to ask this woman to move away from us?

[Mummy2Scarlet]

I was in town with DD(6) this morning after taking her to the dentist and we were waiting to get the bus back to school.

As we sat and waited on a wall, a lady came and sat next to us and lit a cigarette. DD has asthma and so I moved us away, but the wind was still blowing the cigarette smoke into her face and she started to get wheezy from the smoke. I need both hands to manage her inhaler and spacer and so we had to sit back down on the wall again next to this lady so I could give it to her. As the lady's cigarette smoke was clearly making DD wheezy, I asked if she would mind moving away a little and I think I was as polite as I could be when I asked her. She refused and so I had to sit, trying to give DD her inhaler next to someone who was smoking a cigarette, which really upset me.

Anyway, the bus came shortly after and we got on and DD was fine, but was I being unreasonable to ask her to move?

onager.

Who is dead right about the surplus taxes from smoking (as I said earlier, that's why the govt. doesn't just ban smoking full stop) and about the ban forcing smokers outdoors. Obvious and predictable. If you don't like it, you should have objected to the ban.

I do have the figures for how much money the cigarette duty brings in and the biggest possible estimate of the cost of smoking-related disease somewhere, from when they were bringing the ban in. Will look them up later. But taxes were many times the costs.

onagar that makes it sound as though you think non-smokers should be 'thanking' smokers for subsidising the NHS.

Because it's legal and because you don't get special privileges to decide what other people do.

I'm not happy about the exhaust from cars, but I don't get to tell people not to drive down the road where I happen to be standing.

Booyhoo, well a little gratitude wouldn't go amiss, but no need to make a big fuss of us over it

forgive me if i dont make a fuss

That what annoys me about pubs now. In the summer we used to go in the garden of a pub so the kids could play in the playground.
But since the ban, all the tables are full of people smoking and it makes it really horrible, so on hot sunny days we end up inside and all the smokers are outside enjoying the sunshine

OP that lady was really rude.

In general, I can't see why smokers shouldn't smoke outside, after all no one makes such a big fuss about car fumes.

Ripeberry - Why don't you suggest that in winter the smokers have to go outside so you can sit in the warmth, then in the summer, the smokers have to sit inside so the non-smokers can sit out in the sun?

People didn't want to sit inside pubs/restaurants etc with smokers so the somkers had to go outside! You (general) can't have it both way's!

You see, my parents both smoked - they were of the generation that smoking was very fashionable and the risks were not well documented. It was still VILE and i can't understand why they did it. However, you can forgive their ignorance as it was pretty much socially acceptable and thought to be ok. Which of course everyone EVERYONE knows that smoking will kill you and potentially seriously damage those around you. I do not want to breathe in second hand smoke for one single second thank you very much.

Knowing what is known now - anyone who smokes is a fuckwit of the highest order

What i find annoying is those people who have "asthma" or other breathing disorders who continue to smoke. Give it up and then your breathing problems will be so much better!

and PLEASE don't say it doesn't affect it because that's just crap!

Re smokers paying for their own treatment for smoking related illnesses, obviously the vast majority wouldn't be able to afford it, probably not even the costs of pain relief, I guess that is a suitable punishment.

I would also be keen to see people like rugby players, motorcyclists and people who enjoy horseriding pay for any injuries incurred in the course of their pursuits. Oh yes and fat people and those who consume too much salt. And people who fail to manage their diabetes properly. And women in high risk groups who get pregnant anyway. And so on and so on.

If we can get rid of all that cost, then society will be improved no end

Smokers DO pay for their own treatment, though, through taxes on cigarettes as well as general taxation. As has been pointed out several times on this thread, taxes on fags raise several times even the most extreme estimate of the cost of smoking-related disease.

(oops sorry posted too soon and missed the sarcasm. Doh!)

jaquelinehyde maybe you are right and that is a bit extreme! i say things like that having never once had a physical fight in my life!

We need an 'aving a faaaaag emoticon. Posed by Kathy Burke.

I so would like a cigarette now

If the wind was blowing the fag smoke into her face after you moved ,couldn't you just have moved the opposite way ie upwind instead of downwind ?

yabu why didn't you just move up wind of her if it was a problem

thesecondcoming I merely explained to my dh (and not extra loud to make a point as the smokers did) why i wanted to move out of the queue. it was the smoker who felt the need to make a scene. In a situation where it is necessary to stand near other people ie a queue, surely a bit of consideration isn't unreasonable to expect.

Anyway...sticks and stones and all that but carcinogens can still kill you!

Eventually smoking will be banned from public places, I think that is what should have happened in the first place. So no, I didn't want smoking banned indoors, I wanted it banned in any area where non-smokers might be subjected to it.
Rugby players, horse riders etc don't cause others damage and discomfort by pursuing their hobby, so I can't really put them in the same category.

I will have to this one as if I say what I think about this vile woman then it'll doubtless be popcorn and hardhat time and I just can't be bothered.