Should smoking really be banned??

Question

Should smoking really be banned, this corrupt goverment want to improve health, they intend to do this by what?? stopping people smoking in pubs ect..
so now people are going to be smoking in thier homes .. where thier children are!!
I dont think this smoking ban will work, millions of pounds of tax will be lost, people will smoke in pubs anyway, i mean they do on buses and thats supposed to be banned!!!!
And it isnt actually proven that passive smoking kills!!!
For it to harm you you are going to have to spend a lot of time in the pub, and most people who spend a lot of time in the pub smoke anyway!!!!!!
So much for a free country!!!!!!

Answer 1

They say the way to stop smoking is education, when i go passed my local senior school i see loads of kids lighting up as they leave school, so this must prove education is not the answer. What the government should do is give medical treatment to us smokers to help us stop, and i don't mean a 5min appointment at my local GP, and a prescription for patches, it take more than that for us hardened smokers. Lets face it the government spends millions on banning smoking, surely it would be better spent to set up clinics where we can go and get one to one therapy and drugs to help us kick this terrible habit, but again that would mean the government spending money where it really counts, and they don't like doing that. Plus once they realise just how much tax they have lost because we've all stopped smoking, they will put other tax's up to off set their loss, so be prepared all you none smokers to have your tax's increased, but don't blame us smoker this time, because it all you none smokers who have been moaning about your right, so your getting what you asked for.

Answer 2

I think that people take things to heart these days far too much. The non smokers are all cheering due to the increase in their lives and the smokers are all in tears because they feel they can no longer go to pubs. I think that both sides are being a little pathetic in this debate as the points seem completely invalid to me. People don't keel over from the passive smoke in a pub unless they go on a daily basis...and if you drink everyday you can't really say you are bothered about your health. If you are concerned about your children inhaling smoke in a pub then you are obviously a moron for taking a child there anyway. People talk about eating while people are smoking yet there are non smoking sections and if you want to have a smoke free meal there are plenty of places that have a place for you to sit. On the other hand if you are a smoker then you can still smoke outside and if you smoke 20 a day that would mean you would pop out about once every 45 mins or so. The hardened 60 a day smokers may have more of a problem with this as they will be outside every 15 mins which will be a lot. If you smoke 60 a day though then you won't have to put up with it too long as you will be dead soon anyway. Also, you don't have to go to pubs or nightclubs and can invite your friends round for drinks instead.



So that said I don't understand the problem from either side. It seems the non smokers are being overly whingy about their health when they will most certianly die from something other than a passive smoking related illness. And smokers are concerned about their rights being taken away when really they never had any to begin with. I really don't care what happens if people waste this much time and money over something as trivial as stopping smoking in pubs (which is basically all this is doing seeing as you haven't been able to smoke at work, in shopping centres or most other places which are enclosed for years now).

Answer 3

I think a total ban is a bad idea. The new law should state that each place can still have a smoking area. Smokers can then enjoy a cigarette with their pint (as lots of people do, like myself), but non smokers can also stay clear of the smoke. People will become frustrated with having to stand out in the cold, or getting £50 fines for forgetting. Many people will just socialise at each others homes, meaning social problems as many will rarely meet new people. I think pubs will bring in less money and suffer. The government will make less on tax and therefore have to get money out of people in other ways, which will mean smokers and non-smokers having to pay out to compensate the ban. Most people dont start smoking because of sitting in a pub, they become curious at a young age when they wouldnt smoke in enclosed public places anyway! It will therefore not prevent people taking up the habit. I believe a total ban is extreme and un-neccessary, without enough thought being giving to the negative outcomes.

Answer 4

Smoking ban has worked in Scotland for over a year. If it can work in Scotland (one of the worst mortality rates in Europe) it can work anywhere else in the UK.



I also don't think the government is corrupt.



Millions of punds of tax may be lost ... but then so will millions be saved on NHS treatments. We as tax payers will be better off.



People will not smoke in pubs. Again, look to Scotland where people go outside to smoke. The weather is substantially worse up there.



If people smoke on buses, then this law will help others to stop that.

