The UK smoking ban. What do you think?

Question

With the ban soon to come into force, do you think that it will be self regulating, or are we likely to see continual news stories about fines issued to people who have been cayght smoking in public places ?

Answer 1

just 1 more step to loosing our freedom

Answer 2

I hope to hell everyone ignores it.
I smoked for years sometimes up to 40 a day whilst driving the length and breadth of Britain. I also ate crap in every place I had to stop including Motorway service areas. I then had a minor heart attack and had to give up driving a lorry when it was found I was also diabetic and had to take insulin. I stopped smoking whilst in hospital. According to all the do-gooders the heart attack was without doubt my own fault and I guess all of the anti-smoking Nazis out there will say the same. However what happened to me has still not prevented me from defending the right of anyone to smoke if they should so wish and I feel like it will be beholden on me to light up a cigarette at the first opportunity after the ban comes into place in my local club where I have been a member for 28 years as a sign of solidarity with smokers everywhere.
Smokers have been made social pariahs by the anti-smoking lobby and it would seem the only thing left is to ban tobacco.
Do that by all means and we can all pay for the £7 billion in lost revenue and even the smoking Nazis will pay!!!!!!!.
I would back the ban if at the same time the use and abuse of all non prescription drugs i.e. cocaine ,heroin, marijuana or whatever other name it goes by were made punishable by death!!
But that won't happen because addicts can't help it can they?
YES THEY CAN BUT THEY WON'T.

Answer 3

It Takes A Violation Of Human Rights To Stop It But It Should Be A Violation To Smoke It In Peoples Faces Its Not Only The Smoker That Has To Accept Its Cancereous Fumes, This Is Called Passive Smoking ??? Tobacco SMOKE ( What Other People Have To Breath In) Contains Over 4000 Chemicals, 60 Of These Cancerous And The Rest ? A Few Of Them Cause This :

Illnesses in children
Middle ear infection ( Can Lead To M.E ) Take My Word For It It Does.
Asthma (induction & exacerbation)
Bronchitis (induction & exacerbation)
Pneumonia (induction & exacerbation)

Illnesses in adults:
Heart disease
Stroke
Lung cancer
Nasal cancer

Now If Thats Not Enough Here Is A Few More Caused By

Breathing In Other Peoples Smoke :
Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage)
Adverse impact on learning and behavioural development in children
Meningococcal infections in children
Cancers and leukaemia in children
Asthma exacerbation in adults
Exacerbation of cystic fibrosis
Decreased lung function
Cervical cancer

In All Honesty The Smoker Is Not Only Killing Them Selfs

Somthing Has To Be Done About This, It SHould Not Be The Non-Smokers Having To Move Because They Are Being Killed By A Scilent Killer ( Not The Smoker Of Course Because The Smoker Will Have Serious Troubble Staying Quiet For Too Long - Coughing ? As Your Lungs Are Trying To Rid Of This Horrible Gundge Heavy Breathing ? Youre Practically Suffocating Your Self.....
It Is Far From Exeptable To Walk Arround The Streets With A Knife Or Mabe A Tub Full Of Toxic Gas So Why Is It "Acceptable" To Walk Arround With A Ciggarette In Your Hand ?

With Over 47,000 Cases Of Cancer In The UK over The Last Year (Caused By Smoking/Smokers Fumes)

It Should Be A HUMAN RIGHT To Not Have To Put Up With The Smoke Let Allone To Smoke The Drug ... Yes Its A DRUG

If You Have The Guts To Smoke It Mabe You Have The Guts To Look At Other Peoples InsidesYou Are Distroying ..

Thankyou For Reading My Oppinion On Smoking In Public.
There Is A Reason Why You Dont Do It In Your House Isnt There ????

