By Anna Churchill - June 2006
As a native Californian, (where, for those
who don't know it, smoking has been outlawed anywhere but in one's
home--if you are the owner--and if you rent and your building hasn't
been deemed a non smoking building --and in some non controlled outdoor
spaces) I thought it logical that I be the one to raise the issue
of the Greeks and their love affair with cigarettes.
Though Californians like to think they have a monopoly on the good
life including a huge selection of lush whole food supermarkets - they
have nothing on the luscious offerings of produce and the seafood caught
and brought in often meters from the taverna table you might be sitting
at if on the island of Aegina.
Every few meters, it seems, one of the hundreds of shops within the
lanes and passages of Aegina Town offers something good to eat: produce,
pistaschios, meat, bakeries full of the best most wholesome bread you
will ever eat; herb shops, mini markets and of course there is the
famous
fish market at the end of which is the most famous taverna on Aegina:
The Agora. For 102 years it has been owned by the same family. Bus
loads of Japanese desecend on Aegina and they all seem to end up eating
at the Agora.
It is small, grubby and the inside eating space can hold only maybe
10 small tables the rest are outside under the protective awning gerry
rigged toghether high above the passage and connecting it to the fish
market. Its the first place I took a meal. You can go inside and up
the step and you are in the cooking area. In a sort of buffet fashion
you can see what the daily offering of fish, seafood and veg are and
then you tell whomever is behind the prep counter what you want.
What does this have to do with cigarettes? Wait.
So, you are drooling over this epicurean orgy of heaps
of fresh cooked greens, mussles saganaki, fresh grilled or fried kalamari
and on and on it goes. You sit down.
A guy shuffles to your table, throws down the ubiquitous paper tablecloth,
water, glass with napkin
and silver and of course the basket of bread...all of which is done
with a cigarette dangling from his lips. He stands over the outside
grill and and cooks the octopus and fish with the same cigarette the
ash at least half an inch. As soon as the cigarette threatens to come
to an end he lights another. His coloring is not good.
The bus driver smokes, the owner in his supermarket smokes. Everyone
smokes everywhere. According to an article it was only recently forbidden
to do so in hospitals.
The irony of their living in an aesthetic and epicurian paradise,
but unable to see it or it seems
sometimes to enjoy it perhaps being obscured behind an ever present
veil of smoke. A long time Ex Pat resident tells wild stories of both
fear of dogs and of the landscape - forbidding a school excursion that
would have the children taking a simple walk down through a lovely
ravine. Others tell of the Greeks fear of the water despite being surrounded
by the most beautiful water in the world.
Is this all because of the introduction of cigarettes? And what about
the flip flop of the worry beads? Why are the Greeks "worried"?
Why so much smoking? Is this left over from over 400 years of a brutal
occupation, the Nazis, the Junta? I don't know. But below are what
I found to be an intriguing range of books and articles on the subject
of the Greeks and their relationship with cigarettes.
Print, take to your favourite taverna and read over a
Greek coffee and light up...
Anna Churchill
PS: If you are staying in Athens and must have a non smoking room
book at the lovely boutique hotel The Athenian Callirhoe. It has a
floor of dedicated non smoking rooms. The A/C is one of about maybe
two hotels that seem to boast of such a thing.
Because of the stone architecture
here where much accommodation doesn't have carpets the issue of a
place where smokers might have stayed isn't as pressing as in urban
hotels cluttered with heavy carpets, drapes and bedspreads that hold
the smell. ON
AEGINA THERE IS THE LOVELY ARTEMIS
ROOMS IN AGHIA
MARNIA WITH ALL MARBLE FLOORS and
simple bedding with big French doors leading to a
balcony. The issue of smoking or non smoking didn't
apply.
| Further
reading |
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The Hellenic literary
and historical archive - www.elia.org.gr
A
History of the Greek Cigarette
by MANOS HARITATOS, PENELOPE GIAKOUMAKIS
is a work which takes a full historical retrospective into
the tobacco industry field, and was made possible with the
kind sponsorship of PAPASTRATOS A. E.
Hardcover Album (31cm x 24,5cm)
Over 400 pages, 1250 colored photographs take you to a journey
through time, to a 100-year history about over 1000 Greek cigarette-making
companies around the world. Price 67.50 euro
click
here for more information about the book
Highbeam research www.highbeam.com
Philip Morris acquires Greek manufacturer. Tobacco
Retailer,
December, 2003
Read
the full article online with a Free Trial of HighBeam Research
In October, Philip Morris International's affiliate, Philip
Morris Holland, completed a private transaction with a group
of principal shareholders for a 76.5 percent shareholding in
the Greek company Papastratos Cigarette Manufacturing S.A.
