Did you know the number of smokers in Switzerland, aged 14 to 65, has lowered from 29% in 2007 to 27% in 2008? In a similar trend, teenagers also smoked less in 2008 at 23% versus a staggering 31% in 2001.

Now the million dollar question: if the number of smokers is much lower than 50% then why are most restaurants in Geneva and other parts of Switzerland still  buried in a haze of smoke? Well, I guess that is a question for another blog, but fortunately, there is an ever growing number of smoke-free places in Geneva. But, do you know how to find them?

A screen shot of a google map with some of the non-smoking restaurants and bars in Geneva

Alp Tekyldiz, a 27-year old Swiss production manager, had the same query and decided to go one step further. This Geneva resident studied the existing lists and decided to put all the non-smoking establishments into a google map. The result? An easy, visual guide to smokeless places in Geneva.

“Ideally, I’d like the map to be something social that people can contribute to. It takes time to keep the list up to date and I do have a day job. It would be good to have some people join in the updating of the list, but if the map becomes very popular, we could have it open to all so everyone can add their own items,” says Tekyldiz who is now searching for volunteers to help him update the map.

Although the organization OxyRomandie also keeps a list of smoke-free restaurants and bars in Geneva, Lausanne and Canton Vaud, Tekyldiz’s map remains a very popular option.

“Try and propose to sell radioactive clothes and I bet the government will forbid them as they will give cancer in the long run to people around them. That’s pretty much what cigarettes do after all,” laments Tekyldiz.

Until a resolution to ban smoking in bars and restaurants is passed, sites like OxyRomandie and maps like Tekyldiz’s are your one option to find “sans nicotine” environments in the humanitarian capital of the world and surroundings.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.