for the terminally dim (passive smoking in an outdoor environment) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22484462

How about we do a “Russian” and encourage people to drink and smoke more – reducing the effects of the aging population.

I hate smoking, it killed 3 out of 4 grandparents and there’s a good chance it’ll kill my younger sister before I pop my clogs.

However, I don’t think it should be banned, like binners says, if he wants’ to smoke, then it’s his choice to spend hundreds of pounds a year doing something that, I guess, brings him some pleasure.

I didn’t know that konaboy.
Back on topic.
We’ve had many cons which would make sense to cirminalize it.
Binners, can you give me the pro’s of smoking for your case?
Don’t just say it’s my body or I’ll do what I want.

If people smoke it masks the smell of stale sweat ,very evident in pubs since the ban

You need to start frequenting some nicer pubs. 😉

Konaboy – you’re not allowed to mention car fumes, as this is something that the whiny bleaters also produce.

fumes from exhaust of moaning, bleating everyone-stop-doing-anything-I don’t-like whiner = totally acceptable part of modern life
fumes from the mouth of a nasty evil poisening-us-all smoker = the very personification of evil

I reckon I can hazard a guess as to what cumulatively is doing the most damage

zilog6128 – I have no idea what those figures represent, but its smoking outdoors FFS! I strongly suspect that if I stood within 6ft of you and farted, I’d be doing your internal organs more damage 🙄

EDIT: The pro’s of smoking? I enjoy it. Is that ok with you?

Don’t just say it’s my body or I’ll do what I want.

Binners earlier.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZLVi4v7lSM[/video]

And I have no idea what those figures represent, but its smoking outdoors FFS! I strongly suspect that if I stood within 6ft of you and farted, I’d be doing your internal organs more damage

Binners, somehow I get the feeling that if I used NCBI and bothered to look up the free radical content of human shit then it would be far less than that found in smoke.

You’ve clearly never experienced my farts

I do think that this could just be solved by bringing back smoking areas/lounges. Seeing as most waiters smoke anyway.

Lol at Tom_W1987

That’s how I imagined binners too.

Its frighteningly accurate

Seeing as most waiters smoke anyway.

That’s how I imagined binners too.

Much as smoking is bad for you if it was made illegal you will not stop people smoking it, just criminalise a section of society and drive it underground. Daft IMHO.

Much as smoking is bad for you if it was made illegal you will not stop people smoking it, just criminalise a section of society and drive it underground.

and no one likes smoking underground where there is limited ventilation.

Much as smoking is bad for you if it was made illegal you will not stop people smoking it, just criminalise a section of society and drive it underground.

Would it, though? If you couldn’t be seen smoking anywhere (by the police) nor could you buy smokes in shops, would that many people ACTUALLY bother to buy black-market fags and smoke them illicitly like naughty children? Smoking isn’t that great. I think most people would get over it pretty quickly. IME it’s quite rare to find a smoker these days who wouldn’t prefer to smoke less or not at all anyway.

Yeah that’s all fine but whilst most smokers casually chuck their fag ends on the floor then why should it be accepted.

Here’s an idea then.

Make littering illegal*

Rather than the thing that produces the litter. (I can’t really believe I needed to point that out.)

*yes I know

Just whack the price up to £20 a box

I like the odd beer I’m happy for the cost of booze to go up too

I like the odd beer I’m happy for the cost of booze to go up too

BIt of a tangent, but I totally agree. Would also be happy to have alcohol only available in licensed premises like pubs/bars/etc if it would cut down on the number of a-holes getting pissed up at home and causing trouble.

zilog6218 – there is a black market now, if it was illegal I think it would only get bigger (although that is pure speculation and you could be right!)
But I also think we are moving towards a nanny state and if people want to smoke let them (not in my house though, you go into the garden)

Yes of course tobacco should be made illegal. It is utterly bonkers when you think about it. Future civilisations will look back in great confusion over what we did to ourselves!

Despite liking a pint as much as anyone, I believe the greatest think we could do to improve the country is ban alcohol – or at the very least implement massively strict penalties for public drunkenness and alcohol-related antisocial behaviour/criminal activity.