Answer 5

Yes it is a disgucting habit that kills millions of people (smokers and NON SMOKERS) every year. And it HAS been proven countless times that passive smoking does kill in fact the smoke out of the end of a lit cigarette is even more dangerous as it's unfiltered!



So you think that people banned from smoking in pubs wil instead smoke at home?, well don't they anyay? And if they want to inflict that nasty on their children, that is their choice though if they choose to do that what sort of parent are they? and what sort of example are they setting? But I suppose better that than on me whilst I'm trying to have a drink.



You are making such a sweeping generalisation - saying that everyone in pubs smoke. Has it ever occured to you that non smokers (whose money is as good as everyone else's) probably stay out of pubs precisely because it's so smoky???



And free country does not mean that you can do whatsoever you please - you have to live with the rules and laws set bu Governments, which is known as Rule of Law. If you did'nt abide by these rules there would be anarchy, and I'm sure you'd be on here complaining about that too!

Answer 6

No. And it won't be. Not until the Govt find another way of getting money from current smokers and an alternative source of revenue from those who would be taxed-smokers of the future but are as yet unborn.



Meanwhile, in spite of the propaganda, more people are smoking now than ever; more younger people; more women.



Most people don't admit to being smokers in surveys, but actually are - even those on here who 'only have a few ciggies when socialising'.



Smokers are everywhere - as you will see when the ban comes in. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Ireland, the ban meant that practically everyone you see outdoors now has a cigarette in their fingers. Everyone.



Because even 'secret smokers' have to get one or two in every chance they get. Watch for your colleagues at work - especially those who 'only smoke socially', ie other peoples cigarettes - being VERY KEEN suddenly to go to the shop for you!

Answer 7

This country remains, nominally, a democracy. That said, 3 in 4 people are non-smokers and in several polls asking whether smoking in public places should be banned, there wasn't a single outcome of less than 80% for 'yes'.

This is truly democracy in action.

The argument about restaurants and pubs having non-smoking areas is piffle: since you can't control airflow, it's impossible to control where the smoke ends up; so non-smoking areas are a pretence.

I have a right to attend a smoke free pub. Smokers' rights aren't being infringed since they can still smoke, just not inside. Since they only smoke for a few minutes at a time, it should make no difference to their social life and smoking will be stigmatised as the antisocial habit it is. I don't see smokers in the working environment complaining that it should be their right to smoke at their desks regardless of their non-smoking colleagues.

Smoking bans have worked in other places, not least in Japan, where over 50% of the population smoke, so there shouldn’t be any issue here.

Answer 8

Have a go at smokers , that's the in thing to do



What will happen if these people don't go to the pubs , and they start to close



Stop this ban that , just how far do these people want to go ,

I surpose Boxing is next , well it is a blood sport



Every one has the right to live there life , and I for one do not expect to be dictated to , There are things I don't like but what right have I to tell others how to live

Answer 9

Its not just pubs and clubs, its any enclosed spaces.

This is one of the few brilliant ideas the government have had and followed through on. If smokers choose to carry on smoking within their homes around children that's upto them and their conscience.

This is a good thing for the millions that don't smoke, bring on the ban.

Answer 10

Smoking should not be banned and wont be outlawed (in the US) anytime soon simply for the mass amount of taxes taken from cigarette sales. Smoking kills - yeah it does, but so does obesity and the people shoveling in tons of fatty products from McDonalds doesnt seem to come under fire. That would be too politically incorrect.

The biggest problem I see from banning smoking in all public places is that the government is telling a business owner how to run their place. What would be wrong with smoking only and nonsmoking only establishments, pubs etc.? We all make a choice when we go out and we should be able to choose that. Business owners should be able to run their business the way they want to, they pay taxes too. I can see banning it from public transportation, governement buildings, schools and such but when it comes to a privately owned pub or restaurant that choice should be up to the person who put their money, blood and sweat into their business.

Answer 11

No smoking should not be banned! It means we are no longer a free country. People will be denied their common right. People will be sad and miserable. The Government is set to spend millions on anti-depressants and street cleaning. Thousand of pubs (and other public smoking places) throughout the country will close. Huge rise in global warming due to thousands of patio heaters installed in public places. Nightclubs will close. Mass job losses. And ultimately less sociable people because they will be drinking and smoking at home!

