Proposed Smoking Legislation

[CaveMum]

A new report has been released suggesting that smoking be banned in cars and in public places where children are likely to see smokers, ie playgrounds, outside school gates, etc. Read more here

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I will state that I am a non-smoker and always have been - watching my grandad die from lung cancer when I was 10 was enough to put me off the idea for life.

At the risk of antangonising some people I gave to say I'm a little fed up of smokers complaining about their rights being infringed. Do children not have the right to breath clean-ish air?
Before the smoking ban came in I frequently had to leave pubs and clubs with my eyes streaming from the smoke and it was foul to wake up in the mornings with hair and clothes that smelt like an ashtray!

Banning something never really works and you then get proabition.

Restrictions usually work better, smoking in the last 20 years has halved so somewhere it is getting across to either give up or never start.

Agree with what Atlantis said about when you ban the cars etc.

"I'm a little fed up of smokers complaining about their rights being infringed"

I'm more than a little fed up with people claiming that smoking outside infringes their right to clean air when they're sitting in a car belching out poisonous fumes.

I see someone made the point about the taxes we pay. Be careful all you non smokers or we may all stop just to spite you. Imagine the cuts in services which would be needed to make up for the huge loss

the money made in taxes on smoking doesn't come anywhere near the cost to just the NHS alone let along the cost to employers for lost days at work. It is around 6 billion - hardly like the cost of 20 billion to the NHS and of course i smokers stop the services would improve and get better

Smoke is anti social for children and adults nearby

"Smoke is anti social for children and adults nearby "

so's being ugly- can we ban that?

God the self righteous dribble that people spout because it's not something they do is unbelievable, think 'there but for the grace of god go I that I never tried and got hooked' and hope your kids never smoke just to piss you off, or you might have to tar and feather them, ban them or disown them for being sooo anti social.

alantis you do spout a lot of rubbish - how on earth do you know whether or not I have smoked? Go look on other threads before spouting your sanctimonious drivel.

My dd had smoked and knows what the effects of it are - spend an evening with her in A&E and you will realise what smoking does to a child. have you sat with people on oxygen? Do you see the effects of smoking in anyone you love - people who live with oxygen in the house?

I have been hoocked to smoking - but will power and you can stop it isn't impossible

smoking is and all ways will be anti social

Please do explain exactly what is good about smoking?

Have you ever sat beside someone who is beinging killed by cancer atlantis? slowly and painfully as there body stops working someone you love dearly and would do praticly anything to save, because if you have and you still think that smoking is so wonderful you really are an idiot

"Have you ever sat beside someone who is beinging killed by cancer atlantis? "

yep, there's something on a thread about my mom somewhere, she died of cancer, twas in every part of her body before they bothered to diagnose her. Had an aunt who died of emphasema (spelling?) and my lungs are slowly degrading ( we all gotta died sometime of something).

My two nans both lived into their 90's smoked over 20 a day since they were teens, my grandad lived to 89, same for him.

People who don't smoke get cancer too, from smoking or air born toxins, it's the luck of the draw, or not depending which way you look at it.

Yes we must all die from something, but don't we owe it to ourselves, and our families, to not do anything that will cause us harm?

I understand that smoking is addictive, but quiting is not impossible. My grandad gave up his 20 a day habit the day they diagnosed him with cancer, he'd smoked for the best part of 50 years, but it was too late by then.

By it's very nature, any addiction, be it smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling etc, is selfish.

"but don't we owe it to ourselves, and our families, to not do anything that will cause us harm?"

Have you seen the film surrogates? Because that's what your describing.

If we play it safe all our lives and don't do anything that 'may' cause us harm wouldn't life be boring? What would be the point in living? We would never be born because those before us would have seen childbirth as 'harmful' to the mother, in the present we would never leave the house, contained in a 'perfect' atmosphere, regulated, controlled, eating finely grated raw vegetables, but who would grow and pick them and ship them and to where?

We are human, doing stupid stuff is what makes us all imprefectly so.

At last! I've long since muttered to those who will listen that small children stuck in a car with a smoker are having health problems forced upon them.

Not only that though, there is a safety issue as well - how can you possibly drive properly, change gear, and flick ash out the window without losing concentration sometimes? I used to smoke, and once whilst driving I threw my fag end out the window only for it to blow back in again - panic! If mobiles and eating are deemed unsafe whilst driving, then surely smoking must be too.

I agree with a ban on smoking in cars (but only with children in them)in principle but believe it to be generally unenforceable. However, when I raised this point with a colleague he pointed out that even if it is difficult to enforce, it would put a lot of people off doing it just in case they did get caught. So even if does deter a percentage of people, it should be worth it. It is terrible though in this day and age that people, knowing the dangers, still continue to smoke in confined spaces with small children.

" it would put a lot of people off doing it just in case they did get caught."

