England smoking ban

Scott Birdby Scott Bird | February 15, 2006
Filed in Diet and Nutrition , News | 4 comments

No smoking at the barNo more smoking in England - at least in enclosed public places - from summer 2007. That’s what MPs voted for yesterday (winning by a large majority), and it seems like an ‘it’s about time’ move. A good one, and much needed.

Naturally, the media here has uncovered several smokers who are resistant to the ban. One smoker speaking to the BBC complained :

“What? No way, they can’t do that,” said one woman in a smoky west London pub shortly after MPs voted for a blanket ban.

Her two friends, both with cigarettes in hand and fag ends in an ashtray, were also aghast.

“It’s people’s choice to smoke. What about people who just want to relax with a smoke and a drink?” said 20-year-old Freya Eden.

A smoker for five years, she said the ban would not encourage people to stop smoking.

For starters, a 20-year-old who has been smoking for 5 years (the legal minimum age here is 16, by the way) has not witnessed the change over the past few decades or so. In the 1970s it would seem normal to see people smoking on television, and in the workplace. Both are now illegal (although some US Congressmen continue to smoke in their offices) and rarely considered. In another decade it would seem decidely odd to want to smoke in a pub.

Another couple spoken to about the ban (again by the BBC) was a man ‘having a swift pint with his pregnant partner’. It would seem their views on a smoking ban - for health reasons - are somewhat misguided.


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Comments

1

Smoking has been banned in my province for at least a year now (maybe two?) and it’s the best thing that’s happened and I smoked when it happened too so I wasn’t exactly for it. I love being able to goto a bar or a pub and not choke on smoke. I recently travelled out of province where smoking is still okay and it was a real slap in the face to walk into a bar and after an hour feel I really had to leave because of the smoke.

Posted by: Stinn | February 16, 2006 3:55 AM

2

It’s bad for the pub - apart from anything else - when people leave because of the smoke. Who knows how many drinks they might have had, or how much food they would’ve eaten?

It’s also hard for the non-smoking bar staff, who are trapped in a smoke-filled room for hours. Banning smoking is definitely a good move. People will stop complaining in a couple of years.

Posted by: Scott | February 16, 2006 8:30 AM

3

Beyond the health consequences, if you are a non-smoker, how great is it to come back from a pub and your clothes and hair smell of stale smoke ?

Posted by: AZ Iron Mine | February 17, 2006 4:03 PM

4

It’s always worse the next morning, when you’re no longer used to the surrounding smoke smell. Can’t stand it.

Posted by: Scott | February 17, 2006 4:24 PM

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