Total Smoking ban in UK

[barmy_carmy]

Approx £5.00 per pack. Bloomin expensive

[QuietMonkey]

This is a fun topic aint it

I don't think anyone can or is trying to say that smoking is not an unhealthy, disgusting activity

Actually, i'd be one to say that. There are many activities that we involve ourselves in that have often been labelled as "unhealthy" or "digusting" by the "moral majority" (shortform: those eggheads), yet have definite healthy aspects to them.

As motorcyclists more of us should appreciate the healthy aspects of activities we are often told are unhealthy etc... certainly motorcycling contains definable risks and many definable benefits. It's pretty easy to just trust your instincts on the answers for that one (zoom-zoom-fun!)without engaging the other half of the brain for more "answers".

As oldnslo mentioned the hypcrisy in the industry/government/etc. is pretty laughable.

In the case of smoking, there is the social aspect, as I often find hanging around with the smoking crowd you will find easier and more relaxing conversation, and this is also in keeping with the aspect of smoking tobacco also seems to have a stress reducing aspect connected to it in most cultures.

Too much of anything is a bad thing, be that cheese-cake, work, sleep, motorcycling, television, reading, or (here comes blasphemy), sex. A little of everything, and sometimes a little more or a little less will improve other aspects of life. Gotta TUNE your lifestyle. gotta keep everything in balance. Being merely more aware of the AMOUNT of our doing these activities allows us to moderate our lifestyles and then much of the unhealthy aspects disappear. Too much consumption as a whole simply leads to too much pollution, etc. It seems to be our current "civilized" inclination to have too much...

The issue in the UK is starting to feel like it is in Canada, and I am surprised how peoples attitude towards smoking have changed so dramatically in such a short time. It never was the big a thing to me whether people smoked or not... as always the reasons people smoke (or engage in other activities) is a more important factor in the health related aspects than the activity itself. Too much indulgence in the fire stick is just like too much throttle without consideration, experience and respect for the whole activity.

the more they want to outlaw smoking, the more inclined i will be to engage in it, to hold up the values of freedom, responsibility, self-discipline and the positive aspects therein. i should go buy a pack of cigarellos today: Colts or those real tasty pipe tabacoo ones ... can't remember the name as i don't smoke very often... but they are good fire sticks. reminds me of sitting around a campfire or BBQ, inhaling a little bit of mother nature. very relaxing.

my 23-cents for the day. oops! that was 2-cents, but maybe it is more like 23-cents... still won't buy you much.

~~ everything in moderation ~~ including moderation

[BuzZz]

Just curious, Barmy.

How much does a pack of smokes cost you over there?

In Ontario, it's around 6.50-7.00 CAD$.

That's 2.90-3.12GBP

Whaaaa....?????? Why do they cost $10/per here?

Wait, is that for 20 or 25?

(as I reach for my pack and spark one up....... dam, i'm a weak, weak man.... )

[BuzZz]

...... i should go buy a pack of cigarellos today: Colts or those real tasty pipe tabacoo ones ... can't remember the name as i don't smoke very often... but they are good fire sticks. reminds me of sitting around a campfire or BBQ, inhaling a little bit of mother nature. very relaxing.........
~~ everything in moderation ~~ including moderation

Rawhide cigars. The BEST!!!

Smoking will not go away, legal or not. Pot is illegal. You can buy it all over. The same will happen if they make tabacco illegal.

The strangest part? I now spend more on cigarettes than I do on weed... and I consume the same amount of each as I have for 25 years. Yes, the government has made it cheaper for me to smoke pot than to smoke cigs. Does that make sense?

public disclaimer.....Don't Smoke Pot!

[9000white]

the whole tobacco issue in the U.S. is to raise more tax dollars.when the tobacco companies were sued and made to pay the billions of dollars to the states that sued them all they did was raise the price to cover their losses and pass it on to the consumers.with as many issues facing our nation today such as outsourcing jobs--the iraq war--illegal immigration--prohibitively high medical costs--schooling that is a disgrace--child molesters turned loose every day to molest and kill again--it is time to let the ones that smoke do so and find solutions to the other problems.there will soon be something else for the country to worry about besides tobacco.with military recruitment at all time lows it wont be long before the draft will be back despite what that buffoon in the white house says.

[oldnslo]

I could sure go for a cigarette right now--It's been over 3 years since I quit and I still miss the damn things.

[Gummiente]

It's been over 3 years since I quit and I still miss the damn things.

It's been 9 years for me and I rarely ever get the urge for one anymore. It gets easier to stay a non-smoker as time goes on; when I was at the three year mark the urges were still there but nowhere near as bad as they were at the three month mark and definitely better than the three week mark. I won't even talk about the three day mark.

[sv-wolf]

I haven't smoked for about 25 years. It was hell to give up, but I've never been tempted back because I developed an allergy to tobacco smoke. I don't regret that, but it's a bit socially inhibiting because if I'm in a smoky environment for more than 15 mins or so I begin to wheeze badly and feel like I'm asphyxiating. At the moment, I tend only to go to pubs in the summer when I can stand outside in the garden or in the carpark.

I've also worked in a clinic that dealt with a lot of smoking-related diseases - they're not a pleasant way to die. People talk about choice, but I've seen too many people regretting the habit when it's too late. The government calculates these things on a cost - benefit basis. It puts a lot of money into educating people up to the level required by modern industry, and it doesn't like to see its investment dying early before it has generated an optimum amount of profit for its employers - and costing the National Health Service a fortune in treatment. There are always ways to raise extra tax revenue.

[Nibblet99]

I don't know, it's a difficult subject really. I suppose I'd have to side with the no smoking argument, because, as an ex-smoker, I know how difficult it is to quit, whilst everyone around you is smoking, and you need to get out of the house, and distract yourself from it.

Also employees have the right to work in a clean atmosphere, without inhaling your fumes, and going home with their clothes smelling like an ashtray. (Lets face it, as nice as the feeling of smoking is, it's horrible stuff to smell)

On the same token, I would like to see dedicated smoking rooms (with the appropriate ventilation, to stop the smoke escaping and spreading)

[canuckerjay]

Just curious, Barmy.

How much does a pack of smokes cost you over there?

In Ontario, it's around 6.50-7.00 CAD$.

That's 2.90-3.12GBP

Whaaaa....?????? Why do they cost $10/per here?

Wait, is that for 20 or 25?

(as I reach for my pack and spark one up....... dam, i'm a weak, weak man.... )

In 1997 or so, Ontario elected its first NDP majority government, headed by Premier Bob Rae. His administration tried to tax smokes out of existence. By 1992, a pack of 25s cost around 7.50CAD.

Problem was that I and tons of others began buying smuggled smokes from across the US border. The city of Windsor (border town right across the river from Detroit) was a gun town by night and the smuggling got so bad that the one day the gov't announced it was repealing the taxes on smokes so overnight it dropped to about 3.25 for a pack of 25s.

It stayed that way for a while, until the last 5 years or so, when the Conservative (right wing) governtment and now the Liberal (moderate left wing) government have upped taxes again on them. However interestingly enough, there is no massive smuggling problem this time, and Windsor is a peaceful place. It seems that as society has developed more of a health kick over the past 15 years or so, less are inclined to smoke; as even McDonalds has a healthy menu and health club memberships are at an all time high. Though Toronto is only now banning smoking, its surrounding townships already have; so others are already used to not seeing smoking as prevalant or accepted now.