Thoughts from an active pensioner who is now somewhat past his Biblical "Use-by date"

"Why just be difficult, when with a little more effort you can be bloody impossible?"



Wednesday 24 August 2011

E-Petition: Review the Smoking Ban

I have just signed the e-petition calling for a review of the smoking ban and the question my friends will obviously be asking is why I, as a lifelong non-smoker, should support this petition.

 The reasons are numerous, but mainly linked to my belief of "Live and Let Live". I don't believe all the claims about second hand smoke and am quite happy being in a room with considerate smokers. Certainly I never felt offended by smokers in any of the pubs I visited and I tend to take the view that if a pub is too thick with smoke for my liking, I'd be quite happy to go elsewhere.

My main reasons are
1. The hypocrisy of the politicians. If smoking is as bad as they claim they should ban it entirely and prohibit the manufacture and sale of cigarettes. They won't because they would loose the next election and because it would decimate their tax revenues.
2. "Smokers are a drain on the NHS". I doubt it, most of us spend some time in hospital or receiving lengthy treatment before we die. Smokers, it is claimed, receive considerable hospital treatment before they die, at huge expense to the nation. But, we are also told they die a lot sooner! Non-smokers live longer, also eventually require hospital treatment, albeit for something different, but in the meanwhile need constant "care and maintenance" from our doctors. Personally I suspect that the "prior to death" cost to the NHS of a smoker is far less than that of a non-smoker. Non-smokers who insist on living to a ripe old age also incur extra costs to the government in terms of pensions, bus-passes, day-centres, home care, etc. In practice, the longer one lives past pensionable age, the bigger drain one becomes on public funds.
3. The ban is likely to cause my favourite pub to close (which is a good enough reason in itself). Since the ban, drink prices have been increased to the maximum that the market will stand locally in order to compensate for the loss of business, yet still the publican is hardly making a living.
4. There is some evidence that the ban has increased drug taking amongst the younger generation. Whilst you can't smoke in a pub or night-club, no one will notice if you "pop a pill". Although he has not seen this, my publican friend feels that there is reason to believe that the behaviour of some of the youngsters cannot be attributed to the amount of alcohol that they have drunk.
5. Smokers assure me that cigarettes help relieve stress; I just wonder how many ex-smokers are taking NHS pills instead! Cigarettes also seem to keep you slim which I would have thought should be encouraged in these days of increasing obesity.
6. Once the zealots get their way and smoking becomes effectively illegal, they will no doubt turn their attention to the demon alcohol; indeed they already have started ranting about the cost to the police and councils of drunks and the cost to the NHS, not only in A&E, but in terms of alcohol related illnesses. Now that is likely to make me very angry

I believe that these are very good reasons for signing the petition.
It can be accessed by CLICKING HERE.

To me, it is very reasonable in its request 
"We petition the Government to review the impact of the smoking ban on pubs and clubs and consider an amendment that would give licensees the option of separate well-ventilated smoking rooms."

Its not a request to abandon the overall no smoking policy, just a simple request that licensees might have separate smoking rooms if they so wish. As a non-smoker, I can see no logical objection whatsoever to what is proposed, and it would certainly save my local as it has two bars, one of which, in the old days, was tacitly accepted by all the locals as the smokers' bar.

Thanks to Dick Puddlecote for drawing my attention to this petition.

5 comments:

  1. wanted for treason blair, prestcot ,brown, straw, flint, reid, Hewitt, collaborators and their enforcers. the price is working stubbing out blairs legacy and labours war of mass destruction imposed on liberty, respect, tolerance, equality, identity, compassion, democracy, integrity, united kingdom. who gave who the right to impose persecution, bullying, abuse, and the deaths of innocent people under their controlled democracy are traitors have no elusions, they are accountable for this so this is your better united kingdom. as in war you pay the price for liberty.its not what we want its what thay gave in memory of anthony mcdermott who was bullied and persecuted into suicide and hanged himself and all others. so this is your new healthy united kingdom to all parties protect demands liberty and movments reinstated, no liberty no peace, lest they forgot. no compromise. this is an afront to our forfathers from protect health before wealth the sun news paper Friday ,February 3,2oo6 bullied by is work mates over the smoking ban on liberty and hanged himself. And for all this to come home to

    ReplyDelete
  2. have you forgot you live in a dictatorship a controlled democracy like us smokers conform or you will be persecuted abused and bullied and as you know alcohol is next in memory of anthony mcdermott liberty2protect you had a choice”



    from an Englishman

    to all partys and politicians when is all this persecution bullying and abuse that’s in everyones constituency that labours party and there enforcers imposed on society going to stop and liberty and movments reinstated in memory of Anthony mcdermott from salford who hanged himself over the ban on liberty choice and tolerance before we have to self – protect

    you insulted the ones who made it great when you banned liberty choice tolerance
    so hitlers dream marches on the fourth reich so is every body proud of there new national and european the ban flag thats in every ones face have no elusions the new swastka all these nazi will pay for this treason in memory of the war dead and anthony mcdermott war or peace choose

    ReplyDelete
  3. clicking on the graphic doesn't take you to the petition. Is it meant to?

    ReplyDelete
  4. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/14103

    ReplyDelete
  5. Understood, however I don't see how it can be any less then discrimination to take the rights of all individuals, because of the few individuals complaining. Freedom is more important than their opinion. If I own a bar or restaurant I should be the deciding factor of what goes on in my establishment, Not the government, and those who did not like the way, I chose to run my establishment, still have their freedom not to come to my establishment. Not forgetting its mine.

    ReplyDelete