total smoking ban

[TC]

\".........rhetoric for which I fail to see the point .......\"

I\'m struggling to see the point in your areguement there, Chris.....

\"......Even if you don\'t drive a car, you are likely to jump on a bus or train now and again......\"

I agree, but you get an awful lot more people in a train or on a bus than you do in a car, which cuts down on the number of pollution \"generators\" eg cars. How many cars do you see on the road with only one occupant, the driver in ???

\".......even if you walk to the corner shop for your fags, they will probably have been delivered by a van that uses petrol or diesel!\"

so does the \"healthy stuff\" make its own, eco-friendly, way to the shop??

\"he next revenue earner for the treasury will be additional tiers of VAT so that things deemed to be health hazards like BigMacs, chocolate and sweets will be taxed at a higher rate than the current 17.5% VAT.2

so there we have it again.........as well as the smokers propping up the NHS, the fast food eaters will be doing the same (and will probably STILL be penalised by being refused the treatment they\'ve paid additional taxes for).


Ban jogging and all physical amatuer sports !
I\'ve seen more man hours / days work lost at our place through injuries, strains, pulled muscles, etc, than there ever are through smoking related causes.....and it\'s me (and other smokers) who substantially subsidise any NHS treatment they recieve.......lol.....talk about smokers being selfish and irresponsible !




[Edited on 16/2/2006 by TC]

[Edited on 16/2/2006 by TC]

[willywetegg]

I have smoked for most of my life. I will probably smoke for most of the rest of my life.

I think the smoking ban has had to be applied, there has been far too much pressure from too many places.

As a lot of people on here know I work in a pub. Last night I told my bosses that when the ban comes into force I will be leaving. No bitterness or nastyness on my behalf just my choice.

I have read this thread from the beggining to the end tonight, had a few laughs and a few cringes about it.

I must aggree with Tony about smoking in restaurants, it is something that I have never done. I ALWAYS sit in the non smoking area, that is my choice.

I would only ask one question. How many of the people that have posted on here about stopping smoking in their local have actually asked the owner of the pub in which they drink to have it stopped. As the majority of people that use pubs are non smokers I thought this would be common sense.

Not very many I would have thought.

At the end of the day, if there were enough people asking I can\'t see any way they could refuse you.

We all have a choice on whether we go into a pub or not. If the smell of smoke is so bad and there are enough people complaining about it then surely the people that own that bar would do something about it.

Unless no one has complained.

I will not be complaining about the ban, I will simply be not spending a lot of time in pubs. I will have an occasional drink but that is all.

We all have a choice, those that have chosen to drink in a pub where people smoke should not complain as they were not forced to do so.

Now that it has been made law the smokers should not complain either.

You ALL have a choice, exercise it. If you are a non smoker good luck to you and enjoy your local. If you are a smoker don\'t go there any more.

The choice is yours.

Jim.

[Chris_Hughes]

\"I\'m struggling to see the point in your argument there, Chris.....\"

The point I\'m making Tony is I\'ve heard it said so many times by the pro smokers, the argument - what about pollution from cars and lorrys etc. It has even been mentioned on this thread. But we are all guilty of contributing to a lesser or greater extent to the polluting effects of burning oil and its derivatives. It\'s a \"case of he without sin cast the first stone\" , I feel the argument is weak and has no value in supporting a smokers right to smoke in public.

My point with the VAT issue is I think the treasury will see a drop in revenue from the smoking ban. Provided the costs savings are greater that the revenue loss its not a problem, but if it isn\'t the additional revenue will be required to be raised elsewhere and I feel with the current healthy lifestyle agenda of all political parties, the luxury goods that are considered unhealthy will be targets for raising additional revenue for the state.

\"Ban jogging and all physical amateur sports !\"
And if you where to slip on some seaweed and break your leg whilst out fishing, would you ban fishing as well? I know of one factory many years ago who had a hidden agenda not to employ persons who played Sunday league football and rugby just because there was a chance of them not turning up for work on Monday. A counter argument may be what about the work time lost by the smokers when they go off for their nicotine/smoke fix.

I think with the result of the parliamentary vote, the argument for not banning smoking in public is lost, However, the acts of Parliament need to be drawn up and the laws formulated. So we have 18 months consultation and readings in both houses of Parliament. So if you are a smoker, now is your time to lobby your MPand the House of Lords to try and persuade them to pursue a middle way of lifting the ban where it is practical to do so such as a private members club.

[IanW]

I used to smoke, don\'t now so don\'t really give a ****.

