Smoking ban

[AB Asks]

As we start the see the sun on a more regular basis it is reminding us that summer is on its way which also means the smoking ban is nearly here. There will be no smoking allowed in public places which will include all pubs and restaurants. Do you think the ban will affect pub trade? If you are a smoker will the ban encourage you to stop? Will you boycott pubs in a bid to prove the point that smoking is not illegal, and pubs should be allowed to choose whether to go smoke-free?

[paddy20]

non smoking areas and smoking areas where enough i thought we were supposed to live in a free society?

[nigella]

whats the rule on pub gardens then? is that included in the ban? its more than likely to affect trade, lets face it, at least half of pub patrons smoke, this is evident if you go down to your local.

I agree that non-smokers need to be protected, (i am a non-smoker myself), but this ban is rediculous! as paddy mentioned, separate areas are sufficient, as long as the smoking area did not pollute the non-smoking environment, surely this is possible to manage!

Are the Government going to compensate pubs if they lose custom? dont think so!

[dot.hawkes]

I do not go in pubs because it is always full of cigarette smoke, I am sure i cannot be alone in that, if people who smoke start to stop going to a pub, they will be replaced by people who can go in there now and enjoy the atmosphere without being reduced to a coughing weezing wreck.

[Ollie_P]

The smoking ban will be brilliant. I was in Scotland last month & after spending the evening in the pub it was only when I got back to the B&B & took my jumper off(it didn't stink like an ashtray) that I realised that nobody had been smoking in the pub. 'Twas lovely & nobody was complaining.

[efc]

I stopped smoking nearly two weeks ago! Not because of the ban though.
I can honestly say that it has been easier than I thought. I think it's all down to being in the right frame of mind.
I bought patches and after the first couple of days I forgot to put them on. Haven't used them for the last week and really not missing the smoking! Should have done it years ago!
I won't be going in any pubs for a while though. As an ex smoker I know how difficult it is to have a drink and not have a smoke. I definately think that pubs will lose trade.

[rosie posie]

i am a smoker...and god how i wish i could rewind and rid my self of all the toxin i put into my body...maybe one day i will stop smoking , but its got me ...and its got me good, i have low willpower and find it hard and stress full to stop,i dont understand why ciggerettes arnt illegal,theres so many smoking related deaths.well moneys involved goverment and all that crap i suppose...its alright people banging on about free society but theres so much passive smoking ....so i hope many more places are banned and the sooner the better,,lets make it so the younger generations to come may find it a dirty disgusting habit beacause it is......some things change for the better...so ban the black tar ash smelly breath draining things,,,,lol.

[paddy20]

only like an ocasional ciggie usualy wen i have a drink to chill out dont like to be told by a tryin to be you must do as we say dictatorship wat will be next 2 drinks only per person then go home but still pay over the top taxes to keep all the greedy m.ps in their jobs .

[brionon]

Paddy 20 ,excuse me but I didn't understand your sentence.

[genorm]

I was living in Oz when they introduced the smoking ban. Initially it was in "places that serve food" but this stretched to larger venues. Adelaide Oval for example has a total smoking ban inside the complex. If you are at the cricket and need to smoke, you have to out onto the exterior concourse. In the UK, there are already "Private Property" bans, I know quite a few large industrial sites where smoking is banned beyond the front gate. People will adapt, to suggest that pubs have to be compensated because smokers stay away is ridiculous. Will the same pubs be willing to pay compensation to non smoking patrons who develop cancer in their establishments? I doubt it.

[sunnyday2d]

PADDY 20,
what do you mean by a free society,
do you mean free as long as long as it appeases smokers.

EFC, WELL DONE.
IN 6 MONTHS TIME YOU WILL LOOK BACK & REALISE
THAT STOPPING SMOKING IS THE BEST THING YOU
YOU HAVE EVER DONE. ( I DID )

[thedelbwa]

Been to both Dublin & Edinburgh in the last few months, and it works really well - I agree with Ollie that it is nice to get home and not stink of smoke. Was in a very quiet bar last night with the missus and the only people around us were all smoking, and despite the place only having about 15 people in there, we both came home absolutely stinking. Having smoked for about 10 years, I used to always respect other people when smoking, and so would have no problem going outside or away from people who didn't like it or were eating as and when needed, so I think it's a good thing. You go into pubs and can actually smell booze and not ciggies!!!

I also agree with genorm re compensation claims - don't be so daft. Pubs are places to drink and if you want a smoke or if they want people to be able to smoke, then they will have to accommodate them somehow, like The Temple Bar in Dublin which has a courtyard in the centre of the pub, which is covered, but is still outside with heaters - this works. Obviously, if there were such a thing as Smoking Houses, then these would suffer, but as far as I know, there isn't any, apart from the odd crack house here and there, and I believe they are illegal anyway.

And before you start, I'm not likening smoking cigarettes to smoking crack...

[Scylax]

I occasionally smoke a pipe. How heinous is that ?

[netibiza]

Smoking in public places is very anti-social - I abhor it. My meal last week in a small thai restaurant was ruined by someone else's smoke going up my nostrils. If I want to die from a smoking related disease, then I'll take it up, until then, lock 'em up and throw away the lighters!

[siddlem]

the smoking ban is just wrong, wrong, wrong.....

smokers have always had the choice, you didn't have to go in, there are already plenty of no smoking places.

thankfully this government will be out next time....!!!

the government do not have a right to tell us we can't do a perfectly legal activity...

The passive smoking debate is a myth....if u r gonna get cancer, you are gonna get cancer, smoker or not....we all die sometime....