To think smoking should now be banned in public spaces?

[MrsKingfisher]

I saw on the news footage of people Christmas shopping in London and people sitting outside in cafes etc. Given the current situation should public smoking be banned? Not only because it stinks and it's anti social but more people are now meeting outside due to covid. I don't believe there is any evidence that breathing out smoke spreads the virus anymore than normal breathing. It's just selfish, non smokers no longer can be told 'if you don't like it go inside'

Oh dear Justlikeasnitch perhaps we could narrow it down to banning Inconsiderate Arseholes. Hopefully they'll still be a few people left.

MN: "Smokers are weak minded inadequates"
Also MN: "Weehee wine o'clock!"

@FatGirlShrinking

There is some irony here which I find amusing.

Smokers in your view OP are selfish, but only in the sense that they are now sitting in the space that you want to be in and spoiling your enjoyment.

It wasn't selfish when they were sitting in the rain and cold because it's the only place they were allowed to sit while you were inside in the warm and dry.

I'm not a smoker and never have been - even I can see this is the truth.

It's a bit "go outside! we don't want you smokers in here!"

followed by...

"now we want to be outside, go home!"

If you don't like smoking, OP, then vote for a party that will ban it and raise other (income? VAT?) taxes to make up for the lost money.

Ok so you don't like cigarette smoke and it's bad for you, so no one can smoke near you and it should be done at home.
Dogs smell gross to a lot of people and could potentially bite should they be band in public places as well?
Cars produce fumes and could potentially hit someone, should they be left at home as well?
Babies are can be loud and smell, should they be left at home too?
And no i don't smoke. I'm pregnant and wouldn't expect a smoker to move, dog walkers to move, cars not to be driven and other peoples children shushed to keep me happy. Because I'm not the most important person on the planet.

@Poppyolive90

FLVQ you being fat doesn’t negatively impact my health though, or make my clothes smell of your fat.

It does when you look at the strain it has on the NHS.

Disgusting habit, sign of weakness

This "addiction = weakness" narrative is really harmful and stops people seeking help.

I'm addicted -> I must be weak and worthless -> why seek help when I'm weak and worthless, I will fail -> I'm still addicted

I feel like I've written the a million times on here but addiction can happen to anyone for a million different reasons, especially when you're talking about addictive substances that make the treasury a fortune and marketing companies shove down our throats and then simultaneously tell us "enjoy as part of a balanced diet" or "drink responsibly" or "prolonged use may cause dependency".

Being an addict is hard and quitting is hard. Being an addict who has quit is hard. Maybe instead of looking down on people for their "weakness" you could try thinking, "that cigarette smells awful - must be horrible being hooked on something so expensive and dangerous". Or just ask them to step away/move a bit. If someone's enough of an asshole to smoke right in your face they're probably just an asshole, smoking or no!

You sound stressed OP
Go have a smoke and calm down

@squeekums

You sound stressed OP Go have a smoke and calm down

😂

I haven’t had a cigarette all morning but I need one now 🙄😂

@wimhoffbreather

Omg they’re already outside. Where the f*ck else do you want them to go.

Just, away!

So much silly whataboutery on the smoking threads. Yes cars pollute as well- but smokers drive as much as none smokers so its not really an either or. I'm an ex smoker but I agree that smoking in outdoor seating areas should be banned. Our local pub has a separate covered area for smokers but you cant smoke at the tables where people eat outside.

Also like many people I watched my wonderful mum who'd been a very heavy smoker, slowly destroyed by throat cancer directly linked to smoking- at 60

@FatGirlShrinking

There is some irony here which I find amusing.

Smokers in your view OP are selfish, but only in the sense that they are now sitting in the space that you want to be in and spoiling your enjoyment.

It wasn't selfish when they were sitting in the rain and cold because it's the only place they were allowed to sit while you were inside in the warm and dry.

Smokers can sit in the warm and dry too, just not while smoking.

Nope. I think that is a ridiculous suggestion

[quote JustLikeStitch]@OffredOfjune I’d not call her weak either. I hope her life took a better turn (and that yours wasn’t subjected to abuse either) [/quote]
Thank you very much. She's had a very hard life, and some of the comments on here really just get to me.

