu888

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:01:47 +0800

My first year here i carried a portable "NO SMOKING" sign around and used it to clear the air around me. It actually worked alot. I also installed largge NoSmoking signs in the elevators and those worked surprisingly well too with very very few violators. Since we have apartments in 4 of 8 buildings in our complex, I installed these in all the lifts I could access and the lifts are better for it. (If only I could get rid of the fishy smell from the ayis dripping fish "juice" from moring grocery shopping. Sigh. The smoking trend here in SH has actually gotten alot better in the past 3+ years. Nonsmoking venues exist more annd more including American chains like Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC and also other places like Moon River Diner who "get it" If other places could only follow their lead AND if more people who smoke would only be more courteous, that would be great!

Billy C

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 11:27:39 +0800

My building just instituted smoke free elevators. Hurrah!!! Now if only people would follow that rule.

David Pandt

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 09:47:04 +0800

Doooooah. Sorry for the double, slightly varied post (screen error). I lived in Seattle for 12 glorious, guitar-driven years. What's great about that city is that outside of bars, clubs and AA meetings, people just don't tolerate smoking in shared spaces. Additionally, Seattle smokers tend to have a conscience, and take into consideration others around them before lighting up. I’m always pleased to come across what could be loosely termed ‘polite smokers’ in this town—where a little courtesy goes a long way. This is a Shanghai trend I can get behind.

Mark Baker

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 02:32:39 +0800

Jake, I think that the rule is within 25 feet of doors and windows, not two meters, but the practical application of it seems to be "so that smoke does not enter the building through windows, doors, or ventilation ducts." It makes for some occasionally funny sights, like clusters of people nearly huddled in small impromptu "smoking zones" that happened to be sandwiched between two buildings' 25-foot zones. Except in Belltown, where the attitude of course is more, "Screw you, and the law!" But of course that rather describes Belltown's angle on most anything, I guess. ;-) Your fellow Washingtonian, Mark

Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 01:11:14 +0800

In Washington State we just passed a law outlawing smoking in bars and you can't smoke withing two meeters of a door outside. Sure the smokers hate it but the non-smoking majority think it is awesome.

David Pandt

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:52:39 +0800

This is a start. I've been run out of a number of decent cafe haunts around town, including Boona, by a few too many side dishes of second hand smoke. The indifference of most smokers in Shanghai--locals and butt-flicking foreigners alike--toward non-smokers unlucky enough to be caught in their cancerous wake is simply odious, i.e., it stinks. Socially, we need to stop giving smokers a free pass.