Smoking Ban

[EmmaG]

Originally Posted by Donna

I am sure the tax on all the cigarettes that are bought doesnt even meet the bill half way on all the smoking related diseases this country has to pay for.

No it doesn't Donna, us non smokers who work WILL be paying for treatment for smokers through our taxes and national insurance payments.

[Jac]

I wasn't going to get invloved with this but I'm going to put my two cents worth in.

The ban was brought out in Scotland over a year ago. I am a smoker. I never lit up when someone was eating. We had smoking and non smoking area's for eating. Most of the time I went to the non smoking area anyway.
What we are really talking about is freedom of choice here and it's been taken away.

You could quite easily have had pubs and clubs that didn't sell food to choose whether or not they wantd to be smoke free. Remember as someone quite rightly pointed out that the goverment gets alot of revenue from taxes on cigs.
In Scotland we have pubs and clubs going under because of this ban. People would rather sit at home and have people over than stand in the snow for a cig.

The powers that be are now saying there should be a ban on smoking in your car because your not concentrating. Right we will ban the raido as well and talking to passengers???? whatever next??? big brother is watching you!!!

[Donna]

Originally Posted by Jac

What we are really talking about is freedom of choice here and it's been taken away.

!!!

But why cant the smokers see that the non smokers NEVER had a choice in the first place???

That is what I find hard to understand. You are all educated and sensible people. But you cannot accept that us non smokers NEVER had a choice. We had to sit and breath in all that poison if we ever wanted to go out. We had the choice of staying in or being poisoned. The smokers now have a choice of staying in, going out and popping outside for a smoke. You have your choice still.

Am I missing something here?

[Erin]

Nobody is disputing the fact that the no smokers didnt have a choice,just that this ban could have been been worked out better with smoking an non smoking bars then we would all have a choice.

[Jac]

Exactly.. When I was growing up it was sophistactaed to smoke. All the film stars did it. It was advertised on all the bill boards raceing cars ect. Then someone found out it was "bad" and ofcourse it is. Nobody is taking that away. As Erin said it's the way it's been done.
You have gay bars. Why not smoking bars?

[dandysmom]

Originally Posted by Erin

Nobody is disputing the fact that the no smokers didnt have a choice,just that this ban could have been been worked out better with smoking an non smoking bars then we would all have a choice.

Originally Posted by Jac

Exactly.. When I was growing up it was sophistactaed to smoke. All the film stars did it. It was advertised on all the bill boards raceing cars ect. Then someone found out it was "bad" and ofcourse it is. Nobody is taking that away. As Erin said it's the way it's been done.
You have gay bars. Why not smoking bars?

Amen to both of you!!!!!!!

[EmmaG]

Originally Posted by Jac

You have gay bars. Why not smoking bars?

But walking into a gay bar isn't going to have any effect on MY health?????

[Jac]

Originally Posted by EmmaG

But walking into a gay bar isn't going to have any effect on MY health?????

It would if someone forced there attentions on you.

Now were getting silly. Why wont you see the two sided penny?

and nobody said i would effect your health. Just pointing out a fact and an option.

[Mags]

I'm sure my generation has paid enough into the NHS over the years without them having to worry about the income from cigarettes.

I think some people are missing the point here, the ban on smoking has been brought in for health reasons ....... the non smokers here are not critcising the smokers. They just don't want to breathe in other people's stale smoke and suffer from it through no fault of their own in later years.

[Jac]

No Mags it's the way it's been done. No freedom of choice. You could quite easily have had smoking bars clubs pubs resturants ect as you could have had non the same.