My outlook on the situation...it\'s been introduced, have your winge about it, then learn to live with it. The decisions not going to be reversed, they never are as far as I know.

Take solice in the fact that you can give up....then turn to eating more pies and still be seen as wasting tax payers money by being a fat ******* and having heart attacks.....works for me

[KeithB]

Smoking stinks! but then again, so does Farting!

[fishfinder]

A counter argument may be what about the work time lost by the smokers when they go off for their nicotine/smoke fix.

Got to agree there chris Ive worked with many smokers and they are allways of the opinion that because they smoke they have a god given right to an extra break of lets say 10mins an hour where as Im left grafting away now 10 mins isnt a great deal but over the week it mounts up to about 6 and a half hours why the f..k should I work the extra hours for them ... if you say owt its oh stop ya whinging ..well who\'s whinging (me again lol) now git oot the pubs and public places then at least when Im off work i can enjoy it without tab stench :P :P

[batt22]

well well well just read a piece in today\'s paper \"smoking \"may\" \"not\" be banned in the smoking rooms in the house of commons \"
so its ok for the mp\'s not the ordinary people of this country

[Charlton]

solve the problem, stop making them

[batt22]

Westminster All Crown Estate properties, including the Palace of Westminster, are exempt from the smoking ban. However, the Commons’ administration committee has called for a health and safety report on a complete ban that could lead to the demise of the Members’ Smoking Room

Leisure facilities Banned in all pubs, restaurants, private members’ clubs, museums, cinemas, churches, theatres, halls, conference centres, public lavatories and telephone kiosks

bloody hell public nettys too i cant take a swift cig while taking a sit down brown (not that i do mind lol) what the hell might as well start trying to pack in now ????????

[alan]

Bit busy with work tonight.
Personally It does\'nt bother me as long as people respect I\'m a non smoker along with my family,live and let live,it was the government that allowed mass promotion of smoking in the 40\'s 50\'s 60\'s well up until a few years back,I except it will create a cleaner environment at local level,public area\'s etc,dont suppose it will have much effect on the amount of people that smoke

[mark]

what is it about smoking that makes non smokers such fundemetal maniacs, anyone would think we were parodying the prophet for ****s sake

whats wrong with places to have a tab and places that you can\'t, you non smokers can all **** off to the latter and bitch about us lot.

I hate going into pubs bcause there\'s people drinking alcohol in there and its highly offensive, just wait till we\'re all forced to convert to islam and non of you\'se can have quick snifter, freedom of choice,

vegertarian or meater eater, drink or non drinker, blood sports or anti blood sports, driver or non driver... its individual choice. I choose not to be a fat *******, but I\'m not petitioning to have all the fatties rounded up and rendered into chicken mcnuggets, I mean fat people really affect my health badly, I suffer from secondary fatness, see a fatty and I want to throw up, lets have em banned


stop ****ing whingeing about smokers, we\'ll have the last laugh on you all anyway, when our glorious leader realises the economy is even more ****ed than it is already, deprived of tobacco revenue, he\'ll put all your taxes up! we\'ll be quids in cos we\'ll be saving a fortune by not smoking!

[IanW]

I choose not to be a fat *******, but I\'m not petitioning to have all the fatties rounded up and rendered into chicken mcnuggets, I mean fat people really affect my health badly, I suffer from secondary fatness, see a fatty and I want to throw up, lets have em banned

Sounds like you should be thanking these fatties for keeping you so skinny and allowing to live your life to the way you chose.
Could you stay as skinny without them?
If you have them banned maybe you\'ll end up as one and then have to ban yourself

[Chris_Hughes]

What will happen to Snoopy ? First they ban fox hunting, next they ban smoking, whats a beagle to do ?

[mark]

its a well know fact that snoopy was gunned down in a benwell crack house several years ago for interfering with one of Mr Benn\'s \'ho\'s\'

[TC]

Batt - there all the effin\' same these politicians.........in South Tyneside, they\'ve decided to ban smoking in all Council Offices. Well, actually this came into force a couple of years ago - with one exception.....during lunch time, they allow a small room to be opened up as a \"smoking room\" for staff in the Town Hall......it gets locked again at 2:00pm on the dot. They\'ve now decided to remove that 1 exception.
HOWEVER.........the Councillors (those who\'ve decided not to allow staff to smoke ANYWHERE in the building), have their own \"members suite\", complete with brand new leather chesterfield sofas, deep pile carpet, their own (staffed) \"refectory\" and a bar.......oh.....and guess what........they can still smoke in there, too.