Some will call me a thankless twit. Invited to spend Christmas week in Davos, Switzerland, I have been miserable for much of the time. I am staying at the Hotel Schatzalp and I have had diner twice at the Steigenberger, luxurious home of the famous World Economic Forum. I am a guest of some very kind people. I don’t have to—and couldn’t possibly—pay for this vacation. Nonetheless, I am not liking it. The company, food, scenery, and service are all excellent. Attitudes towards smoking, on the other hand, are dreadful.

I used to put up with smoke when I lived in Europe, but things have changed. Some four years ago I came down with asthma. Now I have to worry about more than smelly clothes, burning eyes, and the long-term consequences of second-hand smoke. I have to weigh having an asthma flare-up against offending my hosts. And they don’t even smoke. I have been drawing the line at hanging out in the smoke-filled hotel lobby, but I could hardly say no to diner on Christmas Eve, which German speakers call Heiliges Abend, the most important family evening of the year in this part of the world. No one was smoking anywhere I could see, but there was smoke in the air. Result: I had to use my rescue inhaler twice after going to bed. Normally I do not need it at all.

Now I have to choose between being outside or hanging out in my room. The outdoor world is beautiful here, as is the view from my room, but sooner or later a body wants coffee or beer—and company too. I cannot hang out in the beautiful lobby of my hotel, which was built some 100 years ago. I cannot enjoy the ambience of a place made famous by Thomas Mann in The Magic Mountain. I cannot visit my hosts in the Steigenberger. On the other hand, the restaurant in the Hotel Schatzalp is smoke-free, even if I have to hold my breath to get to it.

There is more good news on the horizon. A woman at the reception desk at the Steigenberger was actually sympathetic enough to my problem to tell me that the Swiss canton of Graubünden will go smoke-free in March. Apparently that will be the the second smoke free canton in Switzerland. The first is in the Italian-speaking part of the country. Other parts of Europe with smoking bans include Italy and Ireland, and Germany has a law on the books that will take effect in January. France will also step up its efforts to limit smoking in public places.

I hope these bans work. I enjoy Europe and the company of my wife’s family, but I am unwilling to give up breathing in order to see them.