Thoughts on winter smoking in France

No, I'm not talking about the smoking hot french people in their stylish winter clothes, but smoking outside of restaurants and bars in the winter. Almost every restaurant or bar has outside seating areas, some with tents and heaters where those who want to smoke can sit pursuant to recent changes in anti-smoking laws throughout the EU. People are happy to sit outside and drink wine or coffee so long as the weather is not terrible, smoking or not, and the weather in Provence was quite pleasant so even in 40s or 50s we were sitting and drinking a coffee or Perrier outside, so long we were not in a tent and no one was smoking around us. But inside it was quite pleasant eating meals in a smoke-free environment, something we never thought we would experience in France, given the heavy smoking that has been historic there. During past winter trips in Paris or the Alps we have often been stuck inside small restaurants with low ceilings filled with smoke, rather the way it used to be here in the US. It always brings me back to the days when people smoked in offices, bars, and on planes and cigarettes were 50 cents a pack rather than $5.00 or more today. More and more we do notice in Europe that young people are not smoking, and us middle-aged folks are in the mix too. Perhaps the push has been due to the overwhelming costs to the health care systems of smoking and cancer, heart disease, strokes, and so on. Regardless of the reason, for we non-smokers it has definitely made traveling in France in the winter a much better experience.