General Chat

Just wondered what everyone thinks about this. Should smoking be banned in all public places ? Clarexxx (in a serious thread mood today)

I certainly agree that it should be banned anywhere that is serving food c x

Clare I am not a smoker and I never have been.I think people who smoke while at their place of work,should be given a room instead of being shoved outside in the cold.I do think it is ridiculus that adults are skulking around like kids having a sneeky smoke. I really however,don't understand people getting all dollied up to go out for a night and then going into a club full of smoke.Whats the point...they may as well go in as they are and then have a good hose down at the end of the night !!! Hop-a-long

Hi Clare, I agree it should be banned when food is being served but not in all public places. The pubs would be very quiet without smokers. I think buildings should have smoking and non-smoking areas. I have been in some buildings which have huge extractor fans in the ceiling and the smoke doesn't linger there. I smoke but often sit in non-smoking areas with non-smoking friends but, in the pubs I go to, they aren't as much fun as the smoking end. My son and I are allergic to cats and I'm not calling for a ban on them in public places. Gwynne

I think it should be banned in eating places. I think pubs etc should have smoking and non smoking areas. On the whole, i believe in live and let live. Donna x

The Government really needs to come off the fence on smoking, but won't because it raises too much revenue. Either it's a health hazard to users and anyone within lungshot and also causes deaths through fires, so the sale of tobacco products should be banned. Or it's OK.

Hi Clare Even though I am a smoker I can't stand it if someone lights up while I'm eating so I would agree on that score. Most of the pubs in our area have banned smoking at the bar too which is fair enough - but it is nice to be given time to get used to the idea. I had some jumped up little teenager shouting at me across the bar 2 days after the rule came in. What he should have realised is that I have been going in pubs since before he was thought of and it takes a while for new rules to sink in! The landlord of a pub I visit regularly on a weekend has put up signs saying that he will not be banning smoking in any way, shape or form. The pub has live music on every night of the week so for the type of pub it is I think he has made the right decision. There are more non-smokers in there anyway so I think the customers are drawn to the place because of the entertainment rather than being put off by smokers. Jeanette x

Just come back from Dublin where smoking in public (and pubs!) has been banned for some time now. It has made life even more pleasant for smokers and non smokers alike. People have become accustomed to it and also I noticed special bins for cigarette butts and chewing gum. It is a very clean city from what I remember as a child...I think it is a great idea, a night out in a pub here means you wake up with a cough and you stink of smoke! BC

I dont like people smoking while I am eating either, and I do feel there is truth with smoking causing cancer. Some people cannot manage without a cigarette, I think we are going to have some very bad tempered people around. There has to be a compromise somewhere, I'm glad I dont have to make that decision. June xx

I'm very much a live and let live person but I hate smoking and think it should be banned in all public places. If people want to damage there health and probably put themselves in an early grave they should do it in the privacy of their own home. What right do they have to inflict health risks on others ?? Clare.xx PS. I'd ban cats full stop..... don't get me started on what the domestic moggy is doing to our bird population

I've never been a smoker due to the fact that my father died prematurely from cancer, having been a heavy smoker all his life. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole, although I have tried cigarettes to see what they taste like - FOUL! I hate the stench of cigarette smoke and the way it pervades everywhere, making my hair and clothes smell of it whenever I've been near a smoker. The smoke also makes my eyes water and my nose gets blocked up, so I can't breathe after a while. I can't stay in a smokey atmosphere for long, so for many years I've had to avoid places where people smoke, such as pubs. That said, I think people have every right to smoke if they want to, although I can't understand why anyone would want to, given what it does to them, but that's not my business - it's up to them. I'd certainly never stop being friends with someone just because they smoke. My husband has always smoked, although he doesn't do it inside our house because of the effect it has on me, and most of my friends and family smoke too. I think it's an over-rated, very expensive way of killing yourself. CB >|<

