D-I-E : Hidden Tobacco in Kiosque (or other shops that are able to sell you tobacco)

Description : 

As a usual smoker in my home country in France, I did not know yet when I arrived in Kokkola if Tobacco was a common product. I mean, in some countries, there are products that are not beeing selled in public. For instance, in arabic country, according to the "law" (religion in most of the time), Alcohol is not allowed. It is very rare to find shops to buy beers or stronger alcohols. So I was wondering when I finally decided to buy a new box of cigarette ; "where is the tobacco stand !?". I could see all the products related to quit smoking, but impossible to find any tobacco box..


Interpretation :

So, What i thought first, was that Finns just don't smoke. I mean the Government did not allowed anymore selling tobacco in public shops. And you had to be a local to be able to buy tobacco. (Because yes, I saw locals with cigarettes in their hands, but could not see any tobacco shops in the street). Then I learnt that you can buy in almost any shops (that are not selling only tobacco, but mostly foods, and all that kind of daily products) tobacco. You just need to ask to the cashier to open the stand (which is always closed) of tobacco, and ask for your cigarette.


Evaluation : 

After getting used to ask for tobacco, and not choose like I had the habbit of doing in this way in France, I understand why the Finnish society is like this ; they know how bad Tobacco is for your health, and they don't want to incitate people to smoke, especially for the youth. Hide the tobacco in shops, and showcase the "quit smoking" product for persons who are already smoking for a long time ; It should be like this in every country. The less number of smoker it would be in a country, the less money will be needed to cure the lung cancer. (and in consequences, more Government money can be invested in others area, like education for example).

Tobacco stand in France (Stand are publicly open, whereas this same kind of stand is closed in finland. I could not find any pictures of tobacco stand in Finland,which demonstrate pretty well how Finnish Governement does not want his population to be intoxicated by the tobacco by hide it from our eyes).