To think public smoking should be banned

Lots of what you've posted makes you look dim but this is probably the pinnacle. I'm baffled anyone can be this ignorant about addiction. I've never smoked or vaped and it doesn't take much intelligence or effort to understand it isn't easy to quit.

Yes safer! Doing her bloody best!

Honestly this thread is so judgemental!

If someone has a nicotine patch stuck to their arm they are doing great, if they use a vape, they are babyish, look ridiculous, smell of strawberries whatever but at least they are trying to stop smoking fgs!

There's a lot of things I'd like to ban, including drunk people, shouting people, cars, motor bikes, people talking loudly on their phones in public ... vaping and cigarette smoke don't bother me, I quite like the smell. They already have to go outside, leave them alone and let them do what they want.

It’s safer, but not necessarily safe. There’s a difference.

'Vapes are so gross. They smell of old, sweet popcorn to me. And people smoking them look like overgrown children with dummies. Saw a pregnant women smoking one the other day. I get they’re addictive but I just think there are some things you need to prioritise like your babies health over an urge that will at some point go away.'

You know she is prioritising the health of her baby right? She's not smoking!

From the NHS Website!

People can't win! They try to stop smoking by using vapes & still people moan about people smelling of popcorn 🙁

@peonym I completely understand the argument about the health impact of cigarette smoke indoors, but don't accept that smoking outside is any more dangerous than walking along a road with loads of polluting vehicles. Surely a car that is idling in traffic is emitting far more pollutants and is potentially far more damaging that someone walking past smoking a cigarette.

Nah, I love smoking. I smoke 2 or 3 cigarettes a week, and strictly never more than one a day. I simply don't smoke enough to be addicted. Around 15 years ago I used to smoke as a serious habit, and I remember what it's like to feel addicted to nicotine, so I'm pretty confident in my assessment.

I personally really like the smell of smoke but agree that it's anti social. I'm so paranoid of being thought bad of that I put my cigarette out if someone is about to walk past me.

It's more than something "bothering" you - it's the health impacts of second hand smoke. People talking loudly is a very different beast...

Just to say .. my lovely mother.. a subject of 40s/50s posh upbringing once said to me when I took up smoking in my late teens ....

For goodness sake.. NEVER walk and smoke .. it's so common. !

(Not a word about the untold health issues that killed her father..) just how awful it is to see a 'lady' walking and smoking. Smoking was to only be considered ok when sitting down with a G&T .. 🙈..

I smoked on and off until my late 30s but couldn't do it standing up !

I would be very much opposed to any further restrictions for smokers.

I was a smoker for many years but gave up nearly 30 years ago, but have managed not to become a fervent anti smoker like many ex smokers. Although it was introduced long after I had stopped, I thought the ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants was wrong, and if restaurateurs and publicans were happy to allow smoking on their premises, I think they should have been allowed to make a decision on what they would allow on their own premises and I think the ban has led to the closure of many pubs.

The smell of cigarette smoke doesn't bother me at all, and I find the smell of people eating fried chicken on public transport, BO, and people talking loudly and playing music/games on their phones far more offensive.

Agree. Hate it, hate big plumes of strawberry vape floating in my face every time I walk through a busy street. For those saying "oh well let's ban cars too" - co2 regulations are attempting to reduce this kind of pollution so why not regulate smoking / vaping too.

How will it be policed?

Think smoking outside should include not smoking within 3m of a door which is used.

My previous workplace, a supermarket, people smoked by the entrance when it rained or in the winter as there is an overhang, The wind made the smoke waft into the store. Security and management asked the smokers to move. Got abuse.

Yet opposite there are two empty units with a similar sized overhangs to my previous work. No one smokes there.

My local hospital, both buildings and grounds, is a smoke free zone and is marked as such, especially around the entrances.
In another hospital I visited I saw a specific area outside, well away from any entrances, designated for smokers, labelled as such and cordoned or fenced off.
So it can be done.
When I visited Tokyo there were such areas in the street, I was curious as to why a group of people, mostly men, were herded into a smallish space cordoned off from the rest of the street. And there were glass boxes inside shopping centres and the like, also for smokers. Seems to work reasonably well, I wasn't assaulted by clouds of smoke and noxious smells at all.

Totally agree OP. The people on this thread goading you are obviously feeling guilty because they know they smoke in people’s faces and that it’s gross!

I do too. It’s more than a decade since I stopped smoking but I still love the smell. I have been known to linger around smokers.

i love the smell but then i only stopped because of the cost .

Me too. Part of the badness of smoking.

I couldn't get upset about fags in London though what with the buses and cars kicking out fumes.

Smoking is dying out anyway. I get upset with the amount of swearing you hear everywhere and people being rude and entitled.

I smoked for years - gave up 20 years ago. I don’t get the argument about drinking, drugs freedom etc as a comparison. If I drink I’m not forcing anyone else to drink. If I take drugs I’m not making anyone else take them. But if I smoke, I’m forcing the people around me to breathe it in. And no, I don’t drive. Not for ethical reasons, I just can’t!

You don't love smoking. You love the relief you get from satisfying your addiction briefly.