North Carolina Travel Forum

I will be visiting N C in the next week, and as I am persicuted at home in England for smoking, what's the attitude to somoking in NC (bars / restaurants etc). Also I have looked at the Grove Park Inn, Ashville, all the reviews sound good, how long would it take me to drive from Atlanta to Ashville?

Many Thanks,
Michael

North Carolina is the number 1 producer of tobacco in the US, however, anti-smoking advocates have begun making progress or impinging on personal liberties, depending on how you look at it. The City of Charlotte does limit smoking at the airport and gov. bldgs, but you can still smoke in restauraunts and bars. The same holds true for Asheviile.

4 hours

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60742-i251-k1230196-Driving_from_Atlanta_to_Asheville-Asheville_North_Carolina.html

You can smoke in NC in public places, but you should know that many places in Asheville are non-smoking. It's a pretty environmentally friendly place, several popular restaurants and music venues are non smoking. But there are plenty of places that allow it...it will take you about 3.5 hours to reach Asheville from Atlanta, and The Grove Park Inn is the most exclusive place to stay in town, it's halls are lined with celebrity photos who have stayed there.

Having grew up in eastern North Carolina, I will say that the general feeling about tobacco has changed dramatically over the years. Many of my mothers people "raised" tobacco and I worked in tobacco fields for relatives (during the summer months) for several years while I was as a young man. Even then the sentiment among the children was becoming negative toward tobacco and very few of them followed in their parents foot steps in raising tobacco as a cash crop. As kids we would often sneak into the tobacco barns, once the leaf was cured, and roll our own cigarettes. Talk about a strong smoke! I smoked for many years myself, but quit about 10 years ago. I never give smokers grief, since I smoked for many years myself. But I can surely breath a whole lot easier and have a lot more energy now that I have quit. It does make a difference.

American Tobacco Company and Ligget & Meyers both have factories in Durham, NC. And Americanm Tobacco did have daily tours through their plant. These tobacco companies owe theit start from Union soldiers that acquired the taste for the home grown tobacco around that area during the American Civil War.

I hope that you enjoy your trip to the USA!