Actually to the more radical smoker it may just make them more likely to do it, ever seen one of those pathetic NHS roadshows where they act like the god squad and start following smokers down the road telling them of the 'evils they do' and all the smokers get pee'd off and start surrounding the stands chain smoking?

Or on national no smoking day when most smokers will deliberately chain smoke.

Or those stupid adverts for giving up that make people reach for a cigarette.

People do not like to be told what to do and a private car is just that, private, it's like telling someone not to smoke in their own house, most smokers do not smoke in cars with kids.

"Not only that though, there is a safety issue as well - how can you possibly drive properly, change gear, and flick ash out the window without losing concentration sometimes? "

Then any form of noise should also be banned as it's distracting, so no kids for a start unless you gag and straight jacket them,no talking, no radios, no cd's, no sat nav, no dvd's for the kids.

No one travelling in a car should ever eat or drink anything as they risk choking, which could be distracting.

You should never drive with the window open for fear a bug might fly inside.

Never drive in the rain, snow, wind, sunshine, too distracting.

All cars should be automatic and gear changes are distracting.

Women on the street must cover up their bodies from head to toe as we all know how distracting that can be for men.

I think by not allowing smokers to smoke you risk a severe amount of road rage incidences as the stress level for smokers would go through the roof, but that wouldn't be distracting at all i'm guessing?

Can't sat I'm surprised by this reaction, but remember that making drunk driving illegal made sod all difference. it was the campaign to raise awareness that made us all change our behavior. In recent years the profile of the campaign has been lowered and younger driver are happy to get tanked on their way to an RTA.

Laws don't change society, change comes out of awareness.

BTW. I smoke, but not around DDs.

One more thing. Will not being able to smoke on long journeys improve the attitude of drivers. I'm happy to stop and get out of the car to smoke but where do I put my DDs so they can't see me?

Lets ban BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN AND BLOODY BAN.
Yes lets ban thes unelected quangos who spout out these spurious stats on passive smoking -asthma-air quality. Yes childhood asthma has risen and the reason the other day coming from a separate scientific study states that our urban air quality is geting worse. We have higher numbers of particulrates in the atmosphere because of the popularity and drive (ecuse pun) to promote more energy efficient fuels:diesel and this is what leads to the black smutty compounds which get into our lungs. So how many of you "ban brigade" drive a diesel car?

I dont smoke, but you can come and see the black dust (jet filthy black dust ) I wipe from around our windows. It permeates everything in our house. I have bought ionisers humidifiers etc etc but it did not stop dh developing adult onset asthma 3 years ago. He has never smoked and the Chest specialist was in no doubt that it was caused by poor air quality, we live on a busy road and the evidence is pretty strong. My dh is not ill cos he sat in the back of a car with someone smoking and nor because some guy had a Marlboro light net to him on a park bench. This is crazy unenforcable proposed legislation from a quango employed by a Govt. who has bought in more knee jerk legislation than the 5 preceding governments. I would much rather Police catch the uninsured, unlicensed boy racers who joy ride around the Estate who are IMHO far more likely to kill my dc's, than passive smoking. What a patheic waste of our money this advisory body is!

sadly i can see an age dawning when future cancer sufferers, todays children, will be trying to sue the govt/their parents for not stopping smoking in front of them.

but a ban is hard to impose - there are stupid selfish individuals who would not heed warnings or laws. i have seen a young mum actually BLOW SMOKE in her toddlers face (while it was sat in the buggy)as if she was blowing kisses, and GIGGLE at the poor child blinking and pulling faces

We don't need another law on this we are legislated up to the hilt, Police Officers will be reduced to carrying aroung legal tomes on their beat soon as they are not qualified lawyers! I am going to try and find link to the air quality report and asthma increase, it has been observed that since the last smoking legislation 2 years ago numbers have fallen dramatically (very good news!) there are way fewer smokers today compared with say, 2o years ago but asthma rates are increasing year on year, as is car use (especially diesel)it does not take a genius to work out the real link. Also the RCP admit they are working on estimated figures.Saying "I guess" rather than "I know" is not scientific evidence,and these people want us to take them seriously! Perhaps they should direct their reforming zeal to improving the way Medicine is now taught. Medical students at the newest teaching hosptals in India receive a much better training than British Medics, says a lot about RCP's priorities really!

DH's mate has now been stopped by a smoking warden and warned twice (apparantly it is 3 strikes and you are fined) for smoking in his van. He is a self employed tradesman; he owns the van himself; once he was alone in the van, had pulled over to answer his mobile; once he was picking up his DW from her work and she was the one smoking; they have no young DC; DGC are never in the van; He was not using the van for work on either occasion.

Apparantly any Transit type van counts as a 'place of work' but you can smoke as much as you like if you work out of a car!

Granny I wonder if the warden was in the Stasi?

How do I get a job as a smoking warden? what a doss.

I always wanted to be a "professional non smoker" as they get the best houses.

I wonder if the smoking wardens get fag breaks?

@tethersend