Smoking Ban

[Elton]

I was puzzled by some reports on this proposed 'smoking in public' ban that I heard today.

 

Apparently, some pubs with sealed rooms will be allowed to have smokers in them.

 

However, if they serve food, they definitely will not.

 

Now, I understood that the ban was for health reasons. So, how does the addition of food make it more dangerous?

 

I know smoking in restaurants is considered by many to be unsociable, but that doesn't seem to be the reason behind this Bill.

 

For the record, I smoked years ago, don't now and am not a fan of it. However, I do find this bit of this Bill confusing. Is it a health-related issue, or one of social acceptance?

[Zigs]

on arriving back at college last week, i was given a leaflet saying the place was now a no smoking area & that if we wanted to smoke we would have to huddle round one ashtray in the courtyard in the rain.

 

later in the evening i was taken by the tutor to a back room with a pool table, an extractor fan on full, that was full of guys (mainly staff ) that had rebeled against the ban & were happily drinking, smoking & lobbin bottles, my 3 main hobbies after fishing.

 

its a good job they wern't eating as well then elton, that would have made it really dangerous !

[Westie]

And another question - do Scampi fries count as food? I hope not.

[Elton]

And another question - do Scampi fries count as food? I hope not.

 

You been listening to Radio One? They were having a similar debate a few minutes ago.

[Westie]

I think they were concerned about whether a Tuna Melt is food.

[Steve Walker]

I think the thing you have to remember is that while this is being sold as a bill for the benefit of people who work in pubs, the real point of the exercise is to inconvenience smokers and thus encourage them to quit. The way that it has been framed, and the way that it has been presented, are spin. It's easier to sell "we're doing this to protect non-smokers" than "we're doing this because we don't like your personal choices". The serving food issue is just a way of making the proposal seem more reasonable, since even those non-smokers who don't mind a pub being smokey usually like a smoke-free atmosphere to eat in.

 

Personally, I think what they are doing in framing legislation like this is fundamentally wrong. Not the issue of whether smoking should be banned in enclosed public places per se, but the essentially dishonest way that they are presenting their objectives. There is a fundamental difference between legislation to protect the individual from others and legislation designed to protect him from himself, and selling the former as the latter is just plain wrong. Let's have a debate about whether or not as a society we should use the law to protect smokers from their own actions, but let's not sidestep the debate and do it by the back door. I think this kind of thing is absolutely typical of the political arrogance which this government has indulged in. It's an attitude of "we're right, we will do this, how do we get it past the public and parliament without them seeing".

 

In my opinion, the only valid argument for banning smoking in pubs is the protection of the people who work there, and I find it hard to believe that there aren't ways of protecting them through ventilation. Give them gas masks, if that's what's required. It's not beyond the wit of man. Beyond that, smoking or non-smoking pubs should be a purely commercial decision on the part of the pub management. I absolutely don't understand why there aren't more voluntarily smoke-free pubs when so many people claim to want them. There must be a huge untapped market out there.

[Ken Davison South Wales]

What about the famous packet of crisp or peanuts are they food???

 

I think people should be given a better choice, if a pub is a smoking pub then any staff engaged should be smokers, that way no harm done.

 

If you are a non-smoker then you choose another pub simple as that.

[Andrew]

The sooner its banned the better.

I dont visit bars much but i loath to breath other peoples filthy fumes off fags.

 

Makes your clothes stink, hair stink, horrid things

[DonRamos]

Elton,

 

I don't understand the legislation any more than you do.

 

I do strongly feel that a outright smoking ban is not a bad thing tho. It has worked extremely well in Ireland, with pub taking staying at the same levels (and increasing in certain areas).

 

Half hearted measures are not what we need in England.

 

There are a few non-smoking pubs near where I live, and they are much nicer places to enjoy a beer than my local, which you can't see accross at 10.30pm on a Friday night.

 

The health of not only the bar staff but the other pub patrons needs to be considered here. Second Hand smoking is not a good thing to be doing, and should not be inflicted on anybody.

 

And for the record, I do enjoy a cigarette with a pint myself, but am more than willing to go outside to smoke it.

[Andrew]

And for the record, I do enjoy a cigarette with a pint myself, but am more than willing to go outside to smoke it.

 

Thats very good of you,

 

When we do go to bars we tend to stick to places that are well aired, and if possible next to well ventilated area's.

 

This smoking and non smoking area's are IMHO, a total waste of time, how the hell does smoke know that there's no smoke past a certain point !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The ban in Ireland, great, no smelly fags, no smell on your clothes.

 

I dont think this government or any future government will ever decide about this issue, how many smokers in the UK, lost votes spring to mind !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!