Originally Posted by
sad sam
apparently the not smoking till your 18 thing is only being brought in for none current smokers.
so like if your 16 or 17 now and can PROVE you started smoking before the law came in you can still buy cigarettes.
i have no idea how they are going to ask for proof you smoked before though.
makes me laugh.,
There isnt a way that they can prove how long you have been smoking, as currently there is no legislation which makes it illegal at a certain age for you to start smoking. The legislation only covers the age which you are legally entitled to buy them. So you could say that you started at the age of 6, and it would not be against the law.
I also think (though I am not 100% sure) that unlike alcohol, it is not illegal to buy them on behalf of someone under the age of 16, though the shop can be prosecuted for selling them to an under 16.
As for the smoking ban, it's only the English which have been moaning about it. The Scots, Welsh, Northern Irish and Ireland have got on with it. As for me, I am a non smoker, but it is annoying now that each time I go to the Gamestation in town (it's several doors up from Wetherspoons) I have to cross the road, or face a corridor of smoke (this Wetherspoons doesnt have a garden or any outside space). Also, some of the people are semi drunk, and can be rude (I was there buying some Gamecube games yesterday and 2 men where shouting nasty comments about me.), which was not a problem before the ban.
Personally I am glad now, because before there was 2 choices before: either sit with the screaming brats, or where the brats have been, which meant that there was tons of food all over the floor, or where the smokers were, which meant that I had to breathe in smoke. Neither was very pleasant, so most of the time I found another pub. Now there is a brat free space in the pub, and I can taste the food/drink properly too.