jayr

Though of course this issue can be solved by banning littering of butts. As a smoker, my butts either go into ashtrays or, if outdoors with no ashtrays/bins, get collected and taken back home for disposal in the bin.

bondipom

It is ashame too many smokers are not responsible enough to follow your lead. Same goes for the idiots that lob the buts out of their car windows and spark bush fires. Enough reason to ban smoking in cars for me.

These laws are all small steps towards an inevitable complete ban. Couldn't come soon enough for me.

bondipom

Careful Ceri or you'll be accused of conspiracy theorising.

scoobydoo

So do mine...I've walked miles with a butt before finding a bin!

Where I used to work in the UK they banned smoking totally...they even banned it in our own cars and if you were caught a few times they threatened dismissal.....after a bit of an outcry they let staff smoke in their cars!!!
I still hide when having a fag after all those years of conditioning!

It was a hospital by the way, and the patients would congregate with drip stands and swinging catheter bags at the front entrance!!!!!!!!!!

Ceri

You'll also find that a lot of the people who are in the forefront of smoking bans ( behind the scenes) are ex smokers ( aren't you an ex smoker? lol)

jayr

I don't think an outdoor smoking ban can be justified based on littering - surely laws against littering achieve this, its like saying hamburgers should be banned because the wrappers end up on the pavement.

Quite happy to have fines associated with littering the beach with butts and worse for those causing fire danger.

Talking of hamburgers, what are the health costs of obesity to the economy?

bondipom

I certainly am. What a pointless pleasureless expensive habit it was. It just became a need to satisfy a craving rather than a pleasure. I gave up for the cash but I am not arguing with the other benefits.

I am not too bothered about passive smoking but I cannot stand the environmental damage and the risk it poses to children. I pointed out before that a turtle was opened in far north QLD. Over 20 butts were found in its stomach.

Ceri

Freedom of choice.. and I would choose a smoking pub. Actually the Moreton bay boat club in deadcliffe has a no smoking policy - reason I've never joined them, and chose to go with another club.. all comes down to freedom of choice. I totally respect that people have the right not to have smoke around them.. but to ban it everywhere and not provide a section for smoking is taking away rights.

cheers

P.S I come from a non smoking family funny enough and I have never smoked around my parents.. I used to go outside to smoke ( funny enough my non smoking mum grew up in a smoking environment) .. so that blows that theory away of what some "experts" say. about you're more likely to smoke if your parents smoke. ( bit off the subject)

Ceri

They would have to ban it on the ocean for that not to happen.. ban it on private boats etc. I'd be more worried about plastic bags if I were you when it comes to marine life, or how about shark nets which kill these turtles, whales and dolphins and countless harmless creatures.

Plastic bags are the real killer - notice what bait comes in.

take a trip out onto the sea and see what you pull up - plastic bags , yards of fishing line - all killers.

owieb

You'll just have to become a gambler and then fleece the government for rehab when you become addicted!

Though seriously, smokers are a minority and if a venue is more popular as a non-smoking place than a smoking place then it's only a matter of time until most places will be non-smoking.

The WA Cancer Councils current campaign is to try and reduce the prevalence of smoking among adults in Western Australia, (currently 25%), to 15% or less by 2010. Which is still around 180,000 adult smokers, enough to fill a few pubs and clubs!

bondipom

Not a fisher myself but I believe NSW might be bringing in a ban on supermarkets giving away plastic bags. You are correct there being bigger envionmental issues than butts and as I pointed out earlier a total ban would not upset me.

Ceri

I'd also like to see shark nets lifted, Australia is the only country which is not reducing their numbers. S Africa is bit by bit lifting them, Florida have never used them.. the WWF has actually been preparing , fighting a world case against Australia to get them lifted. on the grounds of they are killing protected species. Funny thing - do you know a lot of the sharks that are in the nets get caught on the inside - when they are swimming back out to sea.. not the other way around.

Shark nets are not viable - go look at the figures of harmless dead fish and animals that get caught in them compared to so-called dangerous sharks.


( also contrary to popular belief there have been two attacks inside shark nets - one was in Newcastle.. excuse they gave to public, was the shark must have been in the area before nets were put down).

Plastic bags - I'm always picking them up ( other peoples) on boat ramps and beaches.

Ceri

I just can't get into gambling thing .. closest thing I get to it is $3.20 on the powerball once in a blue moon.. and the Melbourne cup ( I'm just not a good Australian am I ..lol) .

jad n rich

I wonder how enforcable its going to be?

Because we sat at the Royal childrens Hospital 2 weeks ago and people totally ignore big NO SMOKING signs which are posted all around the hospital entrance, one woman was sitting directly under one having a good old puff, ciggie butts all through the garden beds it really stank. Inside the hospital mobile phones kept ringing! nobody was taking those signs seriously either. The wards, 6 kids to a room, each have a TV above the bed, umbelievable noise with 6 tellys in one room going on different channels all day, anyway the big sign says TURN OFF at 8.30 we had to stay past 8.30 as we wanted Jack discharged the same night, well nobody turned those TV's off. Worst case of ignoring signs was the hand washing one, not one person washed hands entering the ward entire day

Anyway I reckon most will ignore unless we get smoking inspectors

bondipom

Removal of the Bondi shark net would not bother me. Sharks get in anyway.