The acquisition of Papastratos follows nearly 30 years of a
close working relationship between the two companies. Papastratos
was established in 1930 and is the largest manufacturer and
distributor of cigarettes in Greece. Papastratos produces and
markets cigarettes including the Assos International, President,
Old Navy, Cosmos, Saga and ...
Tobacco News: Countries: Greece
http://tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/greece.rss
The full article of the below items can be read on the website
of www.tobacco.org but
require registration (free at the moment). Click the source
link to jump to the article.
Diagnostic
Criteria and Treatment of Buerger's Disease: A Review --
Lazarides et al. Vol. 5, No. 2,
89-95 (2006) DOI: 10.1177/1534734606288817
Source: International
Journal of Lower Extremity Wounds, 2006-06-08
Intro:
Buerger’s disease is an inflammatory occlusive
disorder affecting the small and medium-size arteries and
veins of young, predominately male, smokers. The disorder
has been identified as an autoimmune response triggered when
nicotine is present. Tobacco abuse is the major contributing
risk factor; however, smoking seems to be a synergistic factor
rather than the cause of the disease. The traditional diagnosis
of Buerger’s disease is based on 5 criteria (smoking
history, onset before the age of 50 years, infrapopliteal
arterial occlusive disease, either upper limb involvement
or phlebitis migrans, and absence of atherosclerotic risk
factors other than smoking). As there is no specific diagnostic
test and an absence of positive serologic markers, confident
clinical diagnosis should be made only when all these 5 criteria
have been fulfilled although not universally accepted.
Source: Kathimerini
(gr), 2006-06-03
Intro:
The Skalkottas Room at the Athens Concert Hall
was wreathed in metaphorical smoke on Wednesday. Nobody
dared light up, of course, as they heard the truth about
the lethal consequences of smoking, which starts out as
a game or a fashion or a demonstration of virility and
becomes a dangerous habit that leads to an often painful
death. The room was packed with personalities, officials,
doctors and others devoted to the business of health, and
many parents had brought their children along to hear the
facts. Professor Haralambos Roussos, director of the Thorax
foundation and head of the intensive-care unit at Evangelismos
Hospital, rightly described World No Tobacco Day as a day
of responsibility. On the panel were Grigoris Skalkeas,
Athens Academy member, surgeon and professor of surgery,
who has headed the anti-smoking campaign as well as Roussos
and Professor Athanassios Fokas — aerospace engineer,
mathematician, medical school graduate and winner of this
year’s Aristeio award from the Bodossaki Foundation.
Journalist Mara Zacharea moderated the discussion in which
Health Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos also participated,
speaking out forcefully against smoking.
Source: ERT
S. A. (gr), 2006-05-29
Author: the Secretary of ND. The candidates
for Super Prefect are
Intro:
The Ministry of Health is promoting the legislative
context, which will ban the sale of tobacco products to persons
under 18 years of age and a campaign to decrease the number
of smokers; mainly the underage ones. In addition, warnings
will be typed on the tobacco products. The legislative context
is being investigated by the Ministry and will be ready by
autumn. All the above were announced by Minister of Health
Dimitris Avramopoulos in a Press conference, on Monday, on
the occasion of the No Tobacco Day, designated on 31 May.
Source: Reuters,
2006-05-31
Intro:
Health experts in Greece are ringing alarm bells
over the country's high smoking rate.Health experts say in
the last decade smoking has increased ten percent in Greece.Regulations
introduced in 2002 banning smoking from public places, and
requiring businesses to segregate non smoking areas in restaurants
and other public places has not been enforced. Cigarettes
are still quite cheap in Greece compared to other EU countries,
at Euro 2.80 a packet.
Source: ERT
S. A. (gr), 2006-05-29
Author: Sources: NET
Intro:
The Ministry of Health is promoting the legislative
context, which will ban the sale of tobacco products to
persons under 18 years of age and a campaign to decrease
the number of smokers; mainly the underage ones. In addition,
warnings will be typed on the tobacco products. The legislative
context is being investigated by the Ministry and will
be ready by autumn. All the above were announced by Minister
of Health Dimitris Avramopoulos in a Press conference,
on Monday, on the occasion of the No Tobacco Day, designated
on 31 May. The figures on teenage smokers in Greece are
shocking, since at 14, half of the youth have tried smoking,
while at 18, one out of two is a regular smoker. The figures
concerning adults are also worrying, as in the last decade
the number of smokers increased by 10%, while deaths by
lung cancer reached 6,000 annually.
Most advertising not allowed,
but more people are lighting up
Source: Kathimerini
(gr), 2006-05-24
Author: Lina Giannarou - Kathimerini
Intro:
The most worrying findings in the survey concern
the increasing numbers of teenagers who smoke. . . .
according to a National Statistics Service survey of expenditures
on and the consumption of cigarettes as part of a general survey
on family budgets for 2004-2005, tobacco product sales have
risen by 10 percent over the past 10 years. Unfortunately,
younger people make up a large percentage of this increase.
