smoking ban??

Question

what does everyone think about the smoking ban starting 1st of july? i have heard alot of people say most people will not quit and some others say people will begin to smoke more indoors around children etc.

Answer 1

It's a step in the right direction. As a non-smoker, I'm very happy about it.

Answer 2

There were alternatives which seem to have been dismissed such as specifying smoking and non-smoking premises or rooms. Passive smoking is not a major threat to the lives of British citizens, the main victim is the smoker. OK so this costs the NHS, but surely like any Health Insurance Plan the majority of smokers pay into this to cover their possible future costs (if this is such a bad thing then what about people who do dangerous sports - are they not a potential drain on our health service). I am incensed that although I regularly hear both smokers and non-smokers say that they do not agree with the law, that so few people stand up and be counted. Children are subjected to smoke regularly if their parents smoke - is the next thing to ban smoking in the home? Why not ban tobacco altogether - oh no, I forgot the revenue for government and the impact of job losses on the economy would be a problem! Britain prides itself for being a 'free county', but in reality what does this mean now - we have so many petty laws for ordinary citizens to trip over that we are rapidly becoming a nation of criminals (for example, using your mobile phone in the car, throwing an apple for a duck, and smoking in your own home office).On the other hand, I spend half my night NOT with my boyfriend and some of my friends who do smoke! Smokers dont really mind going outside in the summer but maybe in the depths of winter, people will choose to just stay in the pub/ club / restaurant and therefore cut down on their smoking habit... Let's be honest, people do smoke a ridiculous amount more when out on the lash!!! Who on a normal night would need 40 fags to keep them going and then need to call to the petrol station on the way home for another 40?!! So actually, I've decided the smoking ban is for the better!

Answer 3

The prescriptive nature of everything about the ban, from the signs that are displayed to the type of shelters that can be used is over the top. There were alternatives which seem to have been dismissed such as specifying smoking and non-smoking premises or rooms. Passive smoking is not a major threat to the lives of British citizens, the main victim is the smoker. OK so this costs the NHS, but surely like any Health Insurance Plan the majority of smokers pay into this to cover their possible future costs (if this is such a bad thing then what about people who do dangerous sports - are they not a potential drain on our health service). I am incensed that although I regularly hear both smokers and non-smokers say that they do not agree with the law, that so few people stand up and be counted. Children are subjected to smoke regularly if their parents smoke - is the next thing to ban smoking in the home? Why not ban tobacco altogether - oh no, I forgot the revenue for government and the impact of job losses on the economy would be a problem! Britain prides itself for being a 'free county', but in reality what does this mean now - we have so many petty laws for ordinary citizens to trip over that we are rapidly becoming a nation of criminals (for example, using your mobile phone in the car, throwing an apple for a duck, and smoking in your own home office).on one hand it's great that I go home at nights and my clothes and hair don't stink. On the other hand, I spend half my night NOT with my boyfriend and some of my friends who do smoke! Smokers dont really mind going outside in the summer but maybe in the depths of winter, people will choose to just stay in the pub/ club / restaurant and therefore cut down on their smoking habit... Let's be honest, people do smoke a ridiculous amount more when out on the lash!!! Who on a normal night would need 40 fags to keep them going and then need to call to the petrol station on the way home for another 40?!! So actually, I've decided the smoking ban is for the better! And I agree with what someone else just said - responsible adults with children will ALWAYS go outdoors anyway to prevent passive smoking. Anyone who does otherwise is selfish and ignorant... Don't even get me started on smoking during pregnancy...!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

I am a smoker, have been for 30 years.

The ban, I think its a good thing, people should be able to enjoy public enclosed spaces without smokers. In fact I dont smoke in pub's, restaurants etc anyway, even when it was my right too.

But....

Some answers said its great and good for everyone, of course it isn't:
In time the government will reclaim the lost revenue from the non smoker.
To the health care costs and in particular the idea of charging smokers a premium. It would also surely have to be applied to drinkers too and of course most of the people who are in favour of no smoking in pubs are non smoking drinkers!
To the people who would ban smoking altogether and in essence public open area's. This would be a breach of human rights and when I last checked, nobody owned the air we breath. Toxins going into the air, industry and car owners put more into the air than any smoker ever will.
Smoking at home with children. I don't think the ban would change this. If smokers are irresponsible enough to do it, they will anyway.

