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Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

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Old May 25th 2011, 10:40 am
  #31  
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by MacScot
What's next...banning alcohol (negative health effects even when consumed in moderation) by the nanny state, fining over- or under-weight people (health effects) ?
Plenty of studies show moderate alcohol consumption is better than no alcohol consumption...and given our government sacked a prominent academic for suggestion Cannabis should be downgraded because it's not half as harmful as pansy politicians think tells me that governments are politicising science now in order to push through their agendas of control of the masses without us realising.

Banning smoking outdoors is just one more step in total government control...controlling what people consume is part of controlling the person. They only need to start telling us when and how to have sex and they'll have a system of control better than most religions.

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Old May 25th 2011, 11:20 am
  #32  
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Scamp
I just think that is a little extreme... 100 years ago people smoked like chimneys (pardon the pun), but attitudes now are not vastly different are they?

Perhaps you're right. I see what you were getting at but the younger generations (including mine) are smoking at an astonishing rate
Sorry, I didn’t explain it very well.

Out if interest, take a look at the video at the bottom of my signature.

Each and every day 11,000 children die before reaching their 5th birthday.

Around 1200 children died in the time between my original post and this one.

Most people just ignore it, just like they ignored the chimney sweeps.
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Old May 25th 2011, 11:23 am
  #33  
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Meow
'New York is introducing an outdoor smoking ban. But could the UK and other countries follow suit?

It is a city heralded for attracting incomers from around the world, but New York has just become less hospitable to one group - smokers.

Under measures approved by local authorities, swathes of outdoor public places including beaches, municipal parks and even Times Square have become tobacco-free.

And with smoking legislations, as with so much else, where New York leads, the rest of the world can find itself following'



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13467728 Quite a long piece but worth a read in full, especially as various doctors think this is unneccesary.

Surprised to read that there are smoke-free parks in the UK already.

Where will it end? A total global ban on smoking one day? It seems that for many smoking has become public enemy number one, despite there being many other health threats and global issues to worry about.
You'd think it would end with people not smoking
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Old May 25th 2011, 11:44 am
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Norm_uk
Plenty of studies show moderate alcohol consumption is better than no alcohol consumption...and given our government sacked a prominent academic for suggestion Cannabis should be downgraded because it's not half as harmful as pansy politicians think tells me that governments are politicising science now in order to push through their agendas of control of the masses without us realising.

Banning smoking outdoors is just one more step in total government control...controlling what people consume is part of controlling the person. They only need to start telling us when and how to have sex and they'll have a system of control better than most religions.

N.
I go along with that and am quite happy to drink red wine in moderation.

i was referring to later scare stories of moderate drinking and increased cancer e.g.,

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7906355.stm
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Old May 25th 2011, 11:44 am
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Thydney
You'd think it would end with people not smoking
Yeah right, because making things illegal stops them ever happening. besides, it's a question about personal freedom generally for thinking people.
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Old May 25th 2011, 11:53 am
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Meow
Yeah right, because making things illegal stops them ever happening. besides, it's a question about personal freedom generally for thinking people.
If it were just the smoker who it affected then I'd agree but people who think wouldn't poison others with their selfish behaviour
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Old May 25th 2011, 12:01 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Meow
Yeah right, because making things illegal stops them ever happening. besides, it's a question about personal freedom generally for thinking people.
The general public are too stupid to be left to their own devices, I find.
but I have to say I much prefer bars and restaurants without the smoking now, and people were originally up in arms over those bans. I think people have matured enough in their thinking to accept that their own actions shouldn't negatively impact those around them.
The car argument is stupid as they are coming under the same emissions pressure as smokers, you can't argue that it makes no difference because somebody else is doing worse or just as bad, then nothing would ever change.
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Old May 25th 2011, 12:09 pm
  #38  
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Meow
Yeah right, because making things illegal stops them ever happening. besides, it's a question about personal freedom generally for thinking people.
Yup...it worked well in the 1920s in the US...