I'd like to know where all these dreadful smokers are. As someone who does (pre covid) like going to pubs and restaurants, I can only think of a couple of occasions (in my 30+ years of going out) where other people's smoking has ever been vaguely irritating. There's plenty of things that other people do (like trying to control and suck the joy out of other people's existence) that I find far more problematic.

@SomewhereEast

MN: "Smokers are weak minded inadequates" Also MN: "Weehee wine o'clock!"

I enjoy sitting outside with a coffee and a fag on, once I've dropped my crotch fruit off at school. No bastard is taking that little freedom from me actually, now I think about it. 😍

@SomewhereEast

MN: "Smokers are weak minded inadequates" Also MN: "Weehee wine o'clock!"

Your post did make me smile apart from the health aspect smoking has caused me far less trouble than alcohol Never had a problem smoking then driving Never seen police having to man handle people that have smoked too much and can’t even stand up unaided Never known smoking to cause fights in pubs Now watching the morons staggering about after a night on the booze do they not realise how stupid they look

I agree. I hate inhaling second hand smoke, and it has been much more frequent than usual recently.

@squeekums

You sound stressed OP Go have a smoke and calm down

HangingOver completely agree and let's not lump all smokers into a homogeneous group of "disgusting inconsiderate people"

I'm really ashamed that I smoke, embarrassed to light up in public areas and acutely aware that I'm on the receiving end of disapproving or disgusted looks. I'll move away from non smokers and try not to smoke if possible but sometimes I have to have a cigarette because I'm addicted. And if I'm honest, I like smoking. I'll always dispose of the finished butt in a suitable bin.

I mean I don't want a medal or anything but there are loads of smokers not skipping around blowing smoke in people's faces.

@MrsKingfisher

Are people so addicted that they can't go shopping or have a coffee without having to smoke? If you want to smell gross and harm your health great but why should others have to be party to it without their consent. Do all non smokers have to not sit outside now to accommodate those too selfish to do it in their own home?

Yes they are. Nicotine’s more addictive than heroin. Bloody tobacco fascists will never be satisfied until it’s illegal and then they’ll whine when their income tax goes up to fill the hole in government budgets.

This really has got worse. At least the whingers used to shut up about smoking outside in the winter.

I don't smoke. I've never been aware of having walked 'through a cloud of cigarette smoke' or having had it 'blown in my face' while outside. I look back and think it's mental we had smoking sections on restaurants, because it is exactly like letting people piss in the corner of a swimming pool, but cigarette smoke outside isn't really a nuisance as far as I'm concerned.

I have never smoked but I don’t think we should ban it. People can make a choice, they know the risks. People have to smoke outside as it is and as someone said the Government makes so much money on tobacco they would never ban it. Can’t we make informed choices for ourselves?

I think there needs to be more education around the consequences of smoking and it needs to be brought up far more frequently during medical consultations than it is.
Everyone knows (but doesn't necessarily accept) it causes breathing problems and lung cancer.
Its the cataracts, psoriasis, the osteoporosis that smokers can also look forward to.
More immediately smokers are more likely to suffer menstrual pain, irritability headaches and depression.

Smoking women are more likely to struggle to conceive and more likely to have a pregnancy loss or premature baby.
Smoking mothers are more likely to lose a baby to SIDS.
Smoking parents are more likely to have a child with leukaemia, lymphoma or a brain tumour,
Their children will get more ear infections, more asthma and be off school far more frequently with minor illness.

Perhaps worse, is that it doubles the chance of their own child smoking.

Why would people bother decorating their houses, buying presents or visiting a winter wonderland, but still smoke and be prepared to place their children at such risk?

On every smoking thread ever you will always get a bunch of f**king idiots who are so desperate to defend their “right” to pollute themselves and everyone around them with cigarette smoke that they just have to throw in the “but, but CARS” argument.

Cars and motor transport serve a highly valuable purpose in that they move people and goods from one location to another far quicker than any non-polluting form of transport currently can.

There is no equally valuable function that cigarettes perform. They are absolutely fucking pointless.