The smoking ban in public places
 

I went down to our local pub this evening for a pint of Adnams (real ale) and to do the crossword - something of a habit unless I'm out elsewhere.

As with almost every evening for the past several weeks it was peeing with rain. I got there to find a couple of people I know standing under a distinctly inadequate sort of tent outside the back door having a last gasper, while being dripped on, before they finally went in for a drink. Oh,the pathetic sordidness!

As a reformed smoker myself I am pretty strongly against smoking in principle, because of the health risks. But I'm even more strongly against yet more Government legislation telling people how they may or may not run their own lives.

I suppose that at least the ban will help smokers to realise that it really is a dangerous and anti-social habit - though just how many will be convinced enough to actually quit is another matter ...

So, my advice to those of you who are still addicted is to take an umbrella with you wherever you go for the rest of our English summer. It looks as though you'll need it!

Tony.

Some places have a smoking shelter!

I personally love the ban.

It's not to help the smokers realise anything, it's to help none smokers (Like me) Not have to inhale dangerous second hand smoke, it's disgusting, we don't smoke yet we have to breathe it in anyways? I'm thankful for it to say the least.

I'm a smoker, except the ban has been in place since April here - the thing is i never smoked around others anyway. i think its pathetic for smokers to be so lazy that they cant walk into the street for a smoke - if they cant really lift they're lazy bums to the door then they're either very unhealthy or smoking far too much to be bothered to go outside every 10 minutes.
rant over :)
xxx

shrug.
i smoked in a public place today.
i should get arrested :D.

Meh. Whatever.

I was a 40-a-day man for 15 years. Ive been clean over 2 years now. I HATE smoking. Im afraid that something this drastic was in order to get people to start tot stop.

What annoys me is there was no solid infrastructure for smoking cessation in place years leading upto the ban. Its only in the last couple of months things are being more widely advertised.

Actually, it's being made more of a social habit because everyone who has to go outside to smoke talks to each other.

Im a smoker, and it was quite fun going outside to smoke apart from the rain. My mate pulled speaking to another smoker outside who we probably wouldnt have spoken to inside the bar, lol. It was all sheltered and had outdoor heaters

So yeh, smoking ban hasnt been too bad so far....

thats news to me.

I well don't care.
I'm 18.
And I like fresh air.


Linda, you're well not good with current affairs.

A lot of places who erected smoking shelters are only just discovering that they aren't legal either. The ban includes 'substantially enclosed' areas, which includes things like bus stops, that most places have based their smoking shelters on.

I agree with banning smoking in restaurants and pubs, but i think they've taken it too far when it comes to bus stops etc.

I had a thought earlier at work which made me snigger.

If you stand under a bus shelter and smoke, someone could approach you and present you with a £50 penalty and tell you to extinguish your cigarette. So, you throw your butt on the floor and take the ticket. You are then handed a further £80 penalty for littering.

Heh.

PS: I smoke, so this isn't meant as a nasty sniggering attack at any nicotine junkies out there :)

honestly smoking inside is ok to ban i guess..but smoking outside..u knwo what..if u dont liek it step away from the smoker..im a social smoker..other then that i dont smoke...so im nto adicted and this doesn't affect me..but gee im from america and isn't it a infringment on citizens rights?

we have had smoking bans in clubs for about a year now in Aus it is great. No more going clubbing and coming home smelling like an ash tray even tho you have never smoked in your life. I think it is on of the best legislations put in place.

im not mad at people who smoke.
just when they do it around people.

where i live, they have it banned in restaurants.
but ur welcome to smoke outside.

like being an astmatic, i hate it when ppl smoke around me.
i get that they dont know that about me.
but second hand smoking can be just as deadly as actually smoking the cig.
and that is a fact.
when i walk past someone who's smoking, if i see it coming, i have to hold my breathe. because when i dont see it coming, i inhale all of the smoke. and it gets hard to breathe and i cough. and it can trigger asthma attacks.
my point is, is that where i live, i think theyre point is to help keep our community a little more healthy.
and i really appreciate that..
even though they have made the gas thats best for the enviroment, the most expensice, there for ppl dont like to buy it, at leaste theyre trying.
and yes, im like an enviromental control freak or whatever you wanna call me. lol.

They did this a long time ago in the US, just step outside, and I guess an umbrella in Europe would be a good idea. I don't smoke cigs often, but I'll admit having some douche blowing nasty smoke near your food and **** is annoying.

...Yes. There's a smoking ban. We know. Yes it's bad for our health, whatever.
Don't see the need to go on about it so much.

I've not been out yet since the ban came into force but it will be good to not breathe in smoke anymore.

everywhere i go in my town i see this power hungry security guards actually hauling people outside because theyre having a cig in a semi sheltered bus stop(so its actually hard to determine if its a closed space) its pathetic. my friend has decided to stop and hes become one of these holier than thou ex smokers who think they have a right to tell you that youre doing something disgusting and wrong when they spent years of their life doing it. bah this ban gets on my nerves.

and a bought an umbrella,its really pretty :) all this rain is some higher being laughing because we all have to stand out in the rain lol. xx

But like you said, you can't expect them to know that you're asthmatic, and if someone is outside and they're smoking near you, all you have to do is move away or explain to them that you're asthmatic and ask them to not smoke around you.