AIBU to wonder the future of smoking

[GloGirl]

I come from a 'smokey' family and know lots of people who've smoked - tried to quit, quit entirely, or never stopped. Happy to say I quit a few years back and will never take it up again now, my lungs wouldn't let me.

I remember having an argument with someone a couple of years ago that in our lifetime (So another 50 years) we will see the banning of smoking entirely in the UK. I think the governments have done a great job banning smoking in work environments, raising the prices etc and I can see the effects of those policies reducing smokers.

I just wondered what you saw the future of smoking to be now? Would it ever be banned? Are there any more measures to take which could reduce the future further?

BananaBonanza All data presented here ash.org.uk/download/use-of-electronic-cigarettes-among-children-in-great-britain/ , take from it what you will.

A pack of 20 milds here cost €4.65 and last DH and i a month

We have a sneaky one at night when ds goes to bed and we have at least 3 chupitos each a glass of wine or a beer.

I reckon it'll become more and more socially unacceptable but it won't die out.

But as the numbers of smokers drop there's going to be fewer young people who've seem someone die of a smoking related illness. It's a horrible thing to watch and hits home more than warning adverts.

@palmereldritch same survey 23% of 18 years olds have tried e-cigerettes. AND "an increasing number of GB youths are trying E-cigarettes but no tobacco cigarette"

I think it is justifiable a cause for concern

There’s such a lot of confusion around smoking at the moment. On the one hand it’s obviously known to be terribly damaging and cancer causing to human bodies and rightly restricted in terms of age , places you can smoke tobacco etc. on the other hand there’s a progressive relaxation worldwide of laws against smoking cannabis, which is just as cancerous and associated with huge mental health and other issues too. It doesn’t add up at all.
I say this as a former smoker of 20 years and massive dope smoker in my day. I think a really inconsistent message is being given.

My dm smokes 30 a day. She is 67. On her limited income she cuts down on food, days out, clothes etc to afford it but that's addiction for you.

Even when it contributed to my df amd both dgfs deaths.

Never smoked myself and never even tried it but sadly I was on and off poorly throughout my early years from living with 2 smokers and still have a very weak chest.

BananaBonanza You missed out ......among young people who have never smoked, regular use of e-cigarettes was negligible – between 0.1% and 0.5% and theres no evidence to support the hypothesis that e-cigarettes are a ‘gateway’ to smoking.
They're keeping an eye on things but for now, 10 years after vaping became a thing smoking rates are at record low levels amongst all age groups and continue to fall.

If it's banned that would be a sad day for everyone's personal freedom

On a policy level, I don't think they would seek to ban smoking outright, but overall, I think far fewer people are smoking and it's becoming less socially acceptable

I can see vaping becoming the “cool” thing to do amongst teens in the same was smoking was. As a thing on its own right rather than linked to smoking in any way. Vape shops are springing up everywhere, often with bright edgy signs in a graffiti style. The promotion of it is far more in your face than smoking now - I don’t remember there being many dedicated smoking shops for example.

I can see smoking dwindling to nearly zero but I can’t imagine it disappearing completely. Perhaps it will be viewed more like, say, drug use.

I don’t remember there being many dedicated smoking shops for example.

Except in France!

So few young people take up smoking now, restrictions on sale and advertising have really worked

You might be surprised if there were actual figures on this as I drive past the local comp regularly and there are loads of them walking to school smoking, also I know my nephew and all his close friends smoke and have done since they about 13!

So no, imo the restrictions have not done much at all except maybe cause some social smokers to smoke more as they now have to buy 20.

I am a smoker, have had a couple of long quits the longest being almost 3 years and I will be trying to stop again soon. I don't think smoking will ever be outright banned but it may fizzle out, probably not anytime soon though.

This is interesting - I don't think it will need to be banned as it will just fizzle out as a thing to do. In my whole family/social circle I can only think of 4 smokers and 1 person who vapes, and that's about 200 people.

*SmallState

If it's banned that would be a sad day for everyone's personal freedom*

Exactly. The level of government interference in personal habits already makes me very uncomfortable.

