no-smoking and non-smoking

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi there,

I am struggling with the use of no-smoking and non-smoking.
I looked up the Cambridge dictionaries online for this matter dictionary.cambridge.org/define. … &dict=CALD

Could anyone elaborate a bit more on this topic and or on the use of the prefix no-/non-
Thanks in advance and have all a good week,

mdenglish :smiley:

2

Hi,

The difference lies in who does the smoking. In the UK smoking is now banned in all public places and it therefore follows that in every restaurant/bar you are not allowed to smoke. In the past when smoking was allowed, you would find notices that would announce: This is a no-smoking area. Non-smoking is used to describe someone who doesn’t smoke.

Alan