Answer 12

There are Way too many pros of banning smoking, whilst there don't appear to be any pros of smoking in public places except for the pleasure of the smoker.



Smoking is a habit of choice made by an individual and that's their decision but how can anyone argue that they have the right to inflict the health risks etc on other people?



I live in Scotland where the ban is already in place and it's so nice not to have to take extra puffs of my asthma inhaler because of someone else's smoke on a night out.



What's so bad about standing outside to smoke anyway? If I WAS a smoker, I would realise that my smoking was harming others and would not smoke around them. To argue against this seems selfish to me!

Answer 13

I smoke but I can understand the morals behind the smoking ban.

The next step they will take is to actually outlaw smoking full stop. After that they will turn their attention to alcohol. After that they will make it so expensive to drive that nobody can actually afford to anymore. Then they will take something else.

The list goes on, bit by bit they are taking all our freedoms away, its slowly creeping towards a big brother state.

But I do think banning smoking is no bad thing all the same

Answer 14

I am not a smoker but I so agree with you! It will be so weird now going into a pub or nightclub without that hazy mist! And what like you said everyone smokes indoors anyway...so what about their children, or non smokers in that house, does their health not matter? Smoking has been around for years, pubs and fags just go together...I think the whole thing is silly. And what I want to know is how are they going to stop people from doing it. Say you are working in a pub, you are just bar staff then you see someone light up...are you given a special force to stop them or something?

Answer 15

Tobacco should be banned altogether in my opinion . I am tired of hearing about so called rights what about responsibilities it is like children having a paddy because they can't have sweets . Smoking has no real positive benefits but real possible dangers to health including others health just take Roy Castle as an example he was a non smoker but because of his time as a stand up in smoky clubs he died of cancer. I would say it should also be banned from homes with under 16's to protect children at least but it would be better to ban it all together.

Answer 16

First of all i'm a smoker. I totally agree with the ban, we've had it in northern ireland since april 30th, and it totally makes sense. You say people would have to spend alot of time in the pub to be affected by passive smoking, so what about the staff?? Also dont forget that alot of passive smoke is unfiltered so is actually more toxic than inhaled smoke. As much as i enjoy smoking, i understand and respect non smokers and see how unpleasant it is for them to be in a smokey environment. Also the idea of segragating areas is, and always has been pointless, as the smoke drifts over the entire place.

Answer 17

Before I start my answer let me make it clear I am a smoker.



Another point many self focoused English people are missing is that smoking in public places is already banned in every other part of the UK and it IS working.



I was against the ban before it came in here in Scotland over a year ago. 'What about my right to smoke' I argued. No one is making me not smoke, the area I do it in is just changing for the greater good of all. I know non smokers who have went back to pubs they hadn't been in for years due to the smoke. Even as a smoker there were bars I would avoid becuase the ventilation was so bad and you eyes would water with the smoke.



I have not once seen anyone smoke in an area where it is banned. The landlord/lady would lose their license so they aren't going to allow it.



Maybe the link hasn't been proven to your satisfation but no one can argue that it is a pleasent experiance being surrounded by smoke. Even as a smoker I don't like it so I can only imagine how bad it is for someone that has choosen not to smoke.



The ban WILL work, it already is working.



If people are stupid enough to think it is ok to light up around their children they would be doing so now - they aren't going to all of a sudden start doing so just becuase they aren't allowed to smoke in the pub.



Come back in a few weeks when you have realised how nice it is to go out and not be covered in smoke, how nice it is not to have to plan where you can take your family our for a meal without getting surrounded by smokers, how nice it is to realise you will smoke less than half of what you did previously and how pleasent it is standing outside and chatting to strangers.

Answer 18

yes i think it is a very good idea that smoking is going to be banned,if smokers want to mess up there own life then why should us non smokers have to suffer,and you say people are now going to smoke more in there own homes where there kids are, well thats up to them isnt it, if they want to be bloody selfish and put there kids health at risk then more fool them,maybe knowing it has to be done more in the home will stop some of these smokers doing it, who knows they might even quit!!!! SMOKING STINKS!!!!!!!!

