Topic: Smoking ban poll

[Baccy Man]

There have been millions of surveys on the ban and the results depend pretty much on the people that are attracted to them but as a poll has been requested in Keef's " Going for a smoke" thread I thought I would start it desite the comments about a pole not being representative of professional pub go'ers. A poll here will make no difference to the ban anyway.
I have allowed the option for users to change their votes if they change their mind.

Here is my opinion on the smoking ban to get things started:

Smoking bans are bad laws based upon lies, and a law that is based upon lies does not deserve to be respected. To see why this is true, go to
http://www.forestonline.org
&
http://pasan.TheTruthIsALie.com
Admittedly these 2 sites are biased as they are both against the smoking ban however they do have the evidence to back up what they say unlike the anti smoking sites which contain a lot of propaganda & little if any evidence to back it up.

Whats is this ban for, it is social engineering by the government and stops social interaction by a large proportion of the population, it is not about a health risk to non-smokers as there is no significant risk from second hand smoke to anyone, it is another lie which this Government has created, there is no epidemiological study which shows second hand smoke to have a relative risk factor over 3 (over 3 is significant) even the ones that have been fixed by ASH and Cancer research, combined these studies show a RR of well below 2.
The SCOTH committee created by government who say second hand smoke is harmful, are not speaking the truth, second hand smoke may be insignificantly harmful but so is water,coffee,most household products and cosmetics, also look at the other interests that some members of SCOTH have, ASH and pharmacutical interests, this committee is a disgrace to everything Britain stands for. Even the Health & Safety Executive say in HSE OC 255/15 they cannot produce evidence that second hand smoke is harmful.

Another common justification for the ban is the suggestion that smokers are placing an unnecessary financial burden on the rest of society because of the cost of treating 'smoking-related' diseases.
In fact, when you compare tobacco tax revenues (tax currently accounts for as much as 89 percent of the cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes) with the alleged cost of health treatment, the former far outweighs the latter. In the UK, tobacco tax revenue currently stands at £7 billion a year compared with the £1.5 billion it allegedly costs to tackle 'smoking-related' diseases. (Taxation revenue should of course be even higher - over £10 billion - but the Government has cleverly 'lost' £3 billion by over taxing tobacco and therefore encouraging smugglers and cross-Channel shoppers to buy the product abroad.)

Even if only a minority wanted some public venue where they can smoke together, that is made impossible by the intransigence of the policy. Government doesn't want anybody to remember what a nice feeling tolerance is. Nobody was given the opportunity to have there say there was no referendum before the ban was introduced yet this is supposed to be a democratic country.

[Geo]

Thumbs up for the ban..

Geo.. :)

[Froglegs]

The ban as my vote. :)

[Baccy Man]

It seems I can't spell today Dan if you read this can you change the title of the thread so poll is spelt properly.

Admin says - I've corrected it!

[Hyacinth]

"decision of the owner of the premises" - seems fair & got my vote.....but....ang on! the owner may not be the landlord?......hmmm. gettin tricky....."decision of the owner of the premises when endorsed by the landlord but, in the event of a change of landlord, the agreement to be re-confirmed with the in-coming incumbent".....

There again, if the pub is thriving and performing a public service (remember local post offices, anyone?).... would a new anti-smoking landlord have a right to make the pub a non-smoking one?

Life's never easy, is it?

 ;D

[greyhound]

Decision of the licensee, I say (that gets round the owner/landlord ambiguity).  Separate smoking/non smoking areas could be made available in most cases.

[Oldmanofthewoods]

Decision of the owner of the premises as they are best placed to consider the needs of their customers; and therefore, their livelihood.

[Mrs Ava]

I used to love smoking, gave up 9 years ago and still miss it every day.  I work with a fella who smokes and he always lights up next to me so I can enjoy that first whiff of a freshly lit ciggy.  If it were just me, I would say it is up to the property owner/manager, but I am a mummy and I HATE my children being exposed to smelly cigs in lifts or shopping centres.  It hasn't happened often, but a couple of times we have gotten in a lift and someone is either smoking, or just left after having a smoke, and for my asthma suffering hub and daughter, it aint great.

[SnooziSuzi]

I don't think I need to tell you which I picked!   ;)

[Heldi]

That is a big yes from me too.

My son's best friend's mother is a stinking chain smoker...she was out on the town last Sat and she reckoned the ban made her night a lot more fun...going outside meant she met and talked to people she would never have spoken to otherwise and they continued to chat as they worked their ways around the pubs. So there you go you smokers. Stop wingeing and get on with it..it's soo much more fun.   Hah!

[greyhound]

I thought the poll was going to be about pubs.  Surely a majority of public places have been non-smoking for some time anyway: shops, cinemas, buses etc.  

I just cannot understand why anyone would begrudge a pub landlord the right to decide whether to make his pub (which will often be his home as well) a place where smoking is permitted.  Surely if there were separate areas for smoking and non-smoking, everyone would have been satisfied with this.

[Heldi]

There is separate areas...there is inside and there is outside.

[johnslottie]

Total thumbs up from me. 

The countless nights I've gone out and had to suffer cigarette smoke, dread to think of the effect it had on me, against my wishes.  Out last Saturday, absolutely fantastic, and I didn't come in stinking  ;D

Up till now, if you wanted to socialise with others, you had to put up with it and suffer.  Not any more, brilliant  ;D

[keef]

Total thumbs up from me. 

The countless nights I've gone out and had to suffer cigarette smoke, dread to think of the effect it had on me, against my wishes.  Out last Saturday, absolutely fantastic, and I didn't come in stinking  ;D

Up till now, if you wanted to socialise with others, you had to put up with it and suffer.  Not any more, brilliant  ;D

But would'nt a choice of smoking and smoking pubs acheive the same ?

[SnooziSuzi]

But would'nt a choice of smoking and smoking pubs acheive the same ?

Not really - if some of your mates smoke and wanted to go to the smoking pub then you either have to both go to different pubs or the non-smokers would suffer by having to go into the smoking pub.

[Baccy Man]

The countless nights I've gone out and had to suffer cigarette smoke, dread to think of the effect it had on me, against my wishes.

What effect is that then.
There is no significant risk from second hand smoke to anyone, it is another lie which this Government has created, there is no epidemiological study which shows second hand smoke to have a relative risk factor over 3 (over 3 is significant) even the ones that have been fixed by ASH and Cancer research, combined these studies show a RR of well below 2. Second hand smoke may be insignificantly harmful but so is water,coffee,most household products and cosmetics.

[keef]

But would'nt a choice of smoking and smoking pubs acheive the same ?

Not really - if some of your mates smoke and wanted to go to the smoking pub then you either have to both go to different pubs or the non-smokers would suffer by having to go into the smoking pub.

But on the other hand, smokers are being forced to smoke outside away from thier mates.. if your the only non-smoker in a group, then well you either sit on your own whilst your mates go out for a f*g, or go out and join them. Swings and round-a-bouts is'nt it?

[greyhound]

Stop wingeing and get on with it..it's soo much more fun.   Hah!

There is separate areas...there is inside and there is outside.

Tell that to my brave, terminally ill friend who loves a pint and a cig in the local.  Whose mobility is decreasing by the day. (And it isn't a smoking-related disease, it's genetic.)

[Heldi]

Ah don't give me that. i have refrained from using the fact that my mother in law is dying of lung cancer as my anti smoking stance, also that my mother is badly affected by smoke due to her MS and she likes to go out for a drinkie  etc etc

[SnooziSuzi]

health risks aside,  it's just nice not to have stinging eyes, a sore throat and smelly clothes just because you wanted to be sociable.