What's the point in smoking?

[Nemo]

because life isn't fair, tell me to move away from you while i'm perfectly entitled to stand there and smoke a cigarette and i'd tell you to **** right off.

Could say that about smoking in pubs aswell then, life just isn't fair.

And im not saying i would, i couldnt care about people smoking around as me as long as they aren't blowing it in my face. Im merely questioning his view as to why smokers think they should have priority

[Moh]

I social smoke when I'm drinking, there's a lot of gossip out in the smoking shelters

I occasionally smoke after a stressful day at college. After all, nicotine is a stimulant.

[-:Undertaker:-]

it's no-one's business. never said it was but i'm GLAD it's banned inside. from your own ~expertise~ explain why there's no threat from passive smoking? there's plenty apparant evidence that is but i want to see some that shows it's not harmful? until then more people should respect to other's because of the possible threat :S & i do move away from smokers but it doesn't make me find it any less disgusting. i'm not gonna go campaigning and **** but aslong as it says banned from pubs/restaurants i'm happy...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1556...-notebook.html

Now on the issue of the ban, would you accept that it should be upto the pub owner whether or not there is a ban?

You mean, like they do with health regulations and customer safety?

And why should non-smokers move from smokers, surely a smoker should move awway

Well because we live in a free country, you don't move other people because you don't approve of something they are doing - you move away if it is bothering you so much. The same goes for political opinions, you don't lock people up for them if you don't approve; you can either debate them or simply walk away from the debate.

What does make me laugh about the paranoia about smoking is the fact that the majority of people moaning about the concept of abolishing the smoking ban did or would still go to a pub/club if the ban was removed - thus proving that they don't actually care all that much about the issue. If you don't like smoking then you go to a non-smoking pub, if there isn't a non-smoking pub near you then tough - there is no 'right' for you to have a non-smoking pub around the corner.

I think some people here are very detatched from the idea of liberty/freedom of choice.

[cocaine]

Could say that about smoking in pubs aswell then, life just isn't fair.

that has no relevance. if i was in a pub and wanted a cigarette i'd walk a few feet out the door. so why cant the same can be said for non smokers whining about smokers smoking in public. they could walk a few feet away, and hey presto, the smells gone!

[Nemo]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1556...-notebook.html

Now on the issue of the ban, would you accept that it should be upto the pub owner whether or not there is a ban?



Well because we live in a free country, you don't move other people because you don't approve of something they are doing - you move away if it is bothering you so much. The same goes for political opinions, you don't lock people up for them if you don't approve; you can either debate them or simply walk away from the debate.

What does make me laugh about the paranoia about smoking is the fact that the majority of people moaning about the concept of abolishing the smoking ban did or would still go to a pub/club if the ban was removed - thus proving that they don't actually care all that much about the issue. If you don't like smoking then you go to a non-smoking pub, if there isn't a non-smoking pub near you then tough - there is no 'right' for you to have a non-smoking pub around the corner.

I think some people here are very detatched from the idea of liberty/freedom of choice.

Why should there be a 'right' to have a smoking pub. If the government can help to increase public health (because some people are too ******ed to do it on their own) then go for it. If you cant be bothered to walk a few feet (instead of a few miles for non-smokers if smoking was allowed) to have a smoke, then tough.

And there's a limit to liberty/freedom of choice, otherwise i might aswell be a homocidal maniac

that has no relevance. if i was in a pub and wanted a cigarette i'd walk a few feet out the door. so why cant the same can be said for non smokers whining about smokers smoking in public. they could walk a few feet away, and hey presto, the smells gone!

It was more of a reference to undertaker's post. and well honestly it depends where in public, i think its very situational. Lets just say whoevers there first gets to stay?

[-:Undertaker:-]

Why should there be a 'right' to have a smoking pub. If the government can help to increase public health (because some people are too ******ed to do it on their own) then go for it. If you cant be bothered to walk a few feet (instead of a few miles for non-smokers if smoking was allowed) to have a smoke, then tough.

I didn't say there was a right to have a smoking pub (although I do consider it a fundemental part of liberty that somebody who owns the premises can decide on a petty issue such as allowing smoking in the premises) I merely said it should be upto the landlord who owns the premises, not the government or health groups who do not own the premises. If no pubs chose to go back to allowing smoking then thats fine by me, it is their choice but what is wrong with the ban is that it is not the choice of the consumer or the landlord.

Allow the landlord to decide, who will decide based on the choice of the consumer; laissez-faire.

And there's a limit to liberty/freedom of choice, otherwise i might aswell be a homocidal maniac

Indeed there is a limit to liberty/freedom of choice, and government should keep to it for once until one day you'll find most of our freedoms have gone (the erosion of habeas corpus, the bill of rights etc).

[Nemo]

I didn't say there was a right to have a smoking pub (although I do consider it a fundemental liberty that somebody who owns the premises can decide on a petty issue such as allowing smoking in the premises) I merely said it should be upto the landlord who owns the premises, not the government or health groups who do not own the premises. If no pubs chose to go back to allowing smoking then thats fine by me, it is their choice but what is wrong with the ban is that it is not the choice of the consumer or the landlord.

Allow the landlord to decide, who will decide based on the choice of the consumer; laissez-faire.



Indeed there is a limit to liberty/freedom of choice, and government should keep to it for once until one day you'll find most of our freedoms have gone (the erosion of habeas corpus, the bill of rights etc).

neghneghnegh, agree to disagree

[Arch]

Im just curious about one thing, Buttons i swear i've seen you post about you smoking
awhile back and you being a regular smoker. I might be wrong but i swear i did

[Conservative,]

I hate it it's disgusting. I've held cigarettes and been offered them but never had them.

I don't see the point. People say it's to look cool...but you know what you're doing? As long as you're averagely intelligent which I'm sure 90% of people are, you know what it does so "looking cool" shouldn't come into it? It's just plain ignorance and stupidity.

[RedStratocas]

fair question.

however as a former smoker myself i can say its really quite hard to explain the enjoyment of it unless you do it and become familiar with it. not suggesting it obviously lol, but i used to think the same way when i was a younger teenager. i didnt understand the point of smoking, why even start? but once i got to college, where at least a good 1/3rd of the student population smokes (and no, i dont go to a dumb school, i actually attended one of the top universities in the u.s. that is highly regarded for math and biology) it became a social thing for me. i've met a lot of people through cigarettes, and so many of my friends have been smokers. basically the thought process was for me: friends say "hey we're going out for a cigarette," i dont want to be in a room by myself while my friends are outside, so i go with them, and well, might as well do something (i.e. smoke a cigarette) while i'm standing outside with them. i'm not succumbing to "peer pressure," its far more casual than that. no one pressured me into anything. i never intended to become a regular smoker (i did for a while), it wasnt a conscious decision. only people who dont smoke think people start smoking to "look cool." its not like people consciously think "oh i wanna look cool cigarettes can do that" -- its more along the lines of "all these people im standing outside with are smoking a cigarette, might as well." it is a very social thing. i can safely say there are many people i would have never met if not for cigarettes. so i dont regret a thing. i still have an occasional stog, usually when drunk, but other than that im off of them.

oh and girls who smoke are pretty sexy, jussayin.