Smokers of the UK?

Question

How many are giving up or trying to give up this Sunday when the ban on smoking in public places comes into effect?

How many feel that because this government are trying to make you give up, with the ban and also the threat of not being treated by the NHS if you don't, that you won't give up?

Do you think that the 'total' ban will ever be overturned to become a 'partial' ban?

Me? I'm a smoker of 26 years. tried giving up many, many times in the past. Can't break the habit, no matter how hard I've tried, even had the dough-eyed look from my kids, and still find it hard. I would have supported a partial ban, smoke rooms in pubs (ie just lke 100 years ago), no smoking in eateries etc. Hate being made to feel like a criminal, when the real criminal was the newsagents who sold the bloody things to me when I was between 11 and 16 years old. Will try again soon!

Answer 1

i'm still going to try to give up smoking,but like most smokers it is not because the government are banning it,its for the sake of my health.there is a new drug on the market called champix or something or other i'm going to give a shot.Although i intend to give up i disagree with the smoking ban and i think we are living in a nanny state that punishes its law abiding citizens and lets real criminals walk the streets to do as they please.PS i'm from scotland and all i ever see in public is crowds of people gathered on the street smoking(like they are lepers),not very nice to look at

Answer 2

Smoke if you want to, just be respectful of others. I'm a smoker but I never smoke in public, and if for example I'm smoking while walking my dogs I will put out a cigarette if someone walks near me, especially if there's children. When I smoke at home I smoke in the garden (behind the shed!) well away from the house, there's farm land on the other side of the fence so no-one's going to be offended by my smoke. I think people are being goaded into a frenzy about smoking and the mob mentality is coming out in a lot of people who want it banned completely. This is still a free country and as long as we don't hurt anyone we should do what we want. I hate children but I wouldn't want the government to ban them from screaming and bellowing!! Actually, yes I would............if only.

Answer 3

Do keep trying to stop doing the smoking.

I stopped last year because the consultant at the hospital told me I have emphysema and every cigarette I continue to smoke will cause further lung damage.

I only had 50% lung function when 1st diagnosed, but since stopping smoking and keeping active I have now 80% lung function.

Good tips are - get the help from the GP and Breath Easy. Drink plenty of water when you stop and eat oranges, every time you miss the fix take a sip of water and eat a segment of orange and read the about the awful toxins in the cigarettes that really are detrimental to your health.

If you are concerned with putting on weight, drink a whole glass of water before meals and every time you feel you want to eat something. Also a squeeze of lemon is good in the water too.

Good luck - do keep trying and breathe easy

Answer 4

No One is asking anyone to give up . You don't have to give up smoking all you have to do is not smoke in a public building etc.! We have had the ban in Scotland for a year and no one i know who is a smoker has given up yet! They may however have cut down a bit!
Please don't get stressed out over the ban...you will be surprised how much pubs & clubs etc will assist with shealtered areas outside.

Answer 5

Why are we getting concerned about a minority of people who will have to put up with their cravings in more places than before? The majority - 75% - don't want to be in a smoke-filled environment.
For those who smoke and have tried to give up - I managed it the day I woke up and just said to myself 'This is stupid'. I had had a cold and a cough which had lasted about 6 weeks and I felt dreadful. Three weeks after I gave up I was jogging 5 miles at a stretch without problems. I had tried many times before. I promise you, you will know when it's time. Unfortunately for many it's often when they're dying.

Answer 6

I was a smoker but not anymore. I resigned rather than be bullied by people in bars I am handing my money to for their usual poor service and dirty glasses.

The ideal for the Govt is to keep as many people as possible addicted to nicotine, but without the associated harmful effects of tar and carbon monoxide, which kill you and take you out of the tax system too early.

So, along come Niquitin-type salespersons masquerading as medics peddling 4mg of nicotine, which is of course the addictive substance. Those products are grossly expensive and will become more so as more people transfer their addiction-delivery system to them.

Expect massive hikes in cigarette-substitute material like Niquitin.

The total ban will never go back to a partial one. There won't be smoke rooms anywhere. And, if you've been to N Ireland, Ireland or Scotland, you'll know that the impact of the ban is immediate and enforced by a new breed of Cigarette Warden. Raus! Raus!

Meanwhile the health freaks will continue to express their uniformly dull, hectoring, self-righteous second-hand opinions to people who think just like them ...

... and will, one day soon, after a lifetime boring themselves and others, die in the very best of health.

Answer 7

I am not a smoker, have never smoked in my life. I do value my health and life, but I do think that things are being taken too far. People civil libertys are being stretched to extreme. If people want to smoke and they know the risks and are not worried then so be it. It is their choice, as long as they are not affecting anyone else. I have heard that they are trying to ban people from smoking in their own cars which I find unbelievable. I dont believe the argument regarding driving safety as turning up the radio, changing gear, eating, drinking and even talking to passengers (especially children) is in my opinion more destracting whilst driving. I have also heard arguments about people not being allowed to smoke in their own home if they live in a shared property, flats etc. for fear of smoke travelling through walls, ceilings, air conditioning etc. This in my mind is ludicrous. We live in a country where we pay huges taxes and bills and should be allowed to do what the hell we want on our own property. Its madness!

Answer 8

The smoking ban has been in place for the other three countries of the UK for ages. While it is called a total ban, in reality it is partial because you can still smoke in public places as long as they are open spaces. You will find when it comes into force that it really won't make that much of a difference. The people I know who smoke, are smoking just the same.

Answer 9

I agree with Babysham.
I am also fed up with the bully boy aspects of this ban and agree with the answerer who mentions dirty needles etc. What about violent drunks and drunks who are admitted to hospital. Will they be barred from treatment too?
Smokers are the fashionable target of choice at the moment but almost anything that is enjoyed by anyone will soon be a target in the Cromwellian country.

Answer 10

I will welcome the ban in public places. For 40 years my social life has been curtailed as I am unable to use anywhere with tobacco smoke. The smell makes me physically sick, so nights out with friends in pubs or restaurants where people smoke has been a no-no. We've had to stay home and have friends in. Even a night at the theatre has been marred by not being able to get a drink in the crush bar at the interval, you can cut the smoke in there with a knife. We have to stay in our seats.

Smokers have been banging on to me in the last few months about "their freedom to smoke", but never once in 40 years has a smoker ever once considered my freedom not to vomit, choke and stink, if I try to get a night out " on the town", so maybe I'm not as sympathetic as I may be to others. I don't want smoking banned, but I do ask for the right to a decent social life. Smokers can still smoke, but not round me in a closed space.