New Weekly "off Topic" Topic No. 26 (30/07/12)

[FishBlast]

I am a chain smoker for 47 years and personally I think that with so much more serious crime going on in the country.... Who do they expect to police this petty issue?.... sometimes I think lawmakers shoot from the hip without considering all logistics associated......

In the UK it is the proprieters responsibility to ensure no smoking occurs on their premises. If any shop/pub/restaurant/office etc is found to have allowed it, it is them that will be hit with a fine.

On the whole it appears to have become self-policed. Probably because any non-smokers that encounter the law being broken might be inclined to report it....and if you operate a public premises that risk is too great to ignore.

And this is why smokers hate the non-smokers around my place. Because the non-smokers keep asking them to try and smoke somewhere else and smokers say "We smoke wherever we want!" or say "Don't like it, don't stay here." even when "here" is a restaurant or some terrace.

 

[the_lock_man]

The smoking ban had an unexpected benefit a few years back.

Near where I live, there is a long straight road, about ½ mile or so, and at the end (just past a pub) is a sharp left hand bend. One day, someone failed to fully negotiate the bend, and crashed into a car parked there. The driver reversed from the crash and drove away.

The smokers at the pub saw what happened, took the bloke's car registration number, and phoned the police, who stopped him a couple of miles away, and found he was drunk. Had the ban not been in place, those smokers would have been inside the pub, and unable to take the reg number.

 

[StandbySetting]

My opinion:

Smoking is the most disgusting yet legal addiction, yet without it the government would be short of a quite a few quid, however on the contrary the NHS wouldn't shelling out on treatment for illnesses and conditions that are caused by smoking, in my opinion smoking should be banned EVERYWHERE besides peoples own homes and designated smoking areas, there's nothing worse than waiting for a bus and some selfish #17##### hole comes into the bus shelter and sparks up, knowing the UK I'm surprised there's not some anal law about second hand smoke. Oh and to the idiot that thought hiding cigarettes in shops would prevent young people from smoking, what planet are you on? If you're going to ban the display of cigarettes in packets then why not go the whole hog and ban smoking in front of those not old enough to buy tobacco (18 in the UK). If I were in power I'd double the tax on products containing tobacco.

 

[FishBlast]

My opinion:

Smoking is the most disgusting yet legal addiction, yet without it the government would be short of a quite a few quid, however on the contrary the NHS wouldn't shelling out on treatment for illnesses and conditions that are caused by smoking, in my opinion smoking should be banned EVERYWHERE besides peoples own homes and designated smoking areas, there's nothing worse than waiting for a bus and some selfish #17##### hole comes into the bus shelter and sparks up, knowing the UK I'm surprised there's not some anal law about second hand smoke. Oh and to the idiot that thought hiding cigarettes in shops would prevent young people from smoking, what planet are you on? If you're going to ban the display of cigarettes in packets then why not go the whole hog and ban smoking in front of those not old enough to buy tobacco (18 in the UK). If I were in power I'd double the tax on products containing tobacco.

It doesn't look disgusting, but it is annoying. Especially when you don't like the smell.

Also, the shops that say they do not sell cigs to minors are still not helping the situation, just as you said with the ban of the display of cigs. They put their older siblings to buy them cigs and they still smoke. I saw a FIVE YEAR OLD KID smoking cigarettes on the street in my place (Romania).

Another thing that annoys me: some parents refuse to talk to their children about a lot of important things. Cigarette use (and drug use in general) is almost never discussed until it is too late.
At least my mother thought about telling me about cigarettes and said that I can smoke if I want to, but to know the consequences. I never wanted to smoke anyway, so... non-smoker to this day. And non-drinker - not only because i am allergic, but because i just don't feel the need to drink. I never did. It reminds me of sanitary alcohol, which also makes me cough a lot.