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Smoking Laws


Chipmonker

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Over the past few years there have been many laws passed disallowing smoking in all public places (bars, bowling alleys, restaurants, malls, etc). However important questions have been raised about the logistics of enforcing the laws and if those laws can be justified. So, what do you TDN users think? Should smoking be banned in all public places?

 

Discuss:

How does it effect your every-day life?

How should those laws be enforced?

Is it just to those who do smoke?

 

News Articles-

Smoking Rights Reconsidered

Hospitals weigh bans on smoking

Hong Kong Laws

Google's News Search on Smoking Laws

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Quiting smoking is VERY hard so if we ban them, it would only get worse. A lot of people who smoke do know that it is bad for you, but still choose to smoke. I think they should have special sections on each city (let's say a corner for the people who want to smoke RESPONSIBLY). Second-hand smoking also affects you so if we have just 1 section where they can all go there and smoke, it would be more of a controlled matter. I would feel better knowing where NOT to go in order to avoid getting sick.

 

Also, if they want to ban smoking, then ban the commercials first!! Seriously, it's as if they were trying to ban chocolate, yet they still show those yummy commercial of people enjoying a nice bar of chocolate caramel.

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Up here, you cant smoke in any building (except your house) or at any outdoor events, although at Canadas Wonderland they have specially designated areas where smoking is allowed (ie benches and stuff) I think thats a great idea and so are the laws, they are doing it exactly the way that they should (the government i mean)

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In July this year, England will ban smoking in all enclosed public places (pubs, etc); Scotland passed this law last year; and it's due to be introduced in Wales on April 2nd and Northern Ireland on April 30th.

 

I'm all for it. If you want to smoke, there's no reason why you can;'t do it somewhere else - behind the pub, or whatever - not in front of everyone else. It's proven to damage health, so it's not fair to inflict it on people who don't want it. You can't knowingly have sex with someone and pass on your STD under law; the same applies here. It's just not fair. It's your choice t do it, so don't get it involved with everyone else.

 

My stepdad smokes a bit, but he's good with it - always in the conservatory with the doors open, and never ever near kids or pregnant Mum. In my view, he can smoke, that's fine - and he's doing it responsibly.

 

Laws should be enforced with on-the-spot checks on public places covered by law; if someone's smoking, the smoker should be fined, and the pub investigated; it's aiding law breaking.

 

RE: List of smoking bans around the world]

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In China, and probably a few other Asian countries, kids regarless of their age are able to buy fags, and in some European bloc nation, I think it's a ritual or coming-of-age thing for young kids to have a puff...

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thats true, well everywhere, all the teens wanna gets pushed by peer pressure and then try it.

 

but hopefully it will stop for kids because soon into this year the age yyou can smoke is no longer 16 its gonna be 18.

 

But in some pubs they do have a area just for smokers, or in restuarants so people don't have to sit with them, about 25% of my friend smoke and it can get really annoying because even though i don't my clothes sell of fags

 

But penguin, i don't think 1 packet per week would work, some people buy 20 a day, so outraging

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A friend of mine tried it when her Aunt offered it to her at age 8. Sure, it's a trial thing and part of imitating grownups like dressing-up and playing 'family', but it just pushes the boundaries..

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Many smokers think everyone is against them, and I think that is mainly due to their addiction. It really affects the community as a whole, because second-hand smoke is just as bad, or worse, as first-hand smoke. (this is mainly due because the smoke is not filtered in the cigarette/cigar) Smoking only ends up hurting you in the end.

 

So I say, go ahead, kill yourself and those around you.

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I totally agree. Smoking is yukky and unhealthy and I also agree with the card thingy. Smoking also stinks. A lot. Does anybody ever do the hold-your-breath-and-run-past thing? But I do feel for the people who got sucked in dring peer pressure and yaddy-yah. Peer Pressure sucks.