I think smoking will never really die out. I do still know a good few committed smokers who’ve become even more determined to keep going in recent years. Adults generally don’t respond well to being told what to do and I think there’ll always be a hardcore who will smoke.

I ‘quit’ 6 years ago but still enjoy an odd cigarette with a drink. It’s a tough habit to break, but now I’m not reliant on 20 per day, have a healthy diet and BMI, go running 3 times a week, I don’t think it’s a big deal and would quite like to be left alone. 😂

At the current rates, I can see smoking becoming a sign of wealth. It already is in the cigar industry, so I think that'll happen to cigarettes too. Vapeing will become the norm among smokers, I should think.

I ‘quit’ 6 years ago but still enjoy an odd cigarette with a drink

I have come across a lot of social smokers. I took a class a while back. 8 of us in the class, 2 smokers. One night we all went out for a few drinks, suddenly 3 more of the class were smoking!

I'd be intrigued to know if social smokers count themselves as smokers or non smokers? Do the statistics count them as smokers?

I can see the smoking ban being extended to include all public places like parks and highstreets, which I would support. With that I imagine it would die out in a generation or two.

I don't know anyone who smokes, and i often forget that I live in a bit of a bubble in that respect. I went on holiday recently and caught myself having a proper pearl-clutch moment at the amount of people happily lighting up around the pool.

I'm not sure if it's just the kinds of circles I mix in but I only know one person who smokes. This includes all my family and friends, so people from 18-90. The person I know smokes one or 2, not a 20 a day chain smoker. I just don't think it's the done thing anymore. I know a few people who I have met the past couple of years who did smoke when they were younger but now vape instead (although I don't think that is great either). I think as it has become less socially acceptable you probably don't get as many young adults taking it up. I could be wrong on that, but I don't see many young people walking along smoking as you might have once.

Maybe in time it will completely die out with the generations that still smoke? I do hope so from a health point of view, although the nhs will still be treating people with problems from previously smoking so I guess that tax would need to be clawed back somehow?

My Grandad and Uncle used to smoke 100 a day.

My mother says they would literally light one from the other and only rally not be smoking whilst they were asleep.

Unsurprisingly my Grandad died of lung cancer in his late 30's anomy uncle of emphysema.

I can't imagine anyone being able to afford to smoke such a ridiculous amount these days.

@Storm4star

I think the increase in social smokers maybe correlates with the insane price increases for cigarettes, although I’m not sure.

I’d say I’m a non smoker (however contradictory that may sound! 😂) because I don’t have a habit anymore. I can have a drink and enjoy a cigarette but equally can take or leave it.

Interesting point about the stats! Maybe there are many more social smokers like me who slip under the radar.

The government have done an excellent job on smoking. The country is now so different from the 70s when I was growing up in a world in which almost everyone smoked.

The 2007 workplace smoking ban was a landmark piece of transformative legislation, and the other measures such as banning vending machines and introducing plain packaging have also had an effect. Price is the main factor, however, and the government will inevitably keep ratcheting up the tax until cigarettes cost £15, £20, £50 a packet.

I really hope so- imagine how many fewer cancer and COPD deaths there would be!

At the current rates, I can see smoking becoming a sign of wealth

I actually think it is a sign of being poor.

Or trying to keep the masses in their place.

Making sure they spend the money on expensive addictive ciggies rather than getting themselves out of the pit of poverty.

I wonder if there is a north south divide. Or an affluent area poor area divide.

DD has friends who smoke but maybe 1 or 2 per month.

At a party of 60 she threw there was only 3 cigarette butts.

BonnieF Sure the government have been successful in terms of reducing smoking rates, however, does the intervention into what is essentially a personal habit not concern you a little? I should probably be thankful because the price increases on cigarettes is the only reason i quit, but I just don’t like the idea that the state needs to make decisions for me.

It’s not just smoking now, either. The government is also interfering into alcohol consumption, gambling and food. It just makes me really uncomfortable and I wonder where it will end.