to think that smoking in a children's playground is just not on!

[macdoodle]

First sunny day, packed park, mum (with dad and toddler) puffing away without a care!
Now she wasn't stood away from the children, she was stood watching her child right next to the toddler's frame and slide, it was full of children going up and down (including my 2yr old DD2)!
I was stood a bit further away and was getting a good old whiff of smoke, so am sure the toddlers were too!

Now I know its open air, and blah blah blah, but come on, could she not wait till they left the park, or go and stand away from the children!

So AIBU????

YANBU. I would have said something. I also get irate with people smoking on the street/at bus stops. Wherever I walk/stand, I always seem to get a face full of smoke. I work in the city, just gone on mat leave, and every morning I would end up down wind of a smoker, made me feel horrendously sick! Not sure what the answer is as people should be able to smoke somewhere but would disagree that being outside makes it ok. In a playground or within 100m of children is completely unacceptable.

you're the silly moo and an offensive one at that

I'm just doing my job and quite well I might add!
And protecting my children!
What are you doing??

and ignorant

Maybe you should all just live in sanitised bubbles where no other human beings can intrude. Let's see how your kids turn out then.

And the reason I am wording my responses so strongly Macdoodle and questioning your professionalism is that your judgement of a your patients is truly shocking. If one of your patients broke their back while climbing a mountain or driving on a motorway, would you similarly value them less because of their risky behaviour? How about a woman who miscarries after falling off a horse?

That document makes no mention of outdoor smoking. Do you think that people who smoke should be allowed to keep their children, given what you say about the alleged impact of the 'smell' on health?

Well, as an aside, horse-riding and mountain-climbing are physical activities that provide health benefits. Driving on the motorway is neither a bad habit, nor bad for your health . Being in a car crash isn't so great though, but not many people willingly crash their car.

Smoking has no benefits whatsoever, and it's essentially a drug.

OC course smoking has benefits, otherwise people wouldn't do it - individuals obviously get something from it - relaxation, a small high, weight control etc. There is such a thing as quality of life which cannot just be measured by health.

Blimey.

Well said, Spoof.

"Smoking has no benefits whatsoever..."

I agree. So please explain to me WHY people smoke.

Oh, just remembered... it's really cool, especially if your 3 year old can watch you.

The fact that the parents of these children were not smoking anywhere near their children and the children still had twice as much nicotine as the children of non-smokers doesn't mean anything to you?

It doesn't take much cigarette smoke to harm a child, because a child is so much smaller, and it lingers in their bodies.

And as I said, if you smell it, you're inhaling the chemicals in it. it will disperse in the air, but it won't magically disappear, particularly as their is a constant stream issing from the cigarette. Remember, macdoodle is talking about a woman standing right next to these children. Where else is it going to go?

Well we clearly don't live in sanitised bubbles. Comments like this just make you sound even more ridiculous.

Is it too much to expect other people to show some consideration and not expose our children (and us) to dangerous toxins while we are outdoors having some fun in a park? There are plenty of other places that they can smoke - their own front room would be my choice.

Some people say marijuana relaxes them. Other's get their kicks and weight loss from cocaine/heroin.

They are drugs as well.

You are proper bonkers justgeton

YANBU. It's vile, it stinks and the sooner cigarettes are completely banned in public the better. Let people pollute their own environment - just don't pollute mine or that of my children.

Justgeton are you quite quite mad??
There are similar "benefits" to drugs as well, cocaine, heroin, speed etc, are you suggesting that these are all ok as well

Your second link Macdoodle, does not show that smoking in a park is harmful to the children of non-smokers, it shows that there is a lot less of the chemical cotinine in the urine of children whose parents smoke outside the home compared to those whose parents smoke inside the home. Did you study statistics at all at med school or were you too busy working out a league table of worthy patients and incorporating air-freshener into your bedside manner?

You 'SO' work for B & H Justgeton Slaes and marketing ? Product development ? Advertising ? Can imagine a jaunty line for your next ad - 'Smoking - so much MORE than a killer diesase' Cue music and skinny dancing girls with fag ash in their hair

I'm off to smoke a crack pipe in Mothercare.

ho hum degenerating to personal insults just makes me think you ahve no sensible argument to offer!

Bizarre thread now if I'm honest, and really cannot be arsed to argue discuss any more, as you clearly are not prepared to accept you MAY be in the wrong!

Am off to bed as I hear 2 little footsteps wandering around upstairs

I am actually well know for my fondness for air freshener at work , surely must make me a terrible GP, though my patient questionnaires, regular patients,and fully booked lists may negate that a bit!

Night night

Kate Moss famously said "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels".

Which is probably true because smoking ruins your tastebuds.

macdoodle, I'll remove that dead horse you are flogging

I'm giving up too.

JGOWI - just don't smoke around me and my ds's please

"Fact it is a nasty, offensive habit!"

No that's called an opinion.

"Fact it stinks!"

That's an opinion too.

"Fact it can trigger of an asthma attack in a vulnerable child"

So can your perfume, your clothes, your shoes and your dog (even if you left it at home today)

"Fact I really don't like it around MY child!"

Well I expect it IS a fact that you hold that opinon, but it's still an opinion and just exists in your head.

Good thing you are only pretending to be a GP. Imagine a real GP not knowing the difference!

As for whoever it was said "But it smells the way it does because it is harmful" I guess garlic and body odour are deadly poisons then since they smell strongly.