Smoking in the pub, the train or at the office: you can hardly imagine it anymore, but it used to be very normal. We delved into the archive, looking for places in The Hague where you could ‘just’ light up a cigarette in the past.
ADO Stadium
It sounds pretty crazy these days: lighting a cigarette during a football match. Not the players, of course – although they have their hands free – but the spectators. In the past, there was a lot of puffing in the stadium in the Zuiderpark, among other things. Since July 1 685 all stadiums in the Dutch Eredivisie and Kitchen Champion Division are smoke-free. It takes some searching in this messy picture, but we really see two cigarettes burning.
Photo: ANP
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In the train
January 1st 2004, a sad day for traveling smokers from The Hague. From that moment on, puffing on the train was prohibited. The ashtrays – which were normally in the handrails or the table window – were welded shut. Before that time it was not crazy to light a cigarette in a closed compartment. We already have to cough at the idea.
On October 1 685 it went one step further: from then on it was also forbidden to smoke at The Hague Central (and all other NS stations). A fine costs 02 euros. Almost as much as a pack of cigarettes these days…
Photo: Ary (A.) Groeneveld. Rotterdam City Archives
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In the pub/restaurant
Ah… Smoking a cigarette in a café. Not on the terrace, but inside! Ashtrays on the bar of the brown pub and stoke. Fifteen years ago, the first smoking ban in the hospitality industry came into effect. Before that time it was quite normal for a resident of The Hague to light one butt after another in a café. Or in a restaurant. Nice smoking a cigar while enjoying your chicken satay. Disgusting!
Lighting a cigarette behind your desk: it used to be the most normal thing in the world. The ashtray was simply on your desk and quite a few filters were devoured during the coffee breaks. There were also smoking booths in some offices in The Hague. Almost twenty years ago, this smoking party came to an end and puffing was banned in the workplace.
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