One Packet Of Cancer Sticks Please.

[turkster]

Not getting into the health issues and tax and stuff... don't want to argue about that.. I just find the smell repulsive, and I resent having to have ANOTHER shower before I go to bed after a night out cos I can't stand smelling like a fish in a smoke-house in bed. Just my 2p - wouldn't catch me holding one.. no siree - but at the end of the day it's your choice - smoke if yaq want, just don't do it near me. Part of the reason I hardly go to the pub anymore tbh.. just don't enjoy it like I should...

Hear Hear!

Glad people are clearing up some of the myths associated with smoking - most of which are spread happily by the media... I especially hate the attitude in our society that it's ok to bash and hate smokers - just because they smoke.

Why shouldn't we 'bash and hate' you? Society disagrees with vandals and winos and others who impose their dubious habits on others so why not smokers.

The only time passive smoking will harm your health is if you're sat in a room with 50 smokers and no ventilation. Then quite frankly it's your own fault - no one forced you to be there.

Thats codswallop Common sense would tell you that breathing in smoke is hazardous to your health. Why do you think we invented chimneys?
Why is it non smokers fault if their health is effected by smokers? Thats why , in civilised countries, we have laws. To prevent people damaging other people. Smokers can kill themselves if they want but not in any public place.

I don't agree with banning smoking in pubs either. If someone wants to open a non-smoking pub, then I'm all for it. Don't push your decision on to other people. You wouldn't presume to tell them they can't believe in God would you?

Well thats tough. If you lived over here youd have to get used to it. Of course there were people whining about it prior to the ban but like any law they just had to get used to it or get used to breaking it. The reasoning behind it was on consideration of the health implications of passive smoking. If a gov can make such a wide ranging and controversial decision dont tell me there is nothing to it. As for believeing in God, He isnt bad for your health and isnt meant to bad for anyone elses.

We enough problems in this country without having to tell other people how to live their life.

Well you may have noticed we have laws.

[Paul Adams]

They say ex-smokers are the worst...

I smoked between the ages of 17 and 23, then managed to quit for about a year, but started going out with a smoker and slowly fell back into bad habits.
Quit again at 27, and now I'm coming up for 2 years without a smoke, or a craving.

It wasn't the money or the health issues that put me off - it was the god-awful stench on all my clothes after leaving the pub/club, it was depressing to have everything in my wardrobe stink of stale smoke.

Of course, that's kind of unavoidable even if you don't smoke, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was when I was polluting the atmosphere.

I believe now I have a stronger will, my current girlfriend smokes, but not heavily, and I've not felt the inclination to stop her or pick it up again - even after a few drinks, which is always the real test

But after all this, I still can't answer Vaul's original poser - why the hell did I start in the first place?
I'm not susceptible to peer pressure or doing stuff to be "cool" or impress people, and I have a fairly logical mind - yet I spent many a night sitting on a windowsill in my room at uni smoking alone, and many an evening in the pub being the only smoker in a group of friends.

[lynni]

I dont smoke and never have done. What stopped me was when i was five or six, watching the hospital programme Jimmy's and seeing this man who was a smoker going for an operation to have his leg ampuated (already lost one) remember my mum saying to me that if i smoked thats what would happen.

I resent haveing to have 2 showers when im going on a night out, one as normal and then another when i come home, one because if i dont my bf refuses to sleep in the same bed as me and two the next morning i wake up smelling and feeling like an ash tray. When we went to dublin that was the nicest weekend we have ever had we went out both nights we was there, came home and just fell into bed without needing a shower because they have a smoking ban everywhere

The smokers i know and have come across, are plain rude with no consideration for other people. If you dont get out of their way, whilst their having a fag then thats your look out having to put up with smoke being wafted into your face, because they cant be bothered moving. Meals in restaurants, my most recent memory is one we went to in March with about 15 other people, about 8 people sat on either side of us or in front of us smoked.... and not one had the condsideration to ask if we minded them lighting up, some of them were lighting up as soon as they had finished their meals, bugger the ones who hadnt or didnt smoke