Of all Greeks aged over 14, smokers make up 41.7 percent (32
percent of women and 52.2 percent of men). Fifty percent of
the 25-54 age group are either occasional or habitual smokers
(two-thirds are men).
Source: Kathimerini
(gr), 2006-05-16
Intro:
Smokers in Greece are bucking a European trend
by increasing in number, according to figures from the
National Statistics Service (NSS) which were made public
yesterday and indicate that almost 42 percent of Greeks
over 14 years old smoke.
The most serious smokers are those aged between 35 and 44.
The NSS, which questioned 17,386 people from around Greece,
found that almost 60 percent of this age group are smokers.
But younger Greeks are also picking up the habit.
The survey found that 57 percent of Greeks aged 25-34 smoked
regularly and almost 15 percent of children under 18 are smokers.
Int Nurs Rev, Vol 53, Issue 2, pp. 150-156:
June 2006 doi:10.1111/j.1466-7657.2006.00483.x
Source: International
Nursing Review, 2006-05-08
Author: P. Beletsioti-Stika1 capt
(n), rn, bsc (hons), msc & A. Scriven2 ba, med,
certed, frsh
Intro:
Conclusions: Findings suggest that
smoking prevalence among qualified Greek nurses is
greater than that reported in the general Greek population.
Implications and recommendations for nursing practice,
education and research include the early provision
of smoking education in nurse training. Interventions
should be directed at nurses who smoke to assist
them to stop and to maintain cessation according
to their stages of change.
Greece's
tobacco policy: another myth?
Volume
367, Number 9521, 06 May 2006 ; 367:1485-1486 DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68646-7
Source: The
Lancet, 2006-05-05
Author: CI Vardavas a and A Kafatos a
Intro:
As stated by Samuel Loewenberg (Feb 11, p 464),1
Greece has one of the highest rates of adult tobacco
use worldwide, and the highest rate of adult tobacco
use in Europe, even surpassing that of the Spaniards.
Epidemiological studies estimate that up to 51% of men
and 39% of women in Greece are current smokers.2
The smoking problems of Spain and Greece are very similar since
both populations adhere to the classic Mediterranean libertarian
ideas of free will and choice of lifestyle. There is thus an
inherent loath to comply with any laws that restrict personal
freedom. The extent of this problem was depicted in a pan-European
health survey that assessed the newly introduced European guidelines
on enforced labelling of health warnings on cigarette packages.
Remarkably, the Greek male population was the only one in the
European Union to regard the warnings as annoying, pointless,
and invasive. . . .
if Spain and Greece wish to ban or seriously restrict smoking
in public venues, it is imperative that all the loopholes in
the existing laws are expunged. Sadly, lobbying against tobacco
companies in Greece resembles mortals battling the demigods
of Greek mythology.
Source: Kathimerini
(gr), 2006-05-03
Intro:
More than 3 million packets of cigarettes exported
from Greece and then illegally smuggled back into the country
have been seized at customs checks during the last two
months, high-ranking police sources told Kathimerini yesterday.
Officers said the practice, which results in millions of euros
in lost tax revenues, is becoming more popular with smugglers.
The cigarettes are often brought into Greece in the back of
trucks but hiding them in shipping containers is also a popular
method.
The port of Constanta in Romania is one of the hubs
2006, 3:13 doi:10.1186/1477-7517-3-13
Source: Harm
Reduction Journal, 2006-03-29
Author: Maria Loumakou , Vasiliki
Brouskeli and Jasmin-Olga Sarafidou
Intro:
Greece has the highest smoking rates (in the 15-nation
bloc) in Europe. The purpose of this study was to investigate
Greek smokers' intention and appraisal of capability to
quit employing the theoretical frameworks of Decisional
Balance (DB) and Cognitive Dissonance (CD). . . .
Conclusions
Findings provide support for the DB theory. On the other
hand, "excuses" do
not appear to be extensively employed to reduce the conflict
between smoking and concern for health. There is much heterogeneity
regarding smokers' intention and appraised capability to quit,
reflecting theoretical and methodological problems with the
distinction among stages of change. Harm reduction programs
and interventions designed to increase the implementation of
smoking cessation should take into account the detrimental
effect of past unsuccessful quit attempts.
Source: Agence
France Presse (AFP) (fr), 2006-01-04
Intro:
Welcome to Greece, the last sanctuary for smokers
in a European Union at war with nicotine.
"Non-smokers do not entirely feel at home in this country,
and with cause," laments John Kosdouros, the head of the
Greek anti-smoking society, a citizens group.
