Mobile-phones
Nowadays almost every Finns has their own mobile-phone and you can see people talking into them almost everywhere.
Wherever there are restrictions there will be a sign that tells you about having to switch off your mobile-phone. Bot usually their use is restricted in hospitals.
Mobile-phones are to either be switched off or turned into silent-mode when you are in meetings, at lectures, at dinner-parties, movies, in the theatre or the opera. It is also not very nice to answer your mobile when eating dinner in company but people tend to forget about it all too often as anywhere else in the world today.

Finland is one of the World’s top countries in mobile-phones per capita and the Finns do talk on their mobiles in the streets, in cafes, on the bus and even when they are driving their cars although it is not allowed anymore with out a hands-free appliance. So don’t talk on the phone and drive when driving without a hands-free.

Smoking

Smoking is prohibited in bars and restaurants on Åland, if no special smoking-rooms or cabinets have been installed on the premises you are only allowed to smoke outside. Smoking will be prohibited in bars and restaurants in mainland Finland as well from June 1st 2007 and the same rules about outdoors smoking only if there are no smoking rooms.

Today smoking has more and more become difficult issue and hard to know how to go on about it. When invited into someone’s home, ask if you’re allowed to smoke. The general unspoken rule is that you generally don’t smoke indoors when in somebody’s home. You either go outdoors into the garden or onto the balcony. If visiting a home and smoking on the balcony the cigarette buts are very often placed in an old jar with a screw top lid avoiding the smoke getting out and securing the cigarette buts to be put out safely.

If you are allowed to smoke, smoking normally is considered if you ask the other present in the room if it is okay to smoke. And when it is okay to smoke, then smoking is allowed when the coffee is served if the host has not proposed it earlier.
Also in restaurants, bars and cafés there are either separate rooms or just a section of tables on the premises that are separated into a smoking and a non-smoking area.

So make sure you know where you can smoke, if at all indoors!