What really winds me up tho is not non-smokers inhaling smoke, but children being in the presence of smokers and being not able to do anything about it. Seeing grandparents and parents pushing prams along, or holding onto their childs hand with one hand and a fag in the other infuriates the hell out of me, it makes me so angry. Fair enough if they want to kill themselves, but can they not consider their children?

rant over

[lynni]

The only time passive smoking will harm your health is if you're sat in a room with 50 smokers and no ventilation. Then quite frankly it's your own fault - no one forced you to be there. If you doubt how little polution cigarettes are causing compared to cars - try standing in a garage with a car engine running.

I don't agree with banning smoking in pubs either. If someone wants to open a non-smoking pub, then I'm all for it. Don't push your decision on to other people. You wouldn't presume to tell them they can't believe in God would you?

We enough problems in this country without having to tell other people how to live their life.

You dont have to sit in a room with 50 smokers for it to be harmful... i only have to walk past someone in the street and im choking although that depends on the brand of cigeratte.

One pub wont survive if they go non-smoking, and i know this because a pub on the isle of man decided to whilst the rest of the island is smoking still and that pub lost 50% of their business in a week, cos everyone went elsewhere. If theres to be a ban, it should be nationwide and equal so that no-one is losing business.

And if you dont want non-smokers or the NHS telling you how to live your life then fine, but dont come to me in 15-20 years time demanding to be on the heart and lung transplant list because you have paid your taxes all your life, and deserve to be.... Then we find out your a smoker with no intention of giving up!

[Knoxville]

Why shouldn't we 'bash and hate' you? Society disagrees with vandals and winos and others who impose their dubious habits on others so why not smokers.

Society also tolerates many more dubious habits, society tolerates the fact that its ok to go out every friday night get drunk off your face beat the crap outta someone for no reason and throw up in a shop doorway on the way home yet these people aren't bashed or hated by the masses, they ARE the masses.

How many people has belief of god killed? how many wars have been started in the name of religion? the crusades alone cost as many lives as smoking ever has without even bringing world war 2 or any of the wars in the middle east into it.

Common sense does indeed tell you that inhaling smoke is bad for you, I challenge you to walk down a busy street and not inhale just as many fumes checked out by car and lorry exhausts, should we ban cars from the streets for the smog they create?

As for a ban on smoking in places of work its just plain ridiculous imo, do they expect everyone to run home every few hours to have a cigarette and then run back? I'd say pubs in ireland have seen they're profits fall since that law was imposed.

Lynni, the smokers you know are obviously ignorant and need to be told, personally i never smoke while people are eating and if im surrounded by a room of none smokers (happens very rarely) i'll either go outside or ask if they mind me lighting up. Even when i was a none smoker I didn't make a fuss about the smell, imo if you wanna go to a pub or club you should expect it and live with it, its the consequence of a night out. I do however agree with the children thing though, it annoys the hell out of me if i see a mother with a pushchair smoking, the kid can't even say weather or not he/she minds yet and the smoke is being forced on them.

[Tumble]

As for a ban on smoking in places of work its just plain ridiculous imo, do they expect everyone to run home every few hours to have a cigarette and then run back? I'd say pubs in ireland have seen they're profits fall since that law was imposed.

Well.. tbh Knox.. when you go into a pub, and the bar's 4 rows of people deep... I can't see how the business can be suffering... I'm not just talking about one bar here... all the pubs.. even the "old" style pubs with the people sitting around playing fiddles and stuff were busy as anything... seems that they've just got on with t cos there's no choice. That argument is only valid if say 1 or 2 pubs in a town go non smoking.. their profits will drop cos the people can go elsewhere to smoke - when it's a national ban... the profits will pick up again.

People made the same argument when drinking and driving was made illegal, and a finable/bannable/jailable offence - and that was recently enough in the grand scheme of things ....

[lynni]

Common sense does indeed tell you that inhaling smoke is bad for you, I challenge you to walk down a busy street and not inhale just as many fumes checked out by car and lorry exhausts, should we ban cars from the streets for the smog they create?