"There are laws against smoking, but they are not applied,
and nobody dares sanction those who break them," he says.
Ranked second in tobacco production in Europe, Greece is
also the EU's most prolific consumer of the "nicotiana tabacum" --
an estimated 45 percent of the Greek population lights up on
a regular basis.
2005 15(3):329-330; doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki072
Source: European
Journal of Public Health, 2005-07-18
Intro:
Cigarette smoking among adolescents is one of the leading
health indicators that reflect major health concerns at the European
Union. Greece's leading position on cigarette smoking among
its European partners forced the Hellenic Ministry of Health
and Welfare to assume tobacco-control programs, introducing
smoke-free zones, smoking-cessation centres, and an intense
promotional strategy against smoking
GREECE: Last Puff for Tobacco Advertising
Source: seeurope.net,
2005-08-04
Author: Source: Kathimerini English edition
Intro:
Greece agreed to the EU-wide ban on tobacco advertising yesterday,
effectively banning the promotion of cigarettes in printed
media, radio and over the Internet.
In a country where lighting up is second nature
and advertisements for cigarettes abound, perhaps
it was no surprise the government missed the July 31 deadline for adopting
the Tobacco Advertising Directive, passed by the
European Parliament in 2003.
However, the ministers of interior, health,
finance and state yesterday signed up to the ban
Rates and social patterning of household smoking
and breastfeeding in contrasting European settings
Volume 31 Issue 5 Page 603 - September 2005 doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2005.00537.x
Source: Child:
Care, Health and Development, 2005-08-11
Author: G. Papadimitriou*, U. Kotzaeridou*,
C. Mouratidis*, P. Goularas*, C. Coe, A. Ganas and N. J.
Spencer
Intro:
Smoking and breastfeeding are more prevalent among households
with young infants in Veria compared with Coventry. The social patterning of health-related
behaviours noted in Coventry is less marked in Veria. The
relevance of these findings for public health interventions
in the contrasting settings is discussed.
Leader of International Cigarette Smuggling Ring
Arrested in Greece
Source: Focus
English News (bg), 2005-08-13
Intro:
A suspected leader of an international ring
for smuggling cigarettes in the EU has been arrested
in a resort near Athens, Greek police announced. The identity of the
man has not been revealed. He used different pseudonyms
and often travelled abroad. The ring smuggled
hundreds of tonnes of cigarettes to the
EU.
Man gets 15 months for smoking on plane
Source: AP,
2005-11-17
Author: Associated Press
Intro:
A Greek court sentenced a man to 15 months in
pris on for smoking on a plane,
and then hitting a male flight attendant who told him
to put his cigarette out, court officials said Thursday.
The 50-year-old Greek resident of New York
was also convicted of endangering the aircraft.
He was traveling on Olympic Airlines Flight No.
412 from New York to Athens last week.
Genes, environment are factors in smokers’ illness
Greek scientists lead study into chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease
Source: Kathimerini
(gr), 2005-11-26
Author: Penny Bouloutza - Kathimerini
Intro:
Four in 10 Greek smokers are threatened
with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which
kills about 3 million people around the world every year.
About 450 million people are estimated
to suffer from this disease, also known as smokers’ cough. In Greece,
it affects 8.5 percent of the adult population.
Smoking is the main cause
and quitting is the only way to prevent it, but
not all smokers are at risk. Scientists, led by
Greek researchers from the University of Crete, have been
studying the genetic basis of the disease for the
purpose of developing a test to find out
which smokers are at risk.
Professor Nikos Siafakas is head of the Greek
Pulmonary Association, a professor at the University of Crete
and the director of the Iraklion University Hospital’s
pulmonary clinic, where important research has been
carried out over the past few years into COPD.
COPPENRATH: Greetings from Greece
Source: Burlington
(VT) Free Press, 2005-12-11
Author: Taylor Coppenrath
Intro:
One noticeable habit that is very obvious is
that it seems almost everyone over here smokes cigarettes.
I am not sure what the age limit is to purchase tobacco,
but it appears that people of any age are smoking, from teenagers
to senior citizens. Not only that, but smoking is permitted
in many places that I am not accustomed to. . . .
Also, people smoke in the arenas during our
games. I guess people used to smoke in arenas back in the
U.S. as well, but not in my recent memory so it is certainly
a new experience to me. My dad told me that there was a bluish
gray haze throughout the whole arena in my game against Olympiakos.
I can't understand why they wouldn't at least have a designated
section so that the arena would not be so hazy. It doesn't
exactly make for the best viewing experience at the game,
I don't think.
It seems that there has been such a massive
effort to restrict smoking in public establishments in the
United States over the past few years that it is easy to
forget how things used to be.
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