Smoking Ban

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viztopia

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for some reason i cant enter a thread in letting off steam. Anyway i had a "heated" debate with a friend in a pub last night about the smoking ban. it was 1.00 in the morning and the barman put ashtrays on the counter and to our amazement a lot of the customers lit up. this started us talking about the smoking ban. basically what he was saying was that the law states that there is no smoking allowed in the workplace. i agreed with him. i should state that we are both non smokers. the discussion got really heated however when i disagreed with the way the ban was introduced. my opinion is that publicans should have been given the option of declaring a pub smoking or non smoking. Customers would then be able to decide what pub they would go to. my whole argument was that it is a persons right to smoke or not to smoke. the government should not be able to dictate to people were they can and cant smoke. By introducing the smoking ban has this not taken away form peoples civil liberties? this debate will continue with my friend and i think that we will have to agree to disagree. as previously stated i am a non smoker. i should also state that i have no link to any pub. i would appreciate peoples thoughts on this.
 
I'm a non-smoker and think the ban has been a revelation. The vast majority of my smoking friends would agree.

As for the civil liberties argument, i feel the future benefits of the ban out-weigh any infringement on my civil liberties.
 
I'm a smoker and have no problem with the smoking ban. What I do worry about is recent proposals in Scotland where they are proposing to ban smoking in parks, near schools etc so as to protect children from seeing adults smoking and being encouraged to smoke accordingly. Crap.

Also, in the paper the other day it mentioned that second hand smoke is now classified as a pollutant in the states and people are advising that you cross the road if you see someone smoking. The world is going mad, no mention of banning traffic due to it's emissions or putting up billboards showing pictures of livers damaged from drinking.
 
I was a smoker and have quit since the ban came in. I think the ban raised awareness of smoking and many of my smoking friends have quit or at least cut down. I think the blanket ban was the easiest and most efficent way of introducing it. Loopholes in the law always invite people to jump through them. And, second hand smoker kills.
 
for some reason i cant enter a thread in letting off steam
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Hi viztopia

Askaboutmoney requires that you have 50 posts and that you are a member for 30 days to post in LoS.

Marion
 
The smoking ban was a great move, fair play to the Irish Government for introducing it.

I think the need to protect non smokers (the bar workers and other patrons) far outweighs the rights of smokers to smoke inside. Who can argue otherwise?
 
viztopia said:
it was 1.00 in the morning and the barman put ashtrays on the counter and to our amazement a lot of the customers lit up.
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Despite your 'heated' discussion, if I was in a pub, and the barman puts ashtrays out, I would promptly take a picture on my camera phone, and complain directly to that barman, and report the bar to the authorities. A law is a law!

-soc
 
While I'm not seeking a ban in open spaces, there is a significant level of discomfort for a non-smoker to be beside/behind a smoker in public open air places, like the Luas stations. It would be nice if smokers showed some consideration for the non-smoking majority (and stopped littering the butts around too).

Any 'partial' ban, i.e. smoking pubs or smoking rooms in pubs would not have worked, simply because (based on my pre-ban experiences) smokers would not respect the limits of these areas.
 
sonandheir said:
second hand smoker kills.
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...and as Bill Hicks said: "so do second hand bullets!"

I quit smoking 7 years ago and think the smoking ban was a fantastic idea and should help smokers who want to quit. I went out for a few drinks with my missus on Saturday night (first Sat. night out since November) and still can't believe how pleasant a non smoking environment can be- so I say "stick another pint on Micheal!".
 
there is a significant level of discomfort for a non-smoker to be beside/behind a smoker in public open air places, like the Luas stations
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I heartily agree. It is so bloody annoying when you're walking to work on a beautiful crisp morning like this morning, and then take in a gulp of someone's just-exhaled cigarette smoke. Some people just don't give a toss about others.
 
I am a smoker and I think the smoking ban is effective.
People griping about smoking outside really gets on my nerves now though.

Last weekend I was in my local pub. I went out to the doorway to have a smoke. They have no provisions made at all for smokers - no canopy/shelter, no ashtray. So it's raining, I'm trying to shelter in the doorway. Someone comes up the street and is going into the pub. So I move out of the doorwy and smile at them. Then I get an earful about my cloud of smoke hanging around.

I mean give me a break!!! I rent my home so I am not allowed smoke there because of my lease. I can't smoke anywhere except outside and in my car. I try to be as respectful as possible to non-smokers at bus stops etc but I am entitled to smoke outside.

A couple of weeks ago I went for a coffee with a friend and we choose a coffeeshop with outside seating specifically to enjoy a cigarette with our coffee. A non smoker sat alongside us to watch the world go by and asked us to put out our cigarettes. Not on your Nelly mate!
 
Its when I go abroad that I really appreciate how great the smoking ban in Ireland is. I get a shock when I am in a pub or restaurant and get the stink of cigar/cigarette smoke wafting over me. And the next morning, the stink of smoke off my clothes just takes me back. The rest of Europe will catch on soon enough.
 
I agree with the smoking ban but I don't like that people begrudge smokers the chance to smoke alfresco!
 
kazbah said:
I agree with the smoking ban but I don't like that people begrudge smokers the chance to smoke alfresco!
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I'm not proud of it but that is how I feel. I have to admit that I've become less and less tolerant to cigarette smoke since the ban was introduced. Hate having to walk through a cloud of smoke to get into a pub or restaurant. And part of me does hate the fact that if I sit outside at a cafe I'm likely to be surrounded by lots of smoke. Although I rarely sit outside anyway as I find it just as bad to be choked by the fumes of passing traffic.
 
Janet said:
I'm not proud of it but that is how I feel. I have to admit that I've become less and less tolerant to cigarette smoke since the ban was introduced. Hate having to walk through a cloud of smoke to get into a pub or restaurant. And part of me does hate the fact that if I sit outside at a cafe I'm likely to be surrounded by lots of smoke. Although I rarely sit outside anyway as I find it just as bad to be choked by the fumes of passing traffic.
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I don't think they will be able to legislate that you cannot smoke on the street - though they could tighten up the litter laws. I think no smoking indoors is a great compromise and it should be acceptable to all. I get very p*ssed off when random non-smokers feel they can accost me about smoking outdoors.
 
It amazes me to see so many non smokers never happy. When we smoked indoors they wanted us out. Fair enough. When we went out at work they wanted us to do it on our own time. (Even though, as a recent psychology article put it, addicts will make sure they do one hours work in 50 minutes to ensure they get their fix!).

My place of employment doesn't provide so much as an overhang to protect employees from the rain - because it "doesn't have to".
 
I worked for a company that didn't let employees smoke on company time or property. You had to go off the grounds to smoke in your breaks. It was a disciplinary offense.
 
I am an exsmoker- or in otherwords a smoker who is not smoking at present having given them up last August.
I am sure that Rainyday and myself will have another or our now infamous rows about this.
Kazbah, I think the company that you work for is a discrace.
Viztopia I agree with your view that common sence should have been used and keep everyone happy, smokers have rights too.
Quote Rainyday
.. there is a significant level of discomfort for a non-smoker to be beside/behind a smoker in public open air places, like the Luas stations. It would be nice if smokers showed some consideration for the non-smoking majority .." Hard luck.
 
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