This is just the sort of killjoy rubbish that gets my goat. Just what is wrong with consuming a substance which alters your mood/mind/body for fun? God forbid grown sensible adults should be able to decide for themselves how they enjoy their free time and what substances they may use to help that.

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans! Even by the usual standards of SingletrackWhine this thread has surpassed itself! Its like mumsnet! My smug, hectoring middle-class sanctimonitor just went off the scale!

Are there any other activities that some people might derive some enjoyment from, and that scarcely effect you, that you’d like to damn with your booming, righteous disaproval? Now we’ve banned beer and smoking, whats next? 😆

Energy drinks

Did you manage to come up with some pro points for smoking yet binners?
Just wondering. I haven’t heard anything yet.
Nothing wrong with a beer in moderation.

don’t ban it at all! if someone’s smoking it’s so much easier to make snap judgements about them 😈

Yes… If you look up there you’ll see:

Plus points: I enjoy it.

I know that in the opinion of you, and a few others that that’s no justification for doing something, to me its the perfect one!

Oh….. And there’s now another: because it clearly annoys you 😀

This is just the sort of killjoy rubbish that gets my goat.

Not saying I want it to happen (I don’t) I just think it would make the country a much nicer place – given how many crimes, violent ones especially, are alcohol related.

Just what is wrong with consuming a substance which alters your mood/mind/body for fun?

If this is vital for you to have a good time, you might want to have a look at yourself 🙂

Did you manage to come up with some pro points for smoking yet binners?

Isn’t a pro point the fact that someone just enjoys doing something?

It’s not annoying me at all 😀
I’m sure you’re a lovely guy. I’d give you a manhug bug can’t stand the stench of fags so I will only shake your hand.
Oh yes, there’s no way I’ll sog you unless you have a mothfull of mints.

Likewise with smoking. Yes, if you only sit in your room alone and smoke, and have no friends/family, it doesn’t affect anyone else. Who does that then?

My father died aged 65 last year from lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking. From close up experience of what it looks like in the last 10 months I wouldn’t recommend. It’s certainly not a ‘cool’ look! Not sure he suffered the most though- my mother lived through every nasty turn of his death including a pretty horrible last 48hrs 9which left her pretty scared). She’s now struggling to get her head around making a new, unwanted, and quite frankly lonely retirement. In many ways I reckon she has suffered more from smoking than he did.

I really don’t see smoking as always a choice though. He refused to talk about stopping I think because he recognised that his personality was such that he was unable to stop and saw that as a failing. Personal choice was used as a mask for his own failings. It was odd as he was pretty risk advise in all other aspects of his life so choosing to smoke himself to death was a curious choice!

Even so I’m not convinced making it illegal would work- making it terminally uncool would be better from the position we are today.

I enjoy it.

you keep telling yourself that. 😉

I always hated smoking, but since the smoking ban came into effect I just never encounter it. It made me realise that I didn’t hate people smoking – I just hated people smoking near me. Now they don’t, as far as I’m self centredly concerned, they can do it to their heart’s content.

getting pissed up at home and causing trouble

Hey man, don’t knock getting pissed up at home and causing trouble.

Are you allowed to smoke while causing trouble?

binners – Member
Are you allowed to smoke while causing trouble?

Only if you do it outside.

The only downside to the smoking ban is that beer gardens are now full of smokers. But at least there is now a seat inside I suppose.

The only downside to the smoking ban is that beer gardens are now full of smokers. But at least there is now a seat inside I suppose.

I know what you mean – could we replace it with a smokers outside in the winter, inside in the summer rule? And sweaty blokes and yeasty ladies have to do the same. That’ll learn ’em.

I find it frightening how happy people are to ban stuff. I’m with Pierre Joseph Proudhon: “To be governed is to be kept in sight, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right, nor the wisdom, nor the virtue to do so . . .”

I find it frightening how happy people are to ban stuff.

Depends what your banning. Not all (if any) are equal.

Can you clarify which bannings frighten you?

Can you clarify which bannings frighten you?

I don’t think we are supposed to talk about the bannings 😉

Cheezpleez – Member
I find it frightening how happy people are to ban stuff

+1000000000

None of anyone else’s f*****g business if I smoke or not. Given that the NHS costs are outweighed by the taxes on fags, and pension is gonna be less, it’s actually a public spirited thing to do. You should be encouraging it.