Smoking in Krakow

Poland hasn’t introduced yet a blanket ban on smoking in public places now in vogue elsewhere in the European Union. Nevertheless smokers are forbidden to indulge in their habit in many surroundings.

For instance, smoking at bus and tram stops in Krakow carries the penalty of fine up to 500 zloties, offenders being hunted down by the municipal police. Obviously, the same applies to buses and trams.

Also, one cannot light a cigarette in shops, museums, theaters, venues for cultural and sporting events, post offices, etc.

Practically all hotels in Krakow have non-smoking rooms as well as smoking ones.

Smoking in shopping malls, office buildings, and the like is restricted to designated areas. Usually it’s a dark corner in the lobby, few establishments boast the comfort of a smoking room called ‘palarnia’ in Polish.

Travelling smokers should remember that smoking is prohibited at train stations in Poland and anywhere aboard trains except smoking cars called ‘wagon dla palacych’. It’s advisable too book a seat in such a car when one buys a ticket for a long-distance train. On the other hand non-smokers should take care to get a seat in a no-smoking car, i.e. ‘wagon dla niepalacych’.

Most restaurants in Krakow allow smoking on the premises even if they usually try to maintain separate smoking and no-smoking areas. At the same time the rising number of eateries in Krakow ban smoking altogether. As few places clearly advertise their policies on tobacco smoke it seems prudent to inquire in advance when booking a table. Yet, as a rule of thumb, diners may anticipate a puff at a cigarette or a pipe during their meal in Krakow.

Non-smokers hardly ever can avoid heavy passive smoking when enjoying the energetic nightlife in Krakow. The city nightspots, from clubs to bars to coffee houses, are notorious for dense veils of cigarette smoke filling their interiors.

You can buy tobacco products, cigarettes in the first place, practically everywhere in Krakow. They are available at ubiquitous kiosks, liquor stores, supermarkets, and grocer's shops. On average a twenty-cigarette pack costs an equivalent of about 2.8 euro. 

International brands of cigarettes popular in Poland are Marlboro, L&M, Golden American, Slims, Vogue, West, Pall Mall, and Rothmans. Most popular Polish brands of cigarettes are Caro, Fajrant, Jan III Sobieski, Iris, Mocne, Fox, Viva, Mars, Carmen. Also available in Krakow are such cigarette brands as ALBATROS, ARES, BOND STREET, BRILLIANT, CAMEL, CHESTERFIELD, CRISTAL, DARK, DAVIDOFF, DOWNTOWN, DUNHILL, EXTRA MOCNE, GAULOISES BLONDES, GROM, GROT, KLUBOWE, KRESOWE, LD, LEVEL, LIVA, LUCKY STRIKE, MESKIE, MAIN, MEWA, MOCNE, NEVADA, NEXT, PARAMOUNT, PARLIAMENT, POPULARNE, POZNANSKIE, PRINCE, R 1, RED&WHITE, RAVEN, ROCKETS, RONSON, ROUTE 66, ROYAL SAIL, SALEM, SHE, SPIKE, TIGER, VICEROY, VIRGINIA, WALET, ZAWISZA, and ZUBR.

Poland’s sales amount to nearly seventy billion cigarettes. Altria Group Inc. (formerly Philip Morris) has about 40 percent market share, followed by Imperial Tobacco with 17 percent or so, British American Tobacco and Scandinavian Tobacco with some 15 percent each, and Altadis with nearly 8 percent. Most cigarettes sold in Poland, including international brands, are produced in five Polish plants owned by the multinationals mentioned above.

Legal smoking age is 18 in Poland. Selling cigarettes to underage youths is a criminal offence.

You may bring your own supply of smoking stuff to Krakow free of duty as long as you keep it to legal limits. Allowances of tobacco from the UE are fairly generous and they cover 800 cigarettes, 200 cigars, and one kilogram of pipe tobacco. Yet from outside the EU one may legally bring free of duty either 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 0.25 kg of pipe tobacco.