Tobacco companies are tracking many of the initiatives in Western Europe, and in some cases taking governments to court. But they do not seem worried about European sales.
British American Tobacco, the world's second-largest tobacco company, recently announced it was buying Ente Tabacchi Italiani, Italy's state-owned tobacco company, for an estimated high bid of US$2.6 billion.
"I think some fundamentals don't change," said Dr. Chris Proctor, director of science and regulation for British American Tobacco. "And those are that there are a lot of people who like cigarettes. Some governments are starting to forget that."
Writing a law is one thing; enforcing it is something else entirely, Proctor said. Many European countries have antismoking laws that are widely ignored. France and Greece are supposed to provide no-smoking areas in restaurants, for example, but they almost never do.
Proctor also noted that most Europeans object to anything smacking of what they consider American extremism. New York City's recent ban on smoking in bars and restaurants has prompted widespread ridicule in parts of Europe, especially Germany, a country with a complicated history regarding smoking laws. Hitler was virulently antismoking and banned public smoking.
Antitobacco forces acknowledge an uphill battle in Europe, particularly in Central Europe, where old habits die hard, and in Southern Europe, where a rebellious seize-the-day attitude is more the norm. Smoking in front of "No Smoking" signs there is especially tantalizing.
About one-third of European adults smoke. In some places, like Sweden and Britain, the percentage is lower. In others, like Greece, Hungary and Spain, it is higher. About a quarter of adult Americans were regular smokers in 2001.
But antismoking groups said the fact remains that most Europeans do not smoke and that most dislike drinking, eating and working in smoky surroundings.
"There has been a shift in public opinion," said Trudy Prins, executive director of Stivoro, a Dutch antitobacco group. "Politicians are never the trend setters."
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