And the war on drugs has been fantastic in the US too - Heroin is actually cheaper to buy illegally now than in was in the 1970s...win for the dealers!

Originally Posted by Thydney
If it were just the smoker who it affected then I'd agree but people who think wouldn't poison others with their selfish behaviour
Most smokers I know don't smoke without asking permission of others around them or smoke in places where it's expected like bars etc.

I would be the first to condemn someone smoking around non-smokers - it's poor manners and inconsiderate. Doesn't mean we have ban smoking though, any more than we have to ban cars because some people have accidents.

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Old May 25th 2011, 12:23 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by weasel central
The general public are too stupid to be left to their own devices, I find.
but I have to say I much prefer bars and restaurants without the smoking now, and people were originally up in arms over those bans. I think people have matured enough in their thinking to accept that their own actions shouldn't negatively impact those around them.
The car argument is stupid as they are coming under the same emissions pressure as smokers, you can't argue that it makes no difference because somebody else is doing worse or just as bad, then nothing would ever change.
Why does anything have to change?

Most developed countries are already half bankrupt trying to provide healthcare and pensions to their growing elderly populations...smokers pay masses of tax. Let them puff away in private, in the open air and in specially designated places if that keeps them happy.

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Old May 25th 2011, 12:26 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Meow
Yeah right, because making things illegal stops them ever happening. besides, it's a question about personal freedom generally for thinking people.
Yup...it worked well in the 1920s in the US...

And the war on drugs has been fantastic in the US too - Heroin is actually cheaper to buy illegally now than in was in the 1970s...win for the dealers!

Originally Posted by Thydney
If it were just the smoker who it affected then I'd agree but people who think wouldn't poison others with their selfish behaviour
Most smokers I know don't smoke without asking permission of others around them or smoke in places where it's expected like bars etc.

I would be the first to condemn someone smoking around non-smokers - it's poor manners and inconsiderate. Doesn't mean we have ban smoking though, any more than we have to ban cars because some people have accidents.

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Old May 25th 2011, 12:47 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Norm_uk
Why does anything have to change?

Most developed countries are already half bankrupt trying to provide healthcare and pensions to their growing elderly populations...smokers pay masses of tax. Let them puff away in private, in the open air and in specially designated places if that keeps them happy.

N.
We cant stay the same Norm old buddy. Without change we are still cavemen lighting fires with sticks.

Does the taxes on smoking pay for the health care in total ? I don't know if the result is net gain or loss in that case. Also passive smokers got cancer for free, without paying taxes to the government.

anyhow you don't have to argue all posts, sometimes its ok to agree
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Old May 25th 2011, 1:17 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by weasel central
We cant stay the same Norm old buddy. Without change we are still cavemen lighting fires with sticks.
We're not talking about stopping the advance of technology and progress. We're talking about stopping private habits - if we go down this road we have to also accept one day we may be forced to eat certain food and made to exercise because heart attacks cost the government a lot of money.
Originally Posted by weasel central
Does the taxes on smoking pay for the health care in total ? I don't know if the result is net gain or loss in that case. Also passive smokers got cancer for free, without paying taxes to the government.
Smokers cost the UK around GBP2.7 billion a year. And they pay around GBP9billion in taxes each year according to this news report http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7654153.stm.

So if that's true banning smoking makes little sense financially as smokers are paying for themselves and other people's NHS treatment several times over.

And laws are already in place to prevent smokers from bothering non-smokers in general. You can't smoke indoors in most parts of the UK now, even with the consent of others it's illegal...must we also tell smokers not to smoke outside even when away from non-smokers too? The next step is a total ban where police are arresting people for smoking in their homes or in deep forests and tunnels like crack addicts or something A whole criminal industry of cigarette speakeasies could spring up...gangs will have yet another item of contraband (one far more common than most drugs and less dangerous) to kill each other over. Brilliant idea, right up there with prohibition of alcohol and the War on Drugs

Originally Posted by weasel central
anyhow you don't have to argue all posts, sometimes its ok to agree
Trust me, if I agree I'll say so...I'm not known for my reluctance to express my opinions

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Old May 25th 2011, 1:26 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by weasel central
We cant stay the same Norm old buddy. Without change we are still cavemen lighting fires with sticks.