As for a ban on smoking in places of work its just plain ridiculous imo, do they expect everyone to run home every few hours to have a cigarette and then run back? I'd say pubs in ireland have seen they're profits fall since that law was imposed.

Transport is a necessary requirement tho for day to day living. Ive just moved home after spending two years living in halls, i now need to use my car to go anywhere because we live out in the sticks (we dont live on a bus route). Doesnt mean i like adding to the fumes in the environment, i preferred walking everywhere

And if there has been a fall in the profits in irish pubs, then it will be widely spread.... although i doubt it, all the ones we visited in temple bar had 15-20 min wait at the bars!!!

[nichomach]

The smokers i know and have come across, are plain rude with no consideration for other people. If you dont get out of their way, whilst their having a fag then thats your look out having to put up with smoke being wafted into your face, because they cant be bothered moving.

Not all smokers are (I hope) quite so ill-mannered; I try not to be.

Meals in restaurants, my most recent memory is one we went to in March with about 15 other people, about 8 people sat on either side of us or in front of us smoked.... and not one had the condsideration to ask if we minded them lighting up, some of them were lighting up as soon as they had finished their meals, bugger the ones who hadnt or didnt smoke

Personally, if I'm having a meal in a restaurant, I don't smoke at all anywhere in the eating area - I'll dodge outside if I'm really desperate, but I wouldn't inflict my habit on the other people there.

What really winds me up tho is not non-smokers inhaling smoke, but children being in the presence of smokers and being not able to do anything about it.

I am a parent, who smokes, and I restrict that to one room in the house, which my daughter does NOT go in, under an extractor fan.

Seeing grandparents and parents pushing prams along, or holding onto their childs hand with one hand and a fag in the other infuriates the hell out of me, it makes me so angry. Fair enough if they want to kill themselves, but can they not consider their children?

Sorry lynni, but WHAT? OK, so you're in the open air. You are smoking a cigarette which is some considerable distance away from your child. The smoke is probably dissipating a hell of a lot faster than the exhaust from the passing traffic. The net amount of tobacco smoke which goes anywhere NEAR the child is about zero. I understand your concern, I just feel it's a little misplaced .

[Knoxville]

Most pubs near me are like that on a saturday night, the big wetherspoons in birmingham is nearly a 40 minute wait on a friday night for a drink. I'd bet theres been a slight drop off to be fair, perhaps not as drastic as i made it out to be because as tumble says its applied to all pubs.

[lynni]

Sorry lynni, but WHAT? OK, so you're in the open air. You are smoking a cigarette which is some considerable distance away from your child. The smoke is probably dissipating a hell of a lot faster than the exhaust from the passing traffic. The net amount of tobacco smoke which goes anywhere NEAR the child is about zero. I understand your concern, I just feel it's a little misplaced .

Im sorry, but i dont agree

A rear facing pram, so the baby is facing you and that parent is smoking, is considered to be acceptable? or even just a standard buggy....

Any self-respecting parent would keep their child away from their smoking habbit... you cant stop exhaust fumes, everyone breathes them in. But a child unable to speak for themselves shouldnt be put in a situation where their breathing in their parents smoke. Weather that child is in front of them in their pram, or holding onto their hand it shouldnt happen and it annoys the hell out of me

[nichomach]

Im sorry, but i dont agree

A rear facing pram, so the baby is facing you and that parent is smoking, is considered to be acceptable? or even just a standard buggy....

Any self-respecting parent would keep their child away from their smoking habbit... you cant stop exhaust fumes, everyone breathes them in. But a child unable to speak for themselves shouldnt be put in a situation where their breathing in their parents smoke. Weather that child is in front of them in their pram, or holding onto their hand it shouldnt happen and it annoys the hell out of me

But the child is unlikely to be breathing in the smoke anyway. OK, you disagree, fine, but FWIW, I DO consider myself a "self-respecting parent" (whatever THAT means) and I make damned sure that my child DOESN'T breathe my smoke. As I say, I understand your concern, but think you're mistaken.

