england bans smoking

admiralofthefleet

hope it hasnt been posted already, but england has announced a public smoking ban.
from sky news:



The ban on smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces in England will begin on July 1 next year.

The date was announced by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt who declared: "This is a triumph for public health."

She went on: "Thousands of people's lives will be saved and the health of thousands more protected."

"The scientific and medical evidence is clear - secondhand smoke kills."

Ms Hewitt also launched a Smokefree England campaign to help the country's 3.7 million businesses prepare for the new law.

Nearly 200,000 pubs, bars, restaurants and other leisure outlets will be affected.

The Government has also mooted raising the age at which people can buy cigarettes from 16 to 18.

Details of how the ban will operate are being finalised and will be placed before Parliament shortly.

England is expected to have much the same rules governing smoking in public as Scotland.

Virtually all structures with a roof - even canvas awnings - would be subject to the ban unless half the sides are open to the air.

Similar rules have already been introduced in the Republic of Ireland as well as Scotland.

They are generally regarded to have been a success - although some pubs have reported a downturn in sales.

The ban in Wales starts on April 2.




i would say that in ten years most countries will have banned smoking in public places

nesf

admiralgar wrote:

i would say that in ten years most countries will have banned smoking

Maybe. In europe it could face a lot of resistance in some countries I think.

crosstownk

Good news. I'm a smoker, but I love the cleaner air feel to a pub these days. On the few occasions I've been to England since the smoking ban was introduced here, it really bothered me to see the dank atmosphere caused by somking.

I was delighted to discover, while on holiday in Scotland recently, that a ban has been introduced there.

I do reckon that most EU countries will have followed suit in the next 10 years.

admiralofthefleet

nesf wrote:

Maybe. In europe it could face a lot of resistance in some countries I think.

agreed, i have a lot of eastern european friends and workmates who hate our ban, and swear a similar ban would never happen in their own country

nesf

admiralgar wrote:

agreed, i have a lot of eastern european friends and workmates who hate our ban, and swear a similar ban would never happen in their own country

Then, 5 years ago people said the same here.

*shrugs*

crosstownk

nesf wrote:

Maybe. In europe it could face a lot of resistance in some countries I think.

The same was said about Ireland. But yet the smoking ban, once enacted, met with little resistance.

MrJoeSoap

admiralgar wrote:

agreed, i have a lot of eastern european friends and workmates who hate our ban, and swear a similar ban would never happen in their own country

A few years ago Ireland would have said the same thing though. I was in England a couple of times this year and smoky pubs just feel so weird now, kinda good in a way, but certainly only in small doses.

I don't smoke but it reminds me of my grandparents pub from when I was a kid.

Devon

It's about time. In 20 years, explaining to children that people blew smoke in your face while you were trying to eat a meal in a public restaurant will be next to impossible.

admiralofthefleet

Devon wrote:

It's about time. In 20 years, explaining to children that people blew smoke in your face while you were trying to eat a meal in a public restaurant will be next to impossible.

yeah i was thinking that, and was also thinking that in the same time frame 2 kids walking down the street would see someone smoking and say to each other 'look that person is smoking'.
what are peoples opinions on a worldwide ban within the next say 50 years

Ruu_Old

That would be interesting to see, Devon, hard to picture it.
Smoking ban has come into effect in a few counties in Illinois, small business owners are kicking up quite a fuss about it though in Champaign-Urbana where I am currently located.
The WHO has already called for a worldwide ban earlier this year.

The Sweeper

I'm just remembering the hoardes of smokers who congregated on the paths outside the pubs in Ireland... and then imagining England... and specifically our local main street pubs... and I think the police force are going to need a bigger boat.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

Its about time, England... They're always last with everything :rolleyes: But I think it could be even harder to enforce over there than it has been here! But I have visited England several times over the last few years and it always pissed me off going into a pub and 1 or 2 people smoking and leaving me stinking the next morning.

seamus

I've been in London a lot over the last two years, and every time I'm in a pub, it still gets me that you can be in there for not more than five minutes, see nobody actually smoking in your vicinity and still come out smelling like an ashtray.

I'd say there will be a bit of resistance in England against this. Probably some group who'll set themselves up as a political party, dress up in funny gear, try to organise marches in London, and chain themselves to the houses of parliament.

You just don't get the same level of bored lunatics here in Ireland.

The Sweeper

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote:

Its about time, England... They're always last with everything :rolleyes: But I think it could be even harder to enforce over there than it has been here! But I have visited England several times over the last few years and it always pissed me off going into a pub and 1 or 2 people smoking and leaving me stinking the next morning.