Answer 4

Yet another pointless exercise in trying to extract money from our people by fining them for doing something that is completely legal, but how are they going to enforce the fine in a pub or a staduim etc? Tell you that youve been a naughty boy/girl and then call and waste police time by fining you for smoking a cigarette while some poor old lady is getting mugged, or another young child abused!
And where does the smoke go from a cigarette, into the air, and we all breathe the same air so will it really make a difference if people go outside to smoke 5 metres away from a bar as we are just polluting the atmosphere in the same way, so in my opinion this is a waste of everyones tax money as non smokers will also have to pay for these council spies.
If its about reducing smokers in the country they should make the age limit 18 and teach children from an early age its not good for you, unfortunately our country is just a load of statistics and I think smoking while harmful does not mean you will you live lesser than a non smoker.
Basically it will work in place where people respect the rule but it wont make a difference in other areas as no one respects rules especially when they cant be enforced, just anothewr waste of time, money and a another attempt by the government to find ways of not losing revenue. As a country of freedom maybe the majority of the public should decide and vote (via text message, of coursse as this will get more revenue for them too) where and what should be classed as smoking areas that way its fair and the reality detatched poncy politicians can go and pretend to do something more useful like concentrate on building more prisons for smokers when they get arrested for refusing to put out there cigarette in goverment approved ashtrays (and not forgetting the peadophiles they house in hostels which could be used for the homeless non smokers)!.

Answer 5

I think it is fantastic. I can't believe the smokers are whingeing and using the ludicrous excuse that they exclusively fund the NHS. Everyone should have the right to do as they please with their own health BUT only if it does not directly affect other people's health which obviously smoking does. With regard to the tax on cigarettes I don't imagine sales of cigarettes will be greatly reduced by this ban however I would be happy to pay a little extra on some other product (perhaps ones containing caffeine or alcohol) to make up the shortfall. I find it impossible to understand how anyone could want to continue smoking as they surely know that aside from the health risk they stink! Smokers should see this ban as an opportunity to give up and embrace it. Some of the excuses the people against the ban have listed are just plain stupid and indicative of a desperate addict.

Answer 6

Its about time the government started to take stock of things that really matter to this country and stop wasting time and money passing new laws about smoking and other silly idea's. i can see it now when every body gives up smoking who's going to make up the tax that is going to be lost to the government may be the do gooders that want it banned will dip in to there pockets i don't think so they will be the first to complain about it yet its there fault it's happening. By all means lets have smoking and none smoking establishments to keep every one happy but not to ban smoking all together which is what these so called do gooders want. when they have had enough of slagging down smokers whats next drinking and lets face it drinking does a lot more harm one way or another than smoking does. cant put any more here now as I'm off for a smoke

Answer 7

Big rant time.

I'm scottish, I don't smoke and I'm for the ban - however I think the extent scotland has taken it is a very unfair to smokers.

I personally don't know anyone who has been caught with the smoking ban, then again I don't know anyone who bothers to break this law (I think lol).

I was a bingo caller until yesterday :( I was made redundant after 11 years due to a constant drop in custom since the ban last spring.
It's not just pubs & clubs being affected and closed due to the ban, many other busineses are affected. Smaller Bingo halls all over scotland have closed due to loss of trade.
The youth are fit and able to pop out for a quick puff every 30 mins but it's not always the case for 70+ yearolds who have mobility problems, can hardly walk (many due to hard breathing cause of smoking LOL, but thats besides the point) etc.

One positive thing I will say, since the ban in march I have never gotten a cold again really. I used to get one often... once every couple of months at least, throat problems galore! But I've been fine since the ban. So surely that's a good thing alone?


If I could make a difference...

1) My main thing would be to not start seperating smokers and non smokers - where's the fun in that? I'd guess most groups of friends have both amongst them so you cannot expect a divide to make for a better night out. So different smoking and non smoking pubs are out in my opinnion. Unfair to say the least.

