Tobacco- is there still some grey area?

[Free Ben]

Hi all, it’s been a few years since I was last in Amsterdam and so would appreciate some more up to date info.

When the smoking ban came in, most coffeeshops were ok with mixing with tobacco (even the ones with signs up) as long as you kept the box off the table.

Then the glass boxes arrived and it seemed to be a mix of the shops with a designated area were strictly pure outside of the box and places with no glass box remained ok with turning a blind eye (most at least)

Now I see a lot of shops have removed there tobacco areas (Ballonnetje, Rookies etc) and seem to be pure only.

So what’s the lay of the land? Are there still some shops with a tobacco area or that turn a blind eye? Should I just ask at each shop or do the signs (level of strictness) hint to the answer

I’m happy to smoke my green pure but I do like to mix with tobacco for hash.

[HitTheNorth]

High there,
In my experience the only times I've seen hassle is when the baccy has been clearly on display. Then a member of staff will ask you to put it away and you obviously do.
On my last visit (Aug 22) I saw this in rookies, but the customer argued back for some weird reason, it took a while and the waitress did have to threaten to throw them out but he put it away in the end. In de Kade some geezer walked into the lounge and sparked up a cigarette! The staff explained they could lose their license and I think he didn't realise it was a coffeeshop.
In both cases the staff were firm but fair and never resorted to shouting or general arsiness
There's several Cs with outdoor seating rookies, 137 easy times , greenhouse effect etc as well as bars like Suzies if you wanna smoke with tobacco. Guess it depends on the weather though.
Enjoy and don't forget to report back

[Not_the_monk]

There's definitely a stronger no-baccy vibe in more shops imho than there was pre-pandemic. Although in general there's more of a b&f vibe overall I found on my last trip anyway, with some places not having reopened smoking areas and others having had quite minimalistic refurbs.

Clearly in some there's still not much of an issue with sneaking a bit of baccy in if you're not blatant about it, whereas in others it is clearly being actively discouraged. I personally wouldn't ask outright as then you're putting the tender in the position of having to turn a half-open rather than a blind-eye, the signs are generally relatively easy to read as to whether its a space it could be ignored in or not imo. As said above there's some outside options for baccy use too if you're lucky with the weather

Still a case really of trying to be respectful about it and pick your spots etc, just the number of spots does seem to be reducing a bit all the time.

[DjShaggy]

It's much easier to beg for forgiveness than permission.

[Free Ben]

Thanks for the advice folks. I think my ask first idea is certainly a no go, just puts them in a difficult position/hard to say yes. I remember when the ban first came in that it was fine to ask but I’d imagine enforcement was non existent back then.

I’ll go with my gut on this and as long as I’m not bothering anyone I’m sure it will be fine. May even try going pure for the few days and see how I go

[brufy]

Thanks for the advice folks. I think my ask first idea is certainly a no go, just puts them in a difficult position/hard to say yes. I remember when the ban first came in that it was fine to ask but I’d imagine enforcement was non existent back then.

I’ll go with my gut on this and as long as I’m not bothering anyone I’m sure it will be fine. May even try going pure for the few days and see how I go

Go pure! You know you want to!