Anyway. I think that non smokers are entitled to a non smoking environment, I will continue to smoke in my works van, and workshop but then I work on my own so I have a choice.

I will smoke in public open areas as is my right but as to where its no longer legal - I wont.

Answer 5

How can anyone complain about the smoking ban? Until just recent I was a smoker but I still backed the ban. I mean its not like they are making it illegal to smoke altogether, just making it nicer to go to public places.
There is no way that the ban is an infringement on human rights - what about the human rights of those who choose not to smoke? Should they have to breath in second hand smoke or go home with their clothes smelling?
I definitely think that the ban is a good idea and if people choose to smoke then they should follow the rules without complaining!
No one is making smokers quit and provisions are being made for those who do smoke, with many places providing some really nice outdoor areas for smoking.
What is the big deal? Many argue that the country should be more healthy and protect the environment and now the government is actually doing something about it, people have to complain! Plus the government has been criticised lately for some poor decisions but when they make a good one, it is still seen as wrong! Why?

Answer 6

The smoking ban is discriminatory against 11 million people in the UK, the 25% who smoke, it attacks what should be a basic freedom of choice. Whilst some non smokers like to go on about their rights, this new law of course removes a massive swaithe of rights from those who do smoke; why should one group have rights over another? .

The law could have been written to outlaw non smokers from smoking establishments/smoking rooms at work for instance. If the government had gone that route, which is of course no less undemocratic and discriminatory than the law they have imposed, I wouldn't have supported that either. They should have gone the same route as for arguments sake, Spain, where bars/resturants etc have the choice of whether they are smoking or not.

Of course if businesses were given the choice then there would have been a spread of both smoking and non smoking venues governed by market forces which would have been fair, this law is completely undemocratic, wholly unfair and discriminatory. With the usual hypocrasy seemingly so beloved of this country though the government are still happy to take the vast sums of taxation whilst treating smokers as though they are social lepers, which they are not. The same can be said of for instance, major supermarkets, who on the one hand are now intent on stopping any smoking within their staff, yet still happily take the profits from selling tobacco products.

Society is made up of small interest groups which make the 'whole', it is proving easy for the government to 'pick off' one small group at a time as most people seem unable to grasp that when another group loses a right, the whole of society loses a right - soon the 'whole' will have very few rights if any. This country is a dictatorship, only 35% of people voted for this government - perhaps people will only see that when the news media tells them. maybe if you get a fine for smoking the best thing to do is not pay it, get sent to prison for a few days, where of course you can have a smoke in peace and indoors - where is the sense in that? They didn't dare impose the ban in prisons, the resulting riots would of course have been appaling.

For the people who are so happy about this ban, a word of geunine caution; look at the bigger picture and the rights the 'whole' have already lost over the last 10 years, soon they will find something you like doing and you will lose that right. I would take heed of the words of Niemoeller ..."When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out."

Answer 7

Hi there. I've lived through the smoking ban due to the fact that I live in Scotland and also I worked as a Steward at a bar so I have a unique perspective on the whole thing. The fact that it is coming in for England in the middle of Summer means that a few people will not do anything about it... Yet... As soon as the weather turns for the worse, well that's when the complaints will start. Also I did notice a serious drop in the amount of people actually coming into the bar. People are more likely to stay home and have a drink there. It's cheaper. As for all of the legal action being taken to stop the ban. It'll not do a bit of good. It was tried here in Scotland and the ban still came into force. If it's a good thing or a bad thing is better left up to people far cleverer than me but as a smoker I feel that unlike so many smokers it doesn't bother me if I have to go out side to smoke... So I have to go outside for 5 minutes? It's not the end of the world! There are far more important issues in the world today and for this subject to be "centre stage" is just silly. There... That's my "2 cents worth". You may agree... You may not... When it comes down to it as a nation we will adapt and life will go on and if nothing more bars will smell a lot better and smokers will smoke less instead of more when they drink.

Answer 8

I first experienced the ban whilst on 6 weeks honeymoon in Canada . Now it has arrived in my adopted country of Wales UK.

It's best thing since sliced bread , I can actually go to a pub,restaurant and not have my skin or clothes end up smelling like an old wet used dirty ashtray as well as not coughing up half my lungs ...no more streaming eyes .

I can take my 5 year old to the same place and we can have a real meal not a Grottdonalds or a Kentuckey fried yukky etc.

