To think public smoking should be banned

[CreamLampshade]

I live in London and am sick of constantly trying to avoid breathing in disgusting cigarette smoke or the weird sickly smell of vapes. There’s only so much you can swerve, speed past people or cross the road. I feel it’s very selfish to smoke in public spaces, especially crowded streets when people can’t avoid breathing it in. Why can’t people take responsibility for their own health - and others - and just give it up? It’s disgusting and really selfish.

Me and my children have a medical condition triggered by fragrances. Vapes are an absolute nightmare for us in trying to navigate public spaces safely. I am disgusted at the amount of people who puff thick fragranced sweetshop smoke over other people without a care in the world.

You're right it's their choice to vape... But it should be ours not to be covered in it.

We can end up in hospital if we breathe in the wrong fragrance... And there are thousands others like us. The ignorance and selfishness of some people astounds me.

Good for you. Exactly!

Yes this is a very good point. I don’t have allergies like you but I do feel / get sick with very strong fragrances and find the smell of vapes and smoke make me feel physically ill.

it just makes me sad that we knowingly ingest toxic fumes for the pleasure of what, a head rush and the taste of sweets, as you say?

going to public spaces must be such a worry for you and your family. I’m sorry about that.

a lot of people on the spectrum also suffer from strong smells.

Yup when I go to London it’s much more noticeable. Like on a huge level. Also a lot of countries have higher smoking rates than us, so a lot of tourists smoking.

I've never smoked or vaped but I think YABU. There are lots of things which irritate people, we can't ban them all. I couldn't care less if someone smoking or vaping passes me on the street, but then I'm not a typical MNer who thinks the world revolves around me.

I’m with you OP. But the vaping thing is just madness. I think I read the other day that a shocking number of people in the UK who never smoked now vape. The government should never have let vapes come the market in such an uncontrolled way.
And it’s just really bloody depressing - the level of addiction people have. We were at a family event over half term which was clearly marked as ‘no smoking/vaping’ - and nobody was smoking - but I saw a few parents with a vape hidden up their sleeve trying to discreetly suck on it without anyone seeing. And it was just so obvious. I would be so ashamed to behave that way in front of anyone - but especially my children.

I 100% agree! I swerve my way down the pavements of central London, trying to avoid breathing it in, it’s awful! Why can’t it be restricted to private homes and maybe dedicated “smoking clubs”?

we know it’s bad for health, so why do we allow it in areas where children and even babies and the elderly can be walking around?

Are you seriously saying that you can't be happy without drinking and/or smoking?

ITA. Quite a strange thing to say.

I agree that smoking is evil and should be banned, etc. but there’s something so preachy and sanctimonious about some (not all!) anti smoking people that just makes my skin crawl. I don’t even smoke anymore but this thread has made me want to light up for the first time in ages (I’m not going to!)

I can't stand it either OP. I'm heavily pregnant and need to sit at bus stops and the number of times people come to wait for a bus and light up next to me. I walked away once to wait somewhere else and I could still smell it more than 10m away.

That's an American based study. Vapes in America are not the same as European vapes. They're twice/triple the nicotine strength for a start. They also had ingredients in them that are banned in Europe.

And yet you say it's easy to give up and people should just quit.

Ban smoking within 10m of a building, including balconies, would make a big difference.

Balconies are an integral part of a flat or house. You can’t stop people from smoking on their own property.

I have never smoked in my life, but actually I would fully defend people's right to smoke. I rarely smell it, even in London, but the point is that competent adults should be allowed to make their own decisions. This concept of banning everything that is bad for us is just small-minded and depressing.

But if it drifts back into your neigbours' homes it's rank. I think it would be well received.

I'd prefer a ban on vaping indoors (in public buildings). People vape at some of the pubs I go to and I hate it. I don't understand why management don't stop them.

It’s tough. Don’t live near buildings with balconies if you’re going to be that precious. You can’t dictate people’s behaviour in their own home.

Calling working class plebs is disgusting whether they smoke or not.

Dunno, I'm not a smoker or Vaper and I wish it wasn't allowed outside cafes, but on the other hand, smokers are already pretty limited in where they can smoke, and I kind of feel the poor buggers are already vilified, and shit if they can't smoke outside where can they smoke....but then again I don't like walking through the smoke, I mean the best thing would be the invention of smell free cigarettes and vapes!

Yes! It's disgusting and I am sick of inhaling and smelling it. However, they will never ban it unfortunately

If there were decent extraction systems in pubs, then smoking & vaping wouldn't be a problem. Suck it all straight out. I vape & if I'm at my mum's, I vape under the cooker hood & it goes straight outside.

Maybe you're encroaching on their space.

Yes there is something very sad about it. Pathetic even tbh when it leads to this kind of behaviour. Not to mention all the plastic waste. Vapes are a lot worse in that regard.