A question for ex-smokers?

Harry Deerpark

Would you support a nationwide ban on smoking?

I'm off the smokes 18 months now and I'm against smoking, but I wouldn't pester someone with criticism. Anyway, I'd like to see smoking stamped out completly but obviously an outright ban today would cause riots.

Would you support the government banning cigarettes at some stage when the number of smokers has been significantly reduced?

What's your opinion on smokers now that you've gave up: do you believe people have the right to smoke whenever they want, or do you believe the government should keep taxing the smokes until we can't afford them anymore?

T-K-O

They will never be banned, way too much money to be made. I would imagine in the future they will restrict smokers to certain areas, simliar to the smoking booths in airports.

I would not support a complete ban, that would be a complete nanny state. What's next alcohol?

Chuck Stone

Former smoker here.

Support a nationwide smoking ban?

No. It's a terrible terrible idea. Cigarettes smuggling and sales would just become another revenue stream for criminals - there'd loads of be people criminalised for possession/distribution/consumption.

Regulation, education, stop smoking campaigns have been shown to reduce the number of people smoking.

Prohibition and the war on drugs (people) has been a costly and massively expensive disaster. Let's not make it any worse.

Roger_007

Nobody, either in the health promotion industry or in government will ever call for tobacco products to be made illegal. They all claim that thousands of people die every year as a result of tobacco yet are happy to allow these products to be sold legally. The truth is that the tax take is too good to give up. While some people are addicted to smoking, others are addicted to the revenue and to the jobs that smoking provides,I.e all the little shops and all the jobs in the anti-smoking industry.

davet82

no they shouldn't be banned but i would like to see some sort of government plan to wean the nation off tobaco by reducing the nicotine content over so many years

Chuck Stone

davet82 wrote: »

no they shouldn't be banned but i would like to see some sort of government plan to wean the nation off tobaco by reducing the nicotine content over so many years

That would have to be a global initiative or at least EU and even then it would not prevent unsavoury types from selling black market cigs high in nicotine if people wanted them.

Harry Deerpark

T-K-O wrote: »

They will never be banned, way too much money to be made. I would imagine in the future they will restrict smokers to certain areas, simliar to the smoking booths in airports.

I would not support a complete ban, that would be a complete nanny state. What's next alcohol?

You can't compare smoking and drinking, though, because alcohol doesn't contain carcinogens that poisons your body's tissue. Once you damage you tissue with cigarette smoke, you can be at risk of contracting cancer for the rest of your life - this just illustrates how stupid smoking is, not to mention how pointless it is.

Ever since I gave up, I've felt healthier, my sleep has dramatically improved and I'm saving plenty of money. I'm sure you lot agree the world is a better place without them and smoking offers absolutely no benefits to anyone.

As for the money, Ireland has a socialised health care system - a lot of hospital bills are paid for by the State through medical cards. As a non-smoker, do you really want to be paying tax, only for it to be given away to someone who is deliberately poisoning their body with carcinogens?

I don't, just like many people don't want to pay for an alcoholic's liver transplant, only for him to start drinking again, like George Best - his operation was paid for by the NHS.

John Mason

You cant expect someone in their 80's who have been smoking for the last 70 years to just give up over night, that would be cruel and unnecessary.

if it was banned all that will happen, is that the criminal gangs will start producing and they will become more dangerous

Pilsbury Doughboy

davet82 wrote: »

no they shouldn't be banned but i would like to see some sort of government plan to wean the nation off tobaco by reducing the nicotine content over so many years

I'm liking that idea, failing that just make them 100 quid a packet and that might force me to give the bastads up.

coffeepls

No - I don't think that's a good idea. I'm nearly 5 years off them (and was over 20 years smoking prior to that). It seems that most people I know have given them up too by now, and this is mostly to do with the fact that it has become a top 'anti social' habit. I find this is because of the reduction in smoking areas, they are nearly always outside with not much shelter from the elements. There was a time when the place to be if you wanted to hearing the latest gossip and chat was with the smokers - but the 'designated smoking areas' which are usually none to pleasant have but a stop to that.
So not being allowed smoke in cars with kids is the latest.... and national parks is in or coming in? I find this to be the most subtle and effective plan to help people think twice about smoking. At the end of the day the decision to quit is most effective when it's made by the smoker.
Just one other thing - I think the price increase has backfired slightly. Smokers are now mostly smoking foreign duty free and roll ups. The tar & nicotine in those is rotten, and I reckon that's a whole lot worse healthwise. Time will tell.

grindle

Been off cigs for over a year now:
Nope, people should have the right to do with their body what they please.
Cigarettes should be taxed to pay the balance of what smoking related illnesses cost the healthcare system, nothing more, nothing less.
Governments should have no say on what an individual does with their private time, their bodies or belongings as long as it doesn't do harm or cause cost to others. It's the most obvious statement in the existence, but for some reason masses of twerps think the opposite.

Harry Deerpark wrote: »

As a non-smoker, do you really want to be paying tax, only for it to be given away to someone who is deliberately poisoning their body with carcinogens?

According to the government guesstimate in 2011, smokers cost the Irish economy €365m a year (which they - by virtue of inexplicable magic - extrapolate to a €23b cost over a decade because... Because... They used the UK's health cost figures and estimates?!? How strange!)
In 2011 the Irish government raised €1.36b in tax from tobacco.
€365,000,000
vs
€1,360,000,000.
There's a reason they're trying to neuter the most effective method for quitting cigarettes yet conceived - they haven't found out how to tax it yet.
But they will, eventually.
And there's a black-market in the making waiting for my custom.

Jacob T

Anyway, I'd like to see smoking stamped out completly but obviously an outright ban today would cause riots.

No it wouldn't, smokers can hardly jog down the street without becoming out of breath, let alone full scale rioting.

was.deevey

You can't compare smoking and drinking, though, because alcohol doesn't contain carcinogens that poisons your body's tissue. Once you damage you tissue with cigarette smoke, you can be at risk of contracting cancer for the rest of your life - this just illustrates how stupid smoking is, not to mention how pointless it is.

Drinking Does however Cause other issues such as Liver Disease

As you'll see on the E-cig forum though how stupid the governments are being when Healthier Alternatives to Actual Smoking are available and may be restricted soon to medicinal usage only in the quantities that Nicotine addicts (restricted to 4mg per container regardless of size) require. When the real deal with appx 30mg of nictotine and a 3999 other toxic chemicals is ingested in a pack of fags, is available on every street corner completely unregulated from dosage or purity tests.

Do I feel a nationwide ban on smoking should happen, no, but I do feel the areas should be restricted somewhat.

E.g. I was in Hong Kong a few months ago and you are not allowed to smoke walking down the street - only at designated areas (every 100 yards appx) where an actual Smoking Bin is provided.