Are there any protest groups I can join to protest against the smoking ban etc?

Question

I am sick of living in a Nanny state! i am a grown man and don't like to be told I am not allowed to smoke in a pub, buy a hot sausage roll (I may die) etc. Health and safety and moral panic are neutering our freedoms. Choice is the key. Allow smoking and non smoking pubs, and if someone makes a choice to do something they are responsible towards the outcome - not central government.

I live in the uk.

It's and adult choice. take your personal hatreds out of my pubs!

Answer 1

we tried it here in ireland...........didnt work even all our pubs back us up and suggested bar smoking /lounge non smoking, they wouldnt even meet us half way, results pubs/clubs empty here and closing down left right and centre loads of people out of work.

Answer 2

I understand your anger totally, but I am afraid to say that there seems to be nothing anyone can do to stop this culture. When they seem to have picked off the smokers they will be on to the next thing, have no fear.It is a case of he who laughs last laughs longest, simply wait and see how the so called do gooders will squeal when it is their turn to be restricted by law from something that they feel is their right. I smoke but will have to put up with it, I feel so sorry for the older people who's only pleasure is to go to their local club to spend a few hours with their friends, enjoying a pint and a smoke. Not so bad in the warmer weather where they maybe allowed to sit out,how about an eighty year old being made to sit outside in the cold from September to May. I agree with you, where would have been the harm to allow smoking pubs? These people do not give a fig but as I said when laws are passed to outlaw their pleasure then they will realise what they have done to for freedom and liberty.As to all the cleaver comments about us polluting their air how about the fumes from their 4 wheel drives etc, there is nothing worse than taking a walk to be chocked by car fumes.

Answer 3

Got to be a group of smokists somewhere. Think we're outnumbered on this issue of the smoke ban. Parently it's okay for the chimneys to continue pouring out their filth, but not okay to gulp any of it down the lungs, not in public or in a confined space.

The result of the smoke ban is going to be a lot of folk not going dahn the pub or to the tapas bar etc.

See if I care. Take away fish n chips will do with ten cigs and a bottle of Tizer.

Gronph!

Answer 4

i live in scotland where the smoking ban has been in force for nearly a year and im also a smoker. like you a lot of people were up in arms as well as pub landlords. The way around it has been for sheltered smoking areas to be put at the back of the pub and the majority of them have patio heaters in them as well and actually are a nice cosy place to have a ***. I smoke but before the ban come in i went outside anyway as i dont like being in a smoky room even though i enjoy a ***. no amount of protesting is going to change the governments mind about it so just get on with it

Answer 5

I am not a smoker but i feel the ban is a bot extreme! i think they should at least allow some pubs to be specifically for smokers - I know someone who owns a bar and he would have an 80 year old man come in everyday for his drink and a smoke andnow he has to tell him to go outside! Its a bit ridiculous.
I agree tha tin eating places there should be no smoking by all means, but like i said - some pubs should be allowed or even have a "smoking" night - then people have choice.
People hate smoke can choose somewhere else!

Answer 6

I agree with you, all this has gotten so out of hand. Smoking is not an ILLEGAL activity is it? Then why are people who smoke treated like criminals? There could be compromises made, but the anti-smoking groups do not want to do that. It is their way or no way. All these people who are cheering for what they perceive to be a victory in their fight against smoking should be really careful what they are cheering for. It is just another freedom lost and one day it will be one of the freedoms that they enjoy which will be the next one to go.
I am a former smoker by the way, but I really hate what I see happening.

Answer 7

I don't know of any protest groups in the UK specifically. However, in Canada, we're fighting the very same thing. We have a lobby group, http://www.mychoice.ca . If you go to their site, they will likely be able to give you advice (and maybe support) in how to start your own pro-choice protest/lobby group.

Smoking may be bad, but consenting adults should be allowed to do what they want to their bodies. Our bodies, our choice.

edit: Just a warning for 'funny_smartlovely' below. In Canada, they started off by just banning it in pubs. Now they've gone a step further. If a patio is heated or covered, you're not allowed to smoke there either!

Answer 8

this is a million dollar question....same problem here in USA. in MA they even have state bill to ban smoking at hookah bars....i mean how stupid is that....thats like banning groceries in a grocery store. in illinois there will be a law in effect next year that people wont be able to smoke within 15ft of any building....so thats pretty much half way down the street and if there are buildings on the other side of the road then pretty much no smoking anywhere in major populate cities. so you guys got it easy....here we wont even be able to smoke outside, on side walks.
unfortunately there is nothing an individual can do here in USA about his/her freedom anymore....so i have taken it to myself to piss all the non smokers...by smoking everywhere i can....like inside university buildings, in restaurants, in my dorm room etc. worst i'll get a warning or two but i'll make every non smoker around me miserable because they are trying to do the same to me by passing these communist laws.

Answer 9

I agree with you, we used to live in spain and when the smoking bans came into force there 2005, all bars and restraunts had the chioice wether to be smoking or non-smoking, much fairer.
How come i`m not allowed to have smoke in the pub but am allowed to sit in there by an open window and breathe in all the car fumes etc.. Rather hypocritical don`t you think?
As goes with many other things here in the UK, and yes we do live in a nanny state and a state of hypocrisy..
Freedom here is slowly being taken from us..........

Answer 10

If you want to smoke, do it at home.

The workers in pubs don't have a choice between smoking and non-smoking. They have a right to a safe and healthy workplace. Your puffing away is second to that. Don't like it? Tough. Go outside and whine over your ***.