BTW, we use a standard buggy, so not only does my smoke go nowhere near my child, she can't even see that I'm smoking.

[lynni]

But the child is unlikely to be breathing in the smoke anyway. OK, you disagree, fine, but FWIW, I DO consider myself a "self-respecting parent" (whatever THAT means) and I make damned sure that my child DOESN'T breathe my smoke. As I say, I understand your concern, but think you're mistaken.

BTW, we use a standard buggy, so not only does my smoke go nowhere near my child, she can't even see that I'm smoking.

Well then your an acception and im glad to see it

A self respecting parent, cares about their child and their environment that they as parents are able to control.

A child is walking one side of their parent, and their cigarette is in the other hand, how can u say their not breathing it in? Like i said earlier, i literally pass someone in the street, and im choking on their smoke.

[nichomach]

Well then your an acception and im glad to see it

A self respecting parent, cares about their child and their environment that they as parents are able to control.

A child is walking one side of their parent, and their cigarette is in the other hand, how can u say their not breathing it in? Like i said earlier, i literally pass someone in the street, and im choking on their smoke.

But not choking on the traffic? That's an unusually high degree of sensitivity to a very specific form of smoke; so specific that I hope you don't mind my asking if you actually suffer from an allergy to tobacco smoke? That's not a criticism, or indeed any suggestion that you shouldn't object to people smoking in public, it's just that that's really a bit hypersensitive.

As to the walking question, it doesn't specifically apply to me, since my child is in front of me; but since the example parent and child would both be walking forwards, where do you think the exhaled smoke would dissipate?

[lynni]

But not choking on the traffic? That's an unusually high degree of sensitivity to a very specific form of smoke; so specific that I hope you don't mind my asking if you actually suffer from an allergy to tobacco smoke? That's not a criticism, or indeed any suggestion that you shouldn't object to people smoking in public, it's just that that's really a bit hypersensitive.

As to the walking question, it doesn't specifically apply to me, since my child is in front of me; but since the example parent and child would both be walking forwards, where do you think the exhaled smoke would dissipate?

i dont know where the exhaled smoke would dissipate.... but i cant see how a child who is walking with that parent for a longer period of time then i am passing them, cant be breathing it in and hence suffering

I dont choke on traffic fumes no, smokers smoke makes me sneeze, it makes my eyes itch and i can physically feel my throat closing to the point where i feel sick. Not all from just walking past someone in the street.... but it certainly makes me gag, kinda knocks me off balance for a second when i get a stream of it in my face

[Knoxville]

It sounds like you have the same reaction to cigarette's as aerosol sprays have on my dad, if you spray a deodarant/air freshner near him it makes him cough and gag pretty badly, tis not very nice at all. There's a pub near me called the rock station that makes my eyes water and my throat feel pretty rough wether im smoking or not the haze of smoke is so thick.

[Butuz]

Hmm. Smoking

My dad been a smoker since he was a kid. He did give up for a while a few years ago, but then his mam died and the stress brought the smoking back and he is hooked again. My mum never let him smoke in the house though, so he was booted out into the garden for a fag. Which is good because one of my mate both parent smoke i the house, and when you walk i the house the whole house absoloutly stinks, and when you walk out even after 5 minutes, all your clothes stink of smoke. It is a filthy dirty discusting habit in my eyes.

As for smoking in public places, i think it should be banned. Pubs are the worst places, i like pubs but i don't like the smoke, i go there to drink not to get my lungs erroded. I had mild asthma when i was a kid and people smoking around me just brings my chest back 10 years. Aside from it making it hard to breath for some people, its slowly eating up my lungs. No one can deny that passive smoking exists. If i cut one or two of your fingers off with my Katana you would be mightily annoyed would you not? And rightly so! But its ok for smokers to slowly erode my lungs in a place where i should be safe? Why? I am not allowed by the law to carry my sword in a public place. Smokers should not be allowed to smoke in a public place either.

Butuz