celticwarrior said:
Sorry Marhak i usually find your posts informative and interesting but i fail to see what all this rural destruction has to do with smoking. If people in your village stop going to the pub simply because they cant smoke then they are as complicit in the ruin of the pub as the non smokers who don't go in the first place. I think the problem we have in this country is simple (with regard to smoking) people do not like being told what to do (even if in the end its for there own good!)If they were to unban the ban so too speak how many of them therefore would be willing too fore go treatment from the nhs for the smoking related deceases that they have caused themselves by doing something that is harmful to there health therefore saving the British tax payer smoker and non smoker alike millions and millions of pounds.
Its banned end of story get over it and move on or better still quit
The problem is not the ban as such, just that the ban is a typical half hearted attempt by the government to be seen to be trying to do something about a health problem that faces us. If the government really wanted to stop people smoking, they would ban it completely, make tobacco a class "A" drug, and ban its import. All the ban has done is to create a situation where smokers are being treated like lepers (while being heavily taxed for their disease). It has led to a situation where some people are banned from smoking in their own homes, their own cars and vans, while it has had no noticeable effect on any increase in profitability of those businesses that have been effected. The non-smokers do not seem to be flooding those pubs and restaurants that are now smoke free, there has been no increase in the use of taxi's. By legislating against the setting up of "smoking rooms" etc all the government has done is to reduce the patronage, and profits of many businesses, whether this will revers itself or not remains to be seen.
A few years ago now, I used to commute to Plymouth university, by train. I used to catch the train from Camborne every morning , yes, even Wednesdays, and the one thing that you could bet on is that the smoking carriage was always almost full, whereas the rest of the train was always almost empty. The thing I found interesting about this is that sometimes a non-smoker got on the smoking carriage, and started to complain about the smoke, despite having an almost empty train to have sat in, and some were not happy about having this pointed out to them.
I agree that it is a basic right of the non-smoker to not be forced to breath in the smoke from inconsiderate smokers, but it is also a basic right for the smoker to smoke if that is his/her wish. By not having "smoking" and "non-smoking" establishments, the smokers rights are being ignored.
As for saving the NHS money by smokers foregoing treatment for their illnesses, because they are self-inflicted, would it not then be fare to suggest that those who require treatment for injury caused by their dangerous driving to fore-go treatment as their injuries were self-inflicted, also Alcoholics, Drug addicts, even Sportsmen. In fact, it could be argued that pregnancy is at least 50% self-inflicted, perhaps we should do away with maternity wards as well, Think of the money the NHS would save then.
I have to say, that being a "serial quitter" (I'll get there one day) the ban has helped me not a jot. I now have to walk past groups of people standing outside buildings that they used to be allowed to smoke in, and be tortured by the wonderful aroma of burning tobacco..................This leads me to believe that the ban is not about helping people to stop, or even to protect those who don't smoke from its dangers, no, it is a scheme dreamed up by the government to encourage people to smoke, so that they can keep taxing them.
Everyone, Cornish or otherwise, has their own particular part to play. No part is too great or too small; no one is too old or too young to do something.
