In my case, and this the US, I had friends who smoked.

I was curious, bummed one, and once I got past the coughing I really enjoyed the effects, that said by the time you no longer get the "high" (for lack of a better word) you're addicted.

Fast forward 20 years and I'm still trying to quit.

Quit for 5 years cold turkey, but... Shit went down in almost every facet of my life, and I went back.

But I'm down to about a pack a week.

One in the morning, one on the road to work, and one or two during my shift if time allows.

Just need to kick it for good.

Edit: To correct typos

It's not necessarily that smoking is a larger percentage of the population. It varies, but stats show a similar percentage more or less... it is a bit higher in Europe on average than in the US on average — but both places are large with varied amounts of smokers. It's more that people are outside near each other more in Europe.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/smoking-rates-by-country

In Europe they're walking down the street, sitting outdoors at cafes, hanging out in the city center, etc. Whereas in the US, people are often driving from place to place to go to a destination, so you don't notice the smoking as much. Plus, smoking sections are a concept that exists in the US (even outside), whereas they don't in Europe. Thankfully, in much of the US and EU, most places are finally non-smoking indoors now.

This is a gross overgeneralization. It's different in different parts of the US and different parts of Europe, of course.

(FWIW: I totally agree with you that it's gross. And it's far too common to run into in Europe.)

Why smoking remains so prevalent. I’m sure it’s not a majority that smokes, but it is massively more common anywhere I’ve been in Europe than here in the US. I live in a fairly large city and I will go many days in a row without seeing a single person smoking.

I just don’t really get it. It’s gross, it smells, it ruins your teeth and your lungs, and it’s expensive. Why do it?

this is the same in asia. sometimes people don't even smoke, they just smoke because their boss does it and they do it to fit in at work. it's really awful.

I was listening a podcast about cancer patient in France.

One talk was about the fact that the surgeon was planning on removing the breast tumor AND do the reconstruction directly after.

Except that by doing that the operation would have cost more than what the national social security covers, so it meant a big premium for the patient.

The "big" premium they were taking about was 600€ which is obviously outrageous. To make a cancer patient spend this much money on a life saving procedure.

We do have some steep copayments for some treatments as well. For example, if I had to go to the hospital for a month I'd have to pay about 1000 EUR myself.

Then again, the people in all countries pay for the lifestyle of the politicians... in addition to the bribes they get for deciding in favor of whichever corporate and/or rich person needs a specific law passed or vetoed.

At least the monarchs do what you pay them for .... entertain you.

Completely agree. I am German and it's utterly ridiculous.

Europe: when ordering water, I have to specify for it not to have gas (non-carbonated). Also in places like Germany, people drink those before playing football. I don’t understand how you do it or even like it that way.

I like the taste of TV static. Sue me!

American here, I saw a tip jar for the cashiers in a flea market yesterday. I completely agree, it's out of control. It would be great if employers would just pay their employees properly instead of asking customers to subsidize wages.

We're not getting refills anyway, I'd rather not have 80% ice with a bit of soda

Nah that's just the french, they're a little weird. Us germans got normal pretzel arms

Typically they ask you for still or sparkling while dining and they charge in Europe. In London, I typically just say, "tap". They had to legally serve it.

The graffiti thing kills me. Washing it off is a waste, it will be vandalised again quickly. Think this way, repaint properly a wall takes time and money, to draw a cartoonishly large cock takes seconds and costs pennies. So many places chose to allow selected artists do some good stuff as it’s a better deterrent.

I think the difference is welf defense in Europe is defending your person, not your property. If someone breaks in, you don't have the right to hurt them. You call the police. If they were trying to attack you or you alerting them to your presence makes them come for you, then of course you can defend yourself.

Self defence is just that. Defence of the self.

One thing that your 2a right also means is that your criminals are likely to be armed. Ours are less likely to be and certainly much less likely for petty crime. The police in Ireland, for instanc, don't carry guns.

If someone breaks into my house. I'm not approaching them with hugs. I'm calling the police and grabbing a golf club or poker or similar.

Self defense is of course allowed, but only so far as to prevent harm. It also needs to be adequate to prevent the harm the attacker tried to inflict. So shooting someone who entered isn't okay, you could've just held the gun at them. Which isn't relevant cause you don't have a gun and neither do they, most likely.

As if we don't do the same between the states.