Answer 19

I totally agree with you. I don't mind not being able to smoke in restaurants but I do like a ciggie with a drink in the pub, as do 8 out of 10 people who frequent the pub I go to. I think it would be better to have seperate smoking/non smoking areas in pubs, and as long as the air conditioning works, there should be no problem. I agree with not smoking at the bar, so the bar staff don't have to deal with smoke being blown in their faces.



By the way, I remember a pub that we used to go to on saturday evenings which was very popular with people in their late teens, early twenties, and there was a seperate non smoking area, which was always virtually empty. People chose to stand in the smoking area than go into the non smoking area.

Answer 20

If you are truly honest with yourself, you will acknowledge that smoking is bad for you and everyone around you. Now consider that we have an enormous health care crisis in the U.S., in which people are having tremendous trouble paying for basic health needs. Why? Because the overall cost of health insurance is huge. Now ask yourself if you want to pay for the cost of all the health needs of people who choose to smoke. I am completely sympathetic with the problem, as I was a smoker myself at one time, but I truly believe society does not benefit if we don't penalize the smokers relative to the ones who take good care of themselves. I think we need to treat smoking addiction as a disease, since it has a bigger impact on our health care system than anything else that we can clearly identify, unless it is obesity (another addiction). The science behind this is clear, so be honest with it and deal with it.

Answer 21

The English ban. The Government didn't want a ban but was forced to take a U-turn because of public pressure. I hope July will be wetter.

Answer 22

Smoking in public places should be banned.

When I go to a club or a bar for any amount of time I come out smelling of smoke. It's in my clothes, my skin and my hair. So yes it should be banned.



People who work in pubs, bars, clubs, restaurants or jazz clubs are all subjected to smoke for up to 40 hours a week. They are put in involuntary danger of increase in the risk of lung cancer and increase in the risk of heart disease and respiratory disease.

So yes, it should be banned.



Whether or not passive smoking kills is not the issue here, it causes life threatening diseases. The tax generated from cigarettes may cover the NHS cost for smokers but not for the non-smokers who are struck by smoking related illnesses.

So yes, it should be banned.



People who choose to smoke can do so in open spaces. They know the risk they are taking and are free to do so. Those who choose not to smoke for whatever reason should not be forced to share the burden of smoking related illnesses. They should be free from the effect of tobacco. That is what I call a free country.



Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Answer 23

Its banned enough with this new rule. I loathe the smell of cigarettes with a passion, and will now be able to use places that have been closed to me for years, but people should have the right to smoke in their homes if they want to. If they don' want to harm their children they should smoke outdoors or stop! Other people's children use pubs in family areas, are they less important.I am looking forward to having an enhanced social life thanks. No worries abot the tax. Most people buy abroad or on the black market in this country - which is the only reason the ban is comming in. The Governement have been losing the revenue for years.

Answer 24

no no no to the smoking ban,

i am a non smoker and have never smoked, but the pubs are going to get even more quieter now, people should have a choice and smokers pay more tax.

what about the dirty smoke coming from cars that get into baby's prams and push chairs, have you noticed how many kids need an inhaler these days because of that ! so why not ban cars that are not electric...

you do gooders do more bad than good..

women that wear too much perfume should also be banned(and men)

smelly breath and people passing wind in public should also be banned,

did you know that you will still be able to smoke in prison and the hypocrites in power will still be able to smoke in the houses of Parliament !

so much for a free country.

Answer 25

Wow, very sensitive issue judging by the amount of answers!

Of course smoking shouldn't be banned, there are much more important issues to put energy into!

Answer 26

So if there was a smoking ban, you woulnd't light up with your friends?

I think it is wonderful. I have asthma and I hate going into public places where people smoke.

What on earth do you mean that passive smoking doesn't kill? It could kill me.

Going without a cigarette won't do you any harm at all. Smoking does kill.

Answer 27

So smoking banned in pubs mean people will smoke at home instead?!!!!



Are you trying to say they don't do that now?

Are you seriously telling me that most people who smoke do if for the 3 hours they are in a pub twice a week but then never smoke at home?



