Can you smoke, and is shisha common in Morocco?

Smoking is a normal part of public life in Morocco, so you won't feel out of place if you smoke, nor surrounded if you don't, though you should expect to encounter it. Cigarettes are widely smoked, predominantly by men — you'll see far fewer women smoking in public, particularly outside the big cities, and a woman smoking openly in a conservative area can draw attention, so that's worth being aware of. The classic setting is the pavement café terrace, where men sit for hours over a coffee and a cigarette watching the street go by; it's a whole social institution.

On where you can light up: outdoors is generally fine — café terraces, streets, open spaces — and that's where most smoking happens. Indoors is shifting. Morocco has tightened rules on smoking in enclosed public places over the years, and many indoor restaurants, hotels, and the like are now non-smoking, though enforcement is inconsistent. As a rule, step outside or to a terrace and you'll have no trouble. If you're unsure indoors, just ask; staff will point you to where it's acceptable.

Shisha — the water pipe, also called hookah or narghile — exists in Morocco but I want to set expectations honestly, because travellers sometimes arrive picturing the shisha-on-every-corner scene of Cairo or the Gulf, and that's not quite Morocco. It's around, especially in tourist-oriented cafés and lounges in cities like Marrakech, Tangier, and Casablanca, and in more modern hangouts, but it isn't the deep-rooted café staple here that mint tea and cigarettes are. So you can certainly find a shisha lounge, just don't assume the nearest traditional café will offer it — many won't.

The one piece of timing advice I always give: Ramadan changes everything. During the holy month, smoking in public during daylight fasting hours is genuinely frowned upon, because tobacco breaks the fast along with food and drink. Out of respect for the many people around you who are abstaining, don't smoke openly on the street in daytime during Ramadan — wait until after sunset, when the cafés fill and smoking resumes freely. Year-round, discretion and reading the room serve you well, especially in more conservative and rural places.