Re:smoking on the beach

[kansasmum]

At the beach today with ds. It's fairly busy, lots of kids running around.
I am surrounded by people smoking. 2 people behind me are smoking and a woman in front of me. Plus a group of people just down the beach a bit who are all Smoking. It stinks.
I know it's an open space so they are entitled I suppose but it's horrible and there are kids running around etc. You can't help but smell it etc!
Just wish beaches were smoke free zones. Plus all of them are putting the cigarette ends in the sand!
Aibu to be annoyed?!!

[Chopstick17]

Just bad luck I think. Just move elsewhere! YANBU about cig ends in the sand though. Don't know why some smokers think butts are different to the other litter.

[BathshebaDarkstone]

Apart from the cigarette ends in the sand, YABU. A lot of councils give out those free Stub It pouches now.

[WindInThePussyWillows]

Having thought of it, my towns beaches (Bournemouth) have rules about no bbqs and drinking on the 2 beaches directly next to the pier (to the first groyne).

Perhaps as a compromise instead of banning smoking on beaches, they could similarly introduce no smoking or smoke free areas on the beaches.

Family friendly areas, if you like

[gamerchick]

Personally I am appalled at the secondhand smoke coming out of Merchant's ears

ah I love a smoking thread me

[WindInThePussyWillows]

YANBU it's horrid for non smokers.
Food for thought for the smokers commenting about it not being that bad..

DH is an ex heavy smoker and could never smell it when people around him smoked too, not he doesn't smoke he says he notices the smell all the time and for the first time can smell how horrible it is walking through or being exposed to other people's second hand smoke.
Smoking severely effects ability to smell in general, but especially numbs your awareness of your own and others smoke - it's disgusting.

I currently have very tiny baby twins and a premalignant condition and hate hate hate when I'm sat somewhere with the babies and someone sits right next to me and lights up.

[sweetkitty]

The quicker smoking is banned completely the better totally hate it.

But I grew up with 2 chain smoking parents who put cigarettes before food sometimes.

[PortiaCastis]

Yeah it's best not to breathe cos we're scum

[FullTimeYummy]

Personally I am appalled at the secondhand smoke coming out of Merchant's ears

[blueturtle6]

I'm asthmatic, about 8 years ago, was at a bus shelter and a man started smoking next to me, I moved away, the guy later threatened to stab me, saying I was a middle class. There may have been some mh issues but it terrified me, and for ages afterwards I would explain, I'm moving I'm asthmatic. Can't tell you how many funny looks I got.....
Either way you can't win, breathe in second hand smoke or piss someone off...

[PortiaCastis]

People who are so far up their on arses and call others SCUM on an anonymous internet site are keyboard warriors of the lowest order. Call me SCUM face to face irl and a heated discussion would take place. Alas that wouldn't happen, would it?
We can all hide behind a keypad and hurl insults, tbo I cba ( interweb speak) to type anymore because I want a bacon buttie and feeding myself is far more important than reading shite.

[MistressDeeCee]

I just scrolled back and read that "scum" comment by Merchant

Over an anti-smoking thread on the internet?!

She sounds like the kind of apoplectic mean and waspish person that most would do well to steer well clear of in rl

[Puzzledandpissedoff]

You come across as the worst sort of scum

Why is anyone even remotely surprised at this? I mentioned the hysteria shown by some anti-smokers, and this is just the sort of thing I meant

Oh, and isn't personal abuse supposed to be disallowed on here ... ?

[MistressDeeCee]

Its a whole beach, if you can't find one area not full of smokers then you don't seem to be somewhere which is any fun, you must be packed in like sardines

Im an occasional roll up smoker and get bored of non-smokers coming to sit near me, then giving pointed looks and tutting. Fuck off - I haven't sat in your space. I just continue smoking if they don't like the waft, tough. I don't drop litter anyway and that includes cig butts

[kensausage13]

Wowsers! merchant sounds lovely. What's that expression?? Calm your tits? (non-smoker btw...just can't muster up any shits to give about whether people are smoking or not, drinking or not, etc etc). Surely there are more pressing issues to get one's knickers in a twist over?

[Mycatsabastard]

Some people merchant need to seriously calm down on this thread!

Getting personal, calling people names and being generally nasty says a lot more about you than someone who smokes on a beach!

To the person who asked about bbq's. We have 7 miles of beach here. Some beaches are for nudists, some are completely national trust areas, some are dog beaches, some have actual bbqs so you can just take your coals and food and cook, some allow bbq's after 6pm. Most of the beaches don't allow dogs in summer (it's cruel anyway as there is no shelter from the sun) and bikes and skateboards etc are banned during the summer months before 6pm on the prom.

[PortiaCastis]

.

[Memoires]

Beaches and parks are "basically areas for children"?????? What??? Who says? When did that happen?

[busyboysmum]

Maybe we could have smokers beaches and non smokers beaches same as dog and non dog beaches ☺ are we allowed barbeques on beaches or does that smoke also annoy people? I'm a non smoker but can't say I've ever been bothered by the smell of smoke on a beach. It blows away so quickly. Surely children inhaling exhaust fumes walking along a road would be much worse and no ones saying ban cars ? Threads like this always make me think of that character in The Simpson's wailing "will nobody think of the children?" But of an over reaction imho YABU

[JassyRadlett]

Ach, Private Eye is usually better than that. I will write them a strongly worded letter. In fountain pen, I reckon they'd appreciate that.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

Mea culpa, twas Private Eye. I should have fact checked.

[JassyRadlett]

Jess, yeah most things do I guess. And most folks have them, which makes it sucky for the majority when others drop butts/ignore that others don't love their smoke.

[ItShouldHaveBeenJess]

I think it really is about judgement and consideration. It's tricky; just because it is an open space, does not automatically mean we can puff over others. It probably just boils down to basic manners.

[gillybeanz]

For Merch

[acasualobserver]

I bet they wouldn't actually speak to people like this in the flesh

I think if I ever met anyone as shrill, brittle and self-righteous as some on this thread, I wouldn't have any problem at all in being rude in person.

[JassyRadlett]

Jess, I come from Australia which is already an anathema to most folk on this thread (and has got a fuckload stricter since I left). So my barometer on what's reasonable/not reasonable is probably a bit off anyway. Eg I don't think it's particularly outrageous to stop people smoking within a few metres of non-residential doorways, or in beer gardens, but I get that the culture is different here. I agree with you on the 'any open space' bit, but similarly the outrage at the suggestion that some open spaces might be appropriate for a smoking ban is bizarre to me.