Are you going to teach your children how to smoke? No your not, because it's an incredbily stupid thing to do.



It makes you smell terrible, it looks cheap and tacky, costs you thousands of pounds and slowly destroys your body until you die.



Any argument in favour of smoking is complete nonsense, if you think it's a good thing go and put a cigerette on the mouth of your child, light it and then tell us all your happy about it.

You wont because you'd NEVER want your child to smoke.



Anyone with any sense will stop smoking now, but i suppose if you had any sense you wouldn't have started in the first place.



..................................................................

Can i just add something seeing as you have.

Humans can read 'No Smoking Area' signs, the smoke in the air can't!!!

Answer 28

This is just a political exercise. If they really cared about our health then they would completele ban it, meaning it would be illegal to buy or sell tobacco. I think this halfway arrangement is ridiculous. They either ban it completely or just leave it as it's been. If we all stopped buying cigarettes tomorrow then by next year you wouldn't be able to get an appointment at your hospital or GP for anything because they would have to close down GP units as well as some hospitals!

Answer 29

I think that the manufacturing of cigarettes should be banned and importation should be banned as well. Cigarette smoke is harmful to your lungs and it can kill people. Nicotine, which is a drug, is used in cigarettes. As most people know drugs make you want more and more of the drug. So one day a person could be smoking 5 packs a day! Isn't that horrible! Smoking is taking drugs! I think smoking should be banned and whoever is caught smoking should be fined.



For example: In Singapore they banned bubble gum and chewing gum and so far I haven't seen gum on the pavement or on chairs. Whoever is found chewing chewing gum or bubble gum is fined.It's just a matter of how strict the government is.

Answer 30

Would it be a free country if you were allowed to smoke in public places? Because it wouldn't be free for us non smokers who are being polluted by your smoke! Over all banning smoking in public places will be better for everyone who wants it to be. IE: children who have to go out with there parents to these places, and for all those of us who don't want to passive smoke! Smokers know it's bad for them but never seemed to care about others, well now non smokers have a choice and its a good one.

Answer 31

I think it is going to be like when they tried to ban drinking way back when. Prohibition...It ain't going to work and people will always smoke. I smoke. I am suppose to live in the land of the free and have rights!!! I will continue to smoke.Even if they made it illegal I will be like a pot smoker and get a cigarette dealer and continue to smoke. It might even cost me more. I will. What is the world coming to..... UH? I believe the economy will sure suffer without our tax dollars and then what??? Will though fanatics find try try to stop then? I could go on and go on.

Answer 32

I don't think smoking should be banned, but at the same time I can see why a non-smoker wouldn't want to work in a smokey pub, and I guess in some cases, that's the only work they can get. However, like you say, I think there should be choice - a smoking and a non-smoking area, which is what we have now, and that seems to work quite well.

Answer 33

Smoking should NOT be banned. All the holier than thou non smokers will be in uproar when the government has to increase taxes to replace all the tax money they usually get from people buying cigarettes. I don't smoke but most of my friends do and so does my partner, I'm not bothered by smoke in pubs and like you said all restaurants have a non smoking area. Banning smoking is a step towards removing all our choices and in my opinion totally against our human rights!

Answer 34

I guess you must be a smoker, if you were a non-smoker you would probably think differently, it is horrible to come back from an evening out in a smoky bar/pub and your clothes and hair stink of cigarettes. My father died of smoking related disease and my aunt lived with a smoker all her life but never smoked and ended up with throat cancer which the doctors said was attributed to HIS smoking!



PS I used to smoke but gave up as I value my health and would rather spend my money on something nicer!

Answer 35

smoking is less dangerous to your health then you think. what do you none smokers are getting in your lung while sitting in your cars or walking down the streets POLLUTION WAKE UP ANTI SMOKERS WHO DRIVE THERE CARS YOU ARE CAUSING MORE DAMAGE TO PEOPLE LUNGES THEN SMOKERS EVER DO. look what your cars are doing to the environment smoking does not cause that. so all anti smokers who drive cars you are the killers not the smokers

Answer 36

yes smoking should be banned ,peole will no longer be able to smoke in pubs because of the huge fines landlords will get , but it will be intresting to see how the landlords are going to tell someone whos had ten pints to stop smoking or get of their pub , i can see alot of arguments and argessiveness in places over the next few weeks. as for smoking in your own home nobody has the right to stop you from doing this but if you have children its so unfair to smoke in front of them , the increasing numbers of children with asthma is huge

Answer 37

Apparently only one in three people smoke. Lets assume this is true.