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What's really sad about smoking is around where I live, kids have been starting to smoke Mary Jane and Pot starting at the age of eleven! Plus, it killed the person I most wanted to meet in my family. My grandpa on my mother's side of the family. The way everyone who knew him described him, it made him sound like the sweetest person ever. People who knew him also said he would have loved me. He didn't deserve to die. He died when smoking wasn't known to be bad for you. He was also was in the army when he was younger than 19. He fought in WW deux. God rest his soul.

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Where I live, the ban just started 3 days ago. I'm totally for it, since I hate smelling smoke when I walk on the street, or eat in a restaurant. It makes me want to barf.

 

I also know that students start smoking due to peer pressure (I even witnessed a high schooler smoking... I felt sorry for them.), so I think limiting the amount of cigarettes people sell is a good way to go.

 

Although there are laws that teenagers under 18 can't buy cigarettes, I know they have somehow gotten past that law and bought some. I think the police should actually go around and look for people like that.

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Exactly. I hate having to breathe in all the smoke when I'm lining up for a bus, or in line buying food; I hate second-hand smoke. It always makes me cough. Anyways, there are more people who are non-smokers than smokers.

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'Cha. Eleven? That's a really young age. You have to be over 16 to smoke in Melbourne, I think. Didn't they ever have drug education and all that stuff?

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Well, all the restaurants I know disallow smoking inside (not outside). Same with hotels and stuff, but it's always annoying if you want to come in, and the smell of smoke is lingering outside.

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I started smoking during my late high school years, and quit smoking last year (or was it the year before last?). I'd tried a few times to quit before, but it was never an entirely decisive "that's IT, no more" except for this time. I always understood peoples dislike of it, and always tried to be very considerate of where I smoked etc but now I have even turned into one of those people who hates smelling smoke when I eat! hehehe crazy times.

 

Well to answer the questions:

 

Should smoking be banned in all public places? - Yes

How does it effect your every-day life? - It doesn't anymore, but even when I WAS a smoker, I still thought it should be banned. It just doesn't make sense that a destructive drug full of poison is legal, while things that are much less harmful are illegal just because they aren't lucrative financially. I really don't mind or care if I smell smoke in passing, on the street or whatever, it's just like if you breathe in car fumes. Just the same.

How should those laws be enforced? - This is a good question. I think basically it should be illegal to manufacture and sell tobacco products. Just like with marijuana. Smoking it should probably not be a criminal offence - just like with marijuana. It's not the peoples fault that they smoke - it is the manufacturers. If it wasn't available people would be less likely to take it up. It might initially cause it to go underground like buying drugs, but I'd say within a generation or so nobody would start getting addicted to it because there is no instant high like with other illegal drugs. Smoking is targeted to the young, and the communities that are poor, just like junk food is. So younger and poorer people are getting more and more unhealthy while the rich manufacturers wouldn't touch their own products.

Is it just to those who do smoke? - I think you'd be surprised. Many smokers are just as anti-smoking as non-smokers. Almost every single smoker I've ever met has regretted starting and wishes they never did.

at Canadas Wonderland they have specially designated areas where smoking is allowed

Offtopic...but wow you have a Canadas Wonderland?! We used to have an Australias Wonderland!! It shut down cos it didn't make enough money hehe

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Yea you see, some people just want to try once in their life. Some people can take it and stop smoking from there, but some start with a 2nd one and become addicted. Also peer pressure is your enemy! That's why you have to make very good friends. Friends, who even if they smoke, would not bring you down with them.

 

When my mom was in University, she told my grandpa she wanted to try a cigarette because she just wanted to know what it feels like. My grandpa told her "okay" with the condition that she would try it with him. So my grandpa bought 2 expensive cigarettes (because if you want to smoke, it is better if you use really luxurious cigarettes) and well him and my mom smoked, and my mom went sick for a whole day and since then she has never touched a cigarette because she was too traumatized. My grandpa smoked for a few years, but only once in a while and he smoked those fancy cigarettes. He quit afterwards and only smoked when he was alone.So my mom told if I ever wanted to try once, she would rather have me try it here at home safely. But yea, I'm NEVER going to try a cigarette. Just smelling it makes me sick.

 

And yes, some smokers are actually againt smoking. Quitting isn't easy. It's like quitting chocolate!

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