One or two people smoking? Try 'practically the whole pub'. That's why it'll be such a problem. Himself was on a work night out recently, and he was the only person in the 30-strong team who wasn't smoking. Even those who don't smoke during the day were having a 'social cigarette'.

I do wonder if there are a lot of at-home socialisers in England though, who'll be more likely to go down the pub if smoking is banned.

[sweeping generalisation]
Overall, I think the English drinking crowd has a tendancy to be more unpleasant than the Irish drinking crowd. They're just not as good natured. Subsequently I wouldn't like to be trying to enforce a smoking ban on some burberry chav who gets up on a pub table, lights up and stands there smoking with his cock out because he thinks he's making a statement for his human rights.
[/sweeping generalisation]

r3nu4l

I can't wait for this, I was out last night and the stink of smoke from my jacket and clothes this morning was unbelievable! Ugh!

I normally go to a non-smoking pub in Cambridge when I'm going out for a bite to eat and a drink but last night we went to the most convenient location...never again...until the ban comes in

bongo85

I'm a smoker and I'm all for the ban too. Infact, when I was in Berlin last year, I still stood outside while having a smoke out of habit. Nobody understood why!!

jaggeh

Ruu wrote:

The WHO has already called for a worldwide ban earlier this year.

another group of celebs getting uppity in our face about something topical

but seriously, huzzah! smokers are jokers.

Zillah

http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2006/12/01/310366/england-smoking-ban-set-for-1-july-start.htm

Cabaal

More great news

raido9

I was just on the bbc websita and reading comments from the English smokers. Some of the posts there are ridiculous. Makes me laugh and also brings me back to 2004 when I was probably saying the same things then.

Smoking ban has definitely made an improvement to pubs. None of the suggestions of how it'll ruin pubs, affect government revenue from less smoking and drinking resulting in higher taxes and other mad theories have come true.

From talking to people I'd imagine that there's a very small percentage of people who are still against the ban.

Fratton Fred

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

[sweeping generalisation]
Overall, I think the English drinking crowd has a tendancy to be more unpleasant than the Irish drinking crowd. They're just not as good natured. Subsequently I wouldn't like to be trying to enforce a smoking ban on some burberry chav who gets up on a pub table, lights up and stands there smoking with his cock out because he thinks he's making a statement for his human rights.
[/sweeping generalisation]

Nice sweeping generalisation.

I wouldn't like to be trying to enforce a smoking ban on some North Dublin chav who gets up on a pub table, lights up and stands there smoking with his cock out because he thinks he's making a statement for his human rights.

Sure there will be resistance, but I remember getting buses and trains here three years ago and people smoking on them because they thought it was clever. I never in a million years thought the smoking ban would work here but it has.

I'm a smoker by the way and I welcome this move.

admiralofthefleet

Fratton Fred wrote:

Nice sweeping generalisation.

I wouldn't like to be trying to enforce a smoking ban on some North Dublin chav who gets up on a pub table, lights up and stands there smoking with his cock out because he thinks he's making a statement for his human rights.

Sure there will be resistance, but I remember getting buses and trains here three years ago and people smoking on them because they thought it was clever. I never in a million years thought the smoking ban would work here but it has.

I'm a smoker by the way and I welcome this move.

the same would apply to some dun laoghaire/glasthule/monkstown farm skanger

Fratton Fred

admiralgar wrote:

the same would apply to some dun laoghaire/glasthule/monkstown farm skanger

it's mandatory down here

Jimoslimos

Minesajackdaniels wrote:

[sweeping generalisation]
Overall, I think the English drinking crowd has a tendancy to be more unpleasant than the Irish drinking crowd. They're just not as good natured. Subsequently I wouldn't like to be trying to enforce a smoking ban on some burberry chav who gets up on a pub table, lights up and stands there smoking with his cock out because he thinks he's making a statement for his human rights.
[/sweeping generalisation]

Yeah so so true in some places, particularly if they get some sort of notion that this is being *forced* upon them by the supposed cause of every ill in England today, the EU.

Fratton Fred

Jimoslimos wrote:

Yeah so so true in some places, particularly if they get some sort of notion that this is being *forced* upon them by the supposed cause of every ill in England today, the EU.

have you ever been to England?

Jimoslimos

Fratton Fred wrote:

have you ever been to England?

I'm f***in living here;) and as previous posters have pointed out there will be some difficulty in gettin some pubs (not all) in certain areas to comply with any ban. IMHO this will be worse than in Ireland (and yes I've lived there too:rolleyes: ).

Black Swan

The ban exists in California... No problemo.

Dave!

Excellent.

Dooom

I thought this had happened ages ago...I'm definately psychic.

faceman

Happy days!