Does the taxes on smoking pay for the health care in total ? I don't know if the result is net gain or loss in that case. Also passive smokers got cancer for free, without paying taxes to the government.

anyhow you don't have to argue all posts, sometimes its ok to agree
From a Dutch study:

1. "healthy-living" group (thin and non-smoking) live to an average age of 84 and have a total health care cost $417,000 from age 20 on.
2. obese people: live to 80 and cost $371,000
3. smokers: live to 77 and cost $326,000

From an episode of "Yes, Minister"

Jim Hacker: "Humphrey, we are talking about 100,000 deaths a year [from smoking]."

Sir Humphrey: "Yes, but cigarette taxes pay for a third of the cost of the National Health Service. We are saving many more lives than we otherwise could because of those smokers who voluntary lay down their lives for their friends. Smokers are national benefactors."

So Humphrey was right in a way
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Old May 25th 2011, 1:35 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by Norm_uk
We're not talking about stopping the advance of technology and progress. We're talking about stopping private habits - if we go down this road we have to also accept one day we may be forced to eat certain food and made to exercise because heart attacks cost the government a lot of money.
We already have this, most food products have to pass food regulations, if its unsafe it doesn't go on the market. The fattening food already is proviso to be eaten as part of a balanced diet.

Smokers cost the UK around GBP2.7 billion a year. And they pay around GBP9billion in taxes each year according to this news report http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7654153.stm.

So if that's true banning smoking makes little sense financially as smokers are paying for themselves and other people's NHS treatment several times over.
yeah i wasnt sure about that. I knew typing it that probably it was the case.

And laws are already in place to prevent smokers from bothering non-smokers in general. You can't smoke indoors in most parts of the UK now, even with the consent of others it's illegal...must we also tell smokers not to smoke outside even when away from non-smokers too? The next step is a total ban where police are arresting people for smoking in their homes or in deep forests and tunnels like crack addicts or something A whole criminal industry of cigarette speakeasies could spring up...gangs will have yet another item of contraband (one far more common than most drugs and less dangerous) to kill each other over. Brilliant idea, right up there with prohibition of alcohol and the War on Drugs
I am not talking about a ban, or a war on drugs, I am completely for open availability of all drugs. My point was where they were used not a banning. Anyhow the idea of a smoking speakeasy, is not absurd because only for a accident of finding tobacco and not for example cocoa leaves you would be arguing the same point versus cocaine right now. One man's tradition is another's abomination.
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Old May 25th 2011, 2:10 pm
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Default Re: Where will it end? A total ban on smoking anywhere??

Originally Posted by weasel central
We already have this, most food products have to pass food regulations, if its unsafe it doesn't go on the market. The fattening food already is proviso to be eaten as part of a balanced diet.

yeah i wasnt sure about that. I knew typing it that probably it was the case.

I am not talking about a ban, or a war on drugs, I am completely for open availability of all drugs. My point was where they were used not a banning. Anyhow the idea of a smoking speakeasy, is not absurd because only for a accident of finding tobacco and not for example cocoa leaves you would be arguing the same point versus cocaine right now. One man's tradition is another's abomination.
That would be my point too so I think we agree. Where they are used is the only real issue - balancing the right for people to smoke (and prop up the NHS and pensions with their taxes and early deaths) and the right for other people not breath in that smoke.

I support bans in malls and public buildings - people can wait until they go outside to smoke, or use a smoking room designed for that. I also support bans in pubs and restaurants who choose to ban it to cater to non-smokers.

I don't support blanket bans though - a smoker has the right to smoke over a pint in the pub as much as a non-smoker...which is why if I were the person making the rules I'd leave it to businesses to decide for themselves and let their customers dictate which is the most popular. If there has to be legislation let there be one smoking pub for every two non-smoking pubs or something like that...that gives staff and customers choice. And choice is what makes democracy so sweet

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