It's a pity about how revolting smokers smell no aftershave or perfume can disguise it ..in fact it makes them pong even more. But given time they might just wake up , kick the habit and get a better life.

Yes I used to smoke .
Around 100 cigs a day for a few years of my life infact so I do have a bit of experience behind me. When I decided to overcome my addiction and pigheadedness life got better and better .

I met up with a gal who was/is intelligent and good looking , we both stopped smoking together and saved all the smoking dosh for just under two years then blew it going on a four week 6000 mile car touring holiday round Europe.

We got married the next year and have never been short of a bob or two ever since which must be a little more of a coincidence because we don't burn up ( todays rate ) around £140 plus per week on tobacco . We have now been happily married non smokers for 18 years on 10 September 2007 .

( There is a whole new life with out gaspers , coffin nails , cancer sticks etc come and enjoy it )


Our health improved no end , we rarely ever get coughs and colds , food tastes better ,everything smells better and there is no 5 minute bump start for the lungs every morning .


It took a while to get the courage to overcome my own stupidity and decide to stop once that was done it was easy .

When I look back and realize what I was inflicting on others whether they wanted it or not I feel I was being a total D1CKHE4D especially for inflicting the smoke on kiddies undamaged lungs and those with damaged lungs..

If because of the ban parents /guardians decide to smoke more in the close proximity of any of their kids or other peoples kiddies I can only think they are exceedingly selfish and totally moronic. They know the pros and cons as will everyone reading this script.

But of course they do have a right to self harm and unthinking or intentional stupidity ......just go and do it away from everyone who doesn't want harming as well . Don't expect someone else to feel sorry for you when you are ill because of your stubborn attitude to carry on smoking.

Answer 9

I live in Scotland and the Ban has been fantastic. the only problem is that you can no longer sit outside in cafes or go through a doorway without breathing in smoke. More people are giving up smoking which is good for everyone. As for smoking more around children. I can see time when smoking in almost all situations is banned because of the affect it has on other people. Knowing what we know now about the effects of smoking how can a person bear to sit in a room and infect a child's lungs with smoke. Surely it is abuse. If you smoke, in the full knowledge of the damage it does to other people, directly then arguing for your right to smoke as and when you feel like it is akin to arguing for your right to discharge a machine gun at random in a crowded room. I believe everyone should have full rights but there must be a hierarchy, some rights are more important than others.
England will benefit and in the future people will wonder why it took so long.

Answer 10

I am a smoker. The ban on smoking in public confined places and shared venues such as restaurants and air conditioned pubs, etc is quite correct. At the very least smoking irritates the nasal passages and can lead to a blocked nose, stuffiness, sinusitis, and conjunctivitis. A small minority may suffer a marked allergic reaction. IMHO nobody has the right to inflict this on any other person.
However, an outright ban is unjust. If the management, staff and patrons agree that a certain pub should be 'a smoker's pub' then that is their free choice. Non-smokers will presumably have plenty of other choices so there can be no real complaint.
It's a tiny issue when one considers the damage being done by exhaust fumes, and the greater health problems that this presents.
I don't mean to be antagonistic but I wonder how many of the law makers and local pub lobbyists zoom about left, right and centre in cars. Shouldn't they be biting the bullet too?

Answer 11

I believe that the smoking ban is yet another method for our government to chip away at the freedoms of its citizens. The prescriptive nature of everything about the ban, from the signs that are displayed to the type of shelters that can be used is over the top. There were alternatives which seem to have been dismissed such as specifying smoking and non-smoking premises or rooms. Passive smoking is not a major threat to the lives of British citizens, the main victim is the smoker. OK so this costs the NHS, but surely like any Health Insurance Plan the majority of smokers pay into this to cover their possible future costs (if this is such a bad thing then what about people who do dangerous sports - are they not a potential drain on our health service). I am incensed that although I regularly hear both smokers and non-smokers say that they do not agree with the law, that so few people stand up and be counted. Children are subjected to smoke regularly if their parents smoke - is the next thing to ban smoking in the home? Why not ban tobacco altogether - oh no, I forgot the revenue for government and the impact of job losses on the economy would be a problem! Britain prides itself for being a 'free county', but in reality what does this mean now - we have so many petty laws for ordinary citizens to trip over that we are rapidly becoming a nation of criminals (for example, using your mobile phone in the car, throwing an apple for a duck, and smoking in your own home office).