From July 1st this year smoking in enclosed public places will be banned in England and opinion is divided upon the merits of the decision between those who do and they who don't.
I do, about 20 times a day, but i support the ban much to the chagrin of those who tried to drag me in on their side of the argument.
Passive smoking is a killer so i cannot support the case that 'if i want to smoke and kill myself it is up to me' because it is patently untrue, it affects anyone else who breathes in our second hand smoke.
As i am dispelling smokes myths, i would also like to wipe the smug grin off the face of the anti-smoking lobby who cite draining costs on the NHS of treating smoking related illnesses because according to the Centre for Health Economics, the cost to the NHS is between £1.4bn and £1.7bn.
Granted that is expensive but tax from cigarettes raises £9bn annually for the Government so that argument is a non-starter because the NHS bill is safely covered 6 times over by smokers.
I have the first of July circled in my mind as my next attempt to give up and i am presently looking at the various methods available to help with hypnotism having the best success rate among the straw poll i have conducted among ex-smokers.
Expensive and i have serious reservations about anyone poking about with my mind so as a last resort possibly, but until it comes to that i am stocking up on nicotine gum, patches and lozenges.
Be warned, the first few weeks of July may see a few bad tempered swearwords in my postings
11 comments:
Good luck, Lucy! You can do it. :)
Granted that is expensive but tax from cigarettes raises £9bn annually for the Government
Don't worry... even if the number of smokers decreases, the deficit in revenue can always be made up with increased alcohol and fuel tax. Although there has been a government-backed campaign against drink-driving, you'll notice that there isn't so much campaigning against drinking, and driving, separately. If they did, the coffers would run dry. Then who would pay for all those shiny, new, nuclear submarines - er, i mean, bed pans?
Anyway, all the best for quitting, Lucy. Your lungs will thank you (they may even breathe a sigh of relief! *groan*). :)
Good job Lucy, I'm sure you can quit. BTW, as too the cost to the NHS, rarely is the cost benefit of smokers dying early factored in to the equation. Much less Alzheimers, broken hips, dementia, etc. Sorry to be morbid, but I also can't stand the anti smoking lobby when it comes to this and the way they cherry pick statistics.. My town went Smoke free the first of the year, and Chicago is set for next year. I don't mind it at all, but I'm only a social/drinking smoker. Good luck quitting.
I'm a bit 'schizo' about this law because I have ideological problems with the wholesale 'one size fits all' nature of it... but, seeing that I gave up in November last year, I know that my own cravings for nasty old Nick O'Teen will be easier to deal with when my mates are no longer puffing away down the pub.
Best of luck kickin' it, Lucy. I know you can do it... (well, I strongly suspect you can anyway!).
I am so supporting you on this Lucy. I can't stand cigarrette smoke, and I know you can beat that nasty habit.
Cough, splutter, wheeze, hawk, spit, gasp, choke, smoker's breath, etc, these ugly words will soon evaporate from Lucy's world, go up in smoke so to speak!
Coffin nails - aptly described. They're for losers.
I quit back in 99, and don't miss it. I do think that the owners of restaurants and bars should be able to make the decision themselves about smoking in their establishments. They take the risks, create the jobs, and pay the taxes, and should be able to choose their atmosphere (and, their clientele)by themselves.
You've been tagged.
Hey Lucy... I have just stubbed out my ciggie to write a comment.
I am mid way between quitting and social smoking and know that I am dumb every time I buy ciggies, so I suppose the ban might help me. Even though I feel slightly annoyed by the hypocrasy of a government that lines its coffers by smokers but tells us not to smoke.
I tried hypnotism, it worked for a bit until I realise the woman was a nutter. But there are some good ones out there.
Good luck to us! x
I too feel that blanket bans are inappropriate. The restaurant / pub owners ought to decide for themselves ... except ... that never really works. You don't get so you can't stand cig smoke (and will make marketing decisions thereupon) until you've been without it for awhile. So anyway at a restaurant in Inverness once we asked for the non smoking section and it was a single table back in the corner. Rather ineffective placement, so we just sat by an open window instead. I don't mind second-hand smoke anyway. Who are these people who never run out of clever ways to save the world?
"So anyway at a restaurant in Inverness"
Are you SURE you're not in Illinois?? :-)
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