smoking ban??

queensway_boy

rmg1 wrote: »

I just wonder what will be next?
The Government is banning smoking in enclosed public areas. Will it be smoking in my home, next?

It should be,why should your neighbours suffer passive smoking as your smoke filters through to their house

rmg1

If you want to go in that particular direction, ban all driving around my home as the carbon monoxide fumes will filter in and could cause all sorts of diseases.
There are far more toxins in exhaust fumes from cars/lorries/planes than in cigarettes.
I can easily envisage a society where all smoking is banned and then goes underground (American Prohibition springs to mind). Meanwhile, everyones Tax/NI contributions go up. This causes people to demand pay rises in order to continue the life they are used to. This has the knock-on effect of increasing inflation, which forces an interest rise from the Bank of England in order to control it. Mortgage rates then go up and the whol cycle starts again.
Also, the air carriers are currently thinking about increasing prices in order to try and do something about offsetting their carbon footprint.
So, soon we will be back to the state where only the rich can afford to travel by air and go abroad on their hols.
Anyone disagree?

immoral_angeluk

Roll on 1st July. Can't wait to be able to go out to a pub for a quiet drink and not have to wash my hair 15 times because it stinks of smoke.

rmg1

And still people are missing the fact that the money the Government loses in tax will have to be regained from somewhere else.
I see 4 choices.
1) A cut in public services
2) A Tax/NI hike
3) A hike in VAT or a new tax introduced.
4) A rise in council tax as central Government reduces the cash given to local councils for local services.

skyrocket

rmg1 wrote: »

But, apparently, you are quite happy for yobbos to get drunk and start a fight which may involve innocent bystanders, costs the police/NHS time, money and resources they can ill afford (yes, they're all pleading poverty again!).

And where in my post did I say this?

I believe in live and let live, however anyone who does something, be it drinking, fighting, drugs or smoking, which affects other people negatively is wrong in my book.

Can you outline a situation where other people breathing in your smoke whether they like it or not, just because you feel you have the right to smoke wherever you want, could be deemed a positive thing?

Also no-one is saying you CAN'T smoke - we just don't want you doing it near us!

I also think it should be illegal to smoke around children anywhere. In public or in the home. People that subject children to their smoke are a disgrace.

iglimpse

Try Dept of Health website for lots more info.

Smokers should not be treated any different to anyone else, or made to feel guilty by anyone.

I have waited a long time for this, I deal with so many people who just cannot give up...until they cross the door of the cardiac unit, the choice is then no longer theirs.

Many say their weakest point is when they go out socialising to the pub which is understandable. Now they will have to make a concious effort to go outside - less of an excuse. It's OK if you don't have any health problems (95% of you soon will), I am talking about those who already have serious circulation problems and are within a year of amputation, (or expensive clever surgery to try and avoid it). I can't wait to hear what the excuse will now be "I was dragged out there"??

I have some sympathy with older people (70+), many of whom were given fags free in the forces. Younger ones have made their own decsions.

I know many people rely on fags to wind down and take a break. However, we do know that nicotine does not cure stress. Relaxing is great and we all need it, but you don't need fags to do it. It is very stressful to even think about stopping smoking!

There are always exceptions, the 60 a day man who lived happily till 95...and the very health conscious who suffer serious illness. Life just is not fair.

Yes the UK may go bankrupt if fags were banned...lets suck it and see - worth the risk surely?

There is no disputing the facts, smoking seriously damages your health. You may not notice anything at all until your 40-50's. You might still live to a good age but with a miserable quality of life.

Quietgirl

Well i am an x smoker and i am selfishly looking forward to the ban as the ban will remove the temptation of wanting one if i smell it.

Gordon_the_Moron

I'm an ex-smoker who is looking forward to the ban tremendously too but not because of temptation.

I started smoking aged about 14 or 15, I gave up when I was nearly 19 so I smoked for a fair while (not that long but long enough to get addicted)

When I was about 12 or 13 a friend of the family (she was 45) was told she had cancer of the lungs and it had spread to her kidneys, liver and bones, she was unlikely to live more than 3 months (she lived healthily apart from smoking, she always ate healthily, exercised a lot and seemed healthy but she smoked about 50-60 per day) sadly I didn't think about that when I started but as she got worse and worse (she seemed determined to go on, after the diagnosis she would live at most 3 months she lived for nearly 6 years) but it just started bugging me as I heard how bad she was getting, first she lost a kidney (and the other one was weakening) her liver was going, her bones were getting weak, when she did eventually succumb to its deadly grip (aged 52) I swore that day that I would never smoke again... I threw my last packet in the bin and I haven't had one since... I didn't use any replacements just will power and sheer determination (it was hard, very hard but I was just bloody determined not to give in, I would just think of our friend dying slowly and painfully, bravely but in vain fighting for her life). It was the best decision I have ever made, apart from the long term damage that will never happen now because I stopped so young I felt better, more energy, more full of life, more like going out and doing stuff within a couple of weeks, I hadn't realised just how much better I used to feel.

Anyway leaving aside my reasons for quitting, I would always have supported the ban, smoking was my decision and if I wanted to I would start again now (I don't) but why should others around me breath in noxious fumes? Whenever I was out I would always go outside for a fag regardless of whether somewhere was non-smoking or not.

I'm not advocating banning smoking altogether (though I do think it should be illegal around children anywhere, as someone pointed out that is just disgusting and selfish) but I believe everyone should have the right to choose whether to breathe in smoke or NOT as they see fit. They shouldn't have to decide to avoid certain public places or change their job (or not take a certain job) to fit in with that decision. I can't wait for July 1st, if the ban had been in place when a lot of the smokers on here started I doubt you would have done would you? Knowing the inconvenience it may have put you off, do you want your children to grow up to be smokers? I somehow doubt it (if you do you're a f*cking idiot) so isn't anything likely to put them off worth the small sacrifice of stepping outside a door for gods sake.