The Matthew at JCU In Photos

What’s the Real Problem with Smoking in Rome?

Rome: November 11, 2023. An up-close image of a self-service tobacco machine in Trastvere.

In Photos

By Emma Draus / Photoreporter || Edited by The Matthew Board

According to the National Library of Medicine, lung cancer kills around 36,000 Italians each year and smoking-related deaths soar to around 72,000 annually.

Rome: November 11, 2023. An up-close image of a self-service tobacco machine in Trastvere.

There have been many laws created in Italy to limit the number of smokers, yet research completed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information has discovered that it has not ceased the number of smokers overall.

Rome: October 15, 2023. An older man shares his lighter with a man on a bench outside of a tobacco store in Trastevere.

Why is this a problem? The statistics speak for themselves; but not only is it a health hazard, it is infuriating to the passersby who does not smoke, as reported to BBC news by smokers and nonsmokers in Milan.

Rome: November 11, 2023. A lone cigarette put out rests at the opening edge of a garbage can in Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere.

Whether it’s at a bar, a café, or simply wandering the crowded streets of Rome, people are engulfed in the swirling clouds of cigarette smoke. The smell lingers on clothes and sticks to your hair, and there is no avoiding it.

Rome: October 15, 2023. A young man and woman enjoy cigarettes and beers in Piazza di San Giovanni della Malva on a busy Sunday afternoon.

It is not uncommon to see people of all ages taking a cigarette break during work or smoking in a group setting.

Rome: October 15, 2023. An employee at Trapizzino smokes on a break while immersed in their phone in the doorway of a nearby building.
Rome: November 11, 2023. A sign advertising the sale of tobacco products at Meccanismo, a popular bar in Piazza Trilussa.

More often than not, you will watch someone with a cigarette hanging out of their mouth as they shuffle from person to person murmuring, “accendino?” (lighter)

Rome: October 29, 2023. A man holds a cigarette to his mouth while his friends continue to engage in conversation at Bar San Calisto in Trastevere.

If the answer is no, there is the slightest pause of bewilderment that someone would not smoke. They then continue their quest for one spark of a flame and will continue this pattern each time the craving ensues.

Rome: October 15, 2023. A man wanders around Trastevere and takes short puffs of a hand-rolled cigarette.
Rome: October 15, 2023. A group of people wait in line to purchase cigarettes after hours at a Tabaccheria in Trastevere.

It is a known fact that smoking kills. Yet for Italians, it seems that smoking has become a significant part of their lifestyle.

Rome: October 15, 2023. Two women simultaneously light their cigarettes as they watch the daily performer in Piazza Trilussa.

As for those who do not smoke and feel bombarded by the tobacco-filled air and cigarettes embedded in the cracks of the cobblestones, there will be no sense of relief until stricter laws are put into place here in La Città Eterna.