If three people go to a pub one of them will light up a cigarette and inhale the cancerous fumes out of choice. The other two will also inhale the fumes as they disperse around the room. As it stands the only way they can choose not to smoke is to not go were smokers smoke. As non-smokers out number smokers by two to one, its only fair that the people who choose to smoke go somewhere they can do it without inflicting it on others.



As for the millions lost in tax revenue, I'm sure this will be offset by the millions of pounds not being spent by the NHS trying to save people who choose to poison themselves, giving themselves throat and lung cancer, heart disease and other smoking related diseases (many of which have been suffered by people in my family).



As for smoking at home and exposing children, surely a responsible parent would step outside to smoke, therefore not exposing their children to second hand smoke.

I'm all for the smoking ban.

Answer 38

every time i go into a pub my health gets worse. I'm asthmatic and your smoking directly makes me ill so don't tell me that passive smoking doesn't harm anyone. Heres a tip, stop smoking and that way you wont damage your childrens health.



Also you contradict yourself. if passive smoking doesn't cause any problems then whats wrong with smoking around children?

Answer 39

What next eh, they will ban farting in public in case it adds to global warming. This country is turning into a joke, i dont smoke but do not think people should be told what to do.

Answer 40

BAN Alcohol

BAN White Vans

BAN Self-Expression.

BAN everything.

Answer 41

yes i think it should be banned permanently drugs like marijuana are banned and a prison sentence for anyone caught selling it but cigarettes is the biggest selling drug in the world killing more people then drugs will do yet government makes the most money out off death.

Answer 42

i disagree - i think it should be banned. and if people are selfish enough to smoke around their kids at home then more fool them. even if it hasnt been proven that passive smoking kills - its still uncomfortable and jsut stinks! i hate going out and coming home smelling like an old ashtray. why should i have to endure other peoples smoke?



and what about people who work in pubs and clubs - not all of them smoke.

Answer 43

YES! it should be banned, i was a smoker for 22 years. and i now find it repulsive...

Last october, i just said: ''thats enough' and stopped. its been easy untill the last two weeks, when i went into a smokey pub, now i get the urge again!! but i will fight it. it makes you smell awful, look haggard, and i used to feel like death in the morning... if teenagers dont pack it in. it will come back and bite them big time when they get older.. health problems and the like... BAN IT TOTALLY EVERYWHERE!!

Answer 44

killing us kids anyways every teen is friggin smoking now they should start enforcing it so many people are dying by cancer becuz of smoking they need to stop so people could live longer and not kill their kids by second hand smoking and especially teen smokers

Answer 45

Smoking should, and eventually will (once the powerful tobacco lobby is marginalized), be banned.

Answer 46

I say just get rid of the tobacco companies entirely and it'll work.





Tobacco will become an illegal drug, and people will resort to other ways of doing it, but that's okay. The punishment will be just as great for illegal tobacco as it is for other substances.

Answer 47

Yes , I think that anything that gives people pleasure should be banned , but drugs should be made legal and dope heads should be taxed by the government

Answer 48

clear that it is an inconvenience for actual smokers.clear that next generations will have cleaner lungs.i think it's a good idea

Answer 49

Yes it should be banned, if people want to smoke then they can go outside.

Answer 50

they are onto a stealth tax...

Answer 51

yes yes and oh hell yes

Answer 52

i think it should be banned, to piiss you off heeh

Answer 53

I agree. Though we will be shot at dawn for saying this! lol

Answer 54

you bet ye.

Answer 55

If it's okay for cigarettes to be legal, then so should pot, crack, cocaine and any other proven to be deadly drug out there. It's the same damn thing.

Answer 56

Absolutely it should be banned!!!!!!