2) I see no reason why establishments cannot provide a smoking room. I'm unsure how far england are going with the ban now, but in scotland its a complete indoors ban and often carpark too! Ok you are liable to have 400 people in a smoking room and 100 in the main area, but deliberately do something to counter that, make it have no music or something! no bar! I don't know. but why the hell should people go OUTSIDE lol on a cold blooming night to smoke.. not good! Cause they drag their non smoking friends outside too haha :p

3) Why dont they FORCE businesses to pay up for good ventilation, so many are slack on that but it would help so much. My work used to be a grey cloud of smoke when busy. It made your eyes sting and your hair ming... All cause the boss wouldn't ventilate it properly if at all.

4) All of the UK should follow the same laws, this is the only fair way. No half laws, no exceptions... one rule for us all.

So all in all, the government have been harsh but I'm all for a ban. Maybe a lighter ban with a bit of cooperation or before long loads of people willl turn into couch potatoes, staying in smoking, drinking themselves into an early grave.... all cause we lost our freedom! :D... well ok maybe not ;)

Deal with it I guess... move on - It's here to stay =/

Answer 8

As a smoker myself, I will uphold the ban and fully understand the concerns over passive smoking, However the ban will be a total waste of time, energy, resources and most of all money (latest figure £29.5M) to enforce it when all of this could be put to better use in area's such as the NHS, Emergency Services, Police etc. Council staff accross the country are to be employed to enforce the ban, can you imagine what Jobs worth's this will turn out!! and the additional unrest it may cause by being given an on the spot £50 fine!! It will not self regulate and will become the stuff of front page headlines in the Tabloids.

Answer 9

I am a smoker, soon to hopefully quit, i have very varied opinions. I think everybody has a right to there opinion and no one is right or wrong on this subject. I do believe however that if you are a smoker and you are being told to leave a public place everytime you want to smoke is a little unfair, i see the point completely that the non smokers etc are trying to make but ultimately it is unfair to expect people to stand in the cold just to enjoy something that is there choice to do. I think a complete pub ban is bad, i think we should be able to choose. If a smoker can't handle not smoking for a few hours then don't go to that pub. If a non smoker can't handle a couple of hours in a smoking pub don't go. Don't alienate people because of a choice. I have known people who very rarely go to pubs, never smoked, exercised, ate well etc etc etc and still die of cancer. But either way i think its pathetic to argue over who is right and who is wrong. Nobody is, its a fact of life. These rules have been set and we have to follow them. Although it will be refreshing to not hear people complain about smoking anymore, we're getting out of your way in public places now so prehaps in return the lectures can stop. Maybe they can try banning McDonalds next, i could do with losing weight too.

Answer 10

I am not a smoker and in all favour of the ban. People who want to smoke will. People who don't smoke will feel more comfortable in bars & restaurants.
People who want to cut down or stop may find it easier to abstain when going out with freinds as it seems to be difficult for smokers to stop when in a smoking environment.

all that said, there is a loophole in the law which many companies will use to get over the ban. The ban is on smoking in a public place. The way round it is to classify a work premises as private property only allowing employees in by invitation, thereafter smoking as allowed with the consent of the propert owners.
Perhaps we will see some pubs becoming "Private" where people can go drink and smoke by invitation.

Answer 11

Come on people dont look at the present look to the future.

I'm a smoker and am totally against the ban due to my freedom being slowly erroded. Yes i sympahise with with bar staff but measures can be taken to place them in a healthy atmosphere and that goes for anyone else.

Remember the ban doesnt just involve inside a building but within 100m around the entrance, so huddling together outside the firms door will be illegal!!

I notice a number of people have been responding who like going to the pub, well look at the latest stats and you will be amazed the number of injuries, deaths, fights,long term illness is caused by drinking. Drink drivers kill non drinkers so i say ban alcohol - it will save your life. Have i got your attention - thought so, but where will it stop.

Fox hunting banned ( not that i agreed with it), Smoking in public areas, smoking while driving your car ( oh yes they are wanting to do this by next year), banning alcohol (it will come), couples only allowed 2 children (dont think i jest), banning cars - the list will go on.

Freedom is mans rights - dont let it be slowly eaten away from under your nose.