How can anyone say bann smoking in public places. The word PUBLIC means every one, not the select who do not smoke . To bann smoking in public places would take away the freedom of choice. I do how ever do not believe in smoking anywhere in which food is served or prepared. Smoking does cause some cancers but not all . It is up to the individual to decide not the government, i think there is far more serious issues that the goverment should get to grips with . Cath

Clare I think you'll find that alot smokers hate the fact that they are damaging their health and probably sending themselves to an early grave. If I had known at 16 what I know now I would have never started smoking. But at 16 you don't want to listen to reason and think you are invincible and know it all. When I was 16 it wasn't drummed into you like it is now how bad smoking is. Infact it wasn't frowned upon at all. But once you start you are hooked. Tobacco is an addictive drug and therefore difficult to give up. I've heard it is harder to give up smoking than it is to give up heroin. Having never taken heroin though I can't compare it.

Clare, I'm with you on the cats issue as well - our next-door neighbour's cat spends all its time in OUR garden, stalking birds, frogs and any other small animals that happen along. I love seeing birds and other wildlife in my garden and have always put out food, but that cat sickens me when it leaves carcases for me to dispose of and injures birds which are doing it no harm. We get far fewer birds in our garden since that cat arrived. I've chased it away from squirrels innocently sitting, eating nuts on our patio, where it hides and stalks them. It's a menace. However, it is a beautiful animal and extremely friendly, so if I see it being a nuisance, I entice it into my kitchen with a bowl of milk & water, which it thoroughly enjoys, until the squirrels have the chance to escape. I could never be cruel to a cat, even though I'd rather I never saw one again. CB >|<

Passive smoking is known to contribute towards lung cancer and other health issues. I've made a choice to keep myself healthy by not smoking, not drinking too much, by eating a good balanced diet and by taking exercise. Why should my health be jeopardised by those people who smoke in the pub ?? I've made my choice to live my life my way, they've made their choice. What right do the have to inflict their choice of lifestyle on me ?? Clare.xx

CB I love all animals and could never be cruel to anything (I do hoover up spiders though ). If I never saw another cat it wouldn't be too soon. I put mothballs in the hedge round the garden and that keeps them away. Clare.xx

Clare That's like me saying to you if you want to stay healthy why don't you stay at home in the environment you have created for yourself. Or go and stand in the car park, there's plenty of fresh air out there. I don't think you'd appreciate that would you? I'm not defending smoking as such, just trying to expalin to you what it is like from a smokers point of view. Obviously you have never had an addiction so don't know what it is like. I also love cats so that probably makes me the devil incarnate!

Clare , You say that you have made your choice not to smoke etc. Thats exactly what it is YOUR CHOICE. You can't make choices for anyone else, that is THEIR CHIOCE. Yes i am a smoker but i don't touch alchol . I cringe when i see people drinking cans in the street but it is a Public place . Sorry if this affends you but its just my opinion. Cath

I don't have strong feelings either way, really. But what I am getting fed up with is the way we're all being told what we can do,can't do, can say, can't say. We'll end up a nation of robots, programmed to react to whatever buttons the government decides to press.

Hi Clare :O) First of all I'd like to say I love cats - I have 4 - they all use my own garden, and rarely if ever catch birds lol............. Anyway - smoking! I am an occasional smoker, but I too detest it if someone lights up while I am eating - and there have been other times when I actually don't like being smoked around. I know some pubs tried a ban at one time, but then retracted it because takings fell so drastically. I agree that smokers should have a designated area at the workplace - I hate it when I see the guys at work standing right outside the customer entrance puffing away - doesn't make a good impression to my mind, even if it is a builders yard!! If I want a smoke at work I make sure I stand well away from the shop, in the staff parking area. I think a total ban in public would be impossible to police - after all where do you draw the line? Some people will not smoke in their own homes, but do so outside in their garden - so would that constitute smoking in public and be banned?? A good debate, but one I don't think will ever find a resolution that suits all!