Kicking out time: Regulars at the Smokers Arms in Grimsby get used to the ban
Posted on 07/01/2007 7:45:07 PM PDT by Stoat
Smokers were getting used to huddling outside pubs - as plans were being made to further clamp down on their habit.
The smoking ban which came into force yesterday could be extended to include playgrounds and parks, it has emerged.
Government medical advisers are also demanding higher taxes on tobacco and bolder health warnings to pile the pressure on smokers to give up.
England yesterday followed Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland in imposing a ban on lighting up in enclosed public places, including pubs, restaurants, offices, factories, and taxis.
Smoking rooms in offices are forbidden and even smoking at home is outlawed if a public official is visiting.
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Kicking out time: Regulars at the Smokers Arms in Grimsby get used to the ban
The landlords of several pubs invited locals to openly defy the ban yesterday despite the threat of a court appearance and a £2,500 fine.
Council 'smoking police' can also issue £30 on-the-spot fines to smokers, though there were no reports of any having been handed out last night.
Landlord Nick Hogan hosted a protest by 100 smokers at his pub, The Swan in Bolton.
"I am not pro- smoking, I am pro-choice," he said.
"We are not sticking two fingers up at the Government, we are making a peaceful protest at a piece of legislation that is discriminatory.
"People in this country have been brought up to be tolerant. All we are asking for is a compromise and the freedom to choose."
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Tony Blows, landlord of the Dog Inn in Ewyas Harold, near Hereford, joined a smoke-in with regulars.
"I am doing it for the simple reason that this is my home," he said.
"Pubs have been smoking for goodness knows how long. This law has been brought in on the back of a pack of lies. Passive smoking is a perfect lie. There is no proof whatsoever that secondhand smoking kills."
A number of town halls are now considering efforts to extend the smoking ban to include open-air council land such as public playgrounds and parks.
It follows moves by several councils in the North East, including Middlesbrough, Cleveland, and Derwentside in County Durham, to curb smoking in the open air, even though this cannot be enforced by law.
Sir Liam Donaldson, the chief medical officer, called for annual above-inflation hikes in tax on cigarettes.
He said increases of 5 per cent over inflation each year were 'a very good way of reducing smoking prevalence'. He also called for new picture warnings on cigarette packets illustrating diseases linked to smoking.
The minimum legal age for buying tobacco is already set to go Health Secretary Alan Johnson said eight out of ten people supported the smoking ban.
'I am thrilled that my first major announcement as Health Secretary enacts the single most important public health legislation for a generation,' he said.
'The scientific and medical evidence is clear - second-hand smoke kills. There is no safe level of exposure. This legislation means that thousands of lives will be saved and the health of everybody will be protected. 'Support for a smoke-free England is strong, with almost 80 per cent of the public backing the legislation.
'The vast majority of people who do smoke say they want to give up. Over time, this legislation will result in some 600,000 fewer smokers.'
Mr Johnson's figures have been challenged by the respected National Centre for Social Research, publisher of the annual British Social Attitudes report, which found that fewer than half the population support the extension of the smoking ban into pubs. The volume of all drinks sold by licensed premises in Scotland are down 5 per cent year-on-year following the ban there, with beer taking the biggest hit of around 36million pints.
• Ministers were last night accused of squandering more than £6million on promoting the smoking ban.
Figures showed the Government spent £5.8million on advertising, while £640,000 was lavished on a new 'No Smoking' sign - even though it is virtually identical to the old one.
Both signs depict a burning cigarette enclosed by a red circle and crossed by a red bar.
The only difference is that on the international 'No Smoking' sign the cigarette points downwards, while on the Government-commissioned design it is horizontal.
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Their world is going to hell in a (Islamic) hand basket, and they are worried about smoking?
An outdoor public space ban at least makes sense. It’s PUBLIC space.
Bans on smoking in/on private property make no sense whatsoever in a free society.
They’ve been getting it backwards for some time now.
Well, unless you’ve just driven your incendiary-laden Jeep Cherokee into the facade of an airport terminal and set yourself on fire in the resulting explosion. Then you can smoke just as much as you wish. Even more, maybe.
Well, how else are they gonna fight terrorism? /s
“Their world is going to hell in a (Islamic) hand basket, and they are worried about smoking?”
REPEAT THIS OFTEN AND LOUD!! Here too, we need to get a grip! This is like the guy next door being crazy, and holding the neighborhood hostage, and the cops worrying about the guy 3 streets over having a cigarette!
I find it quite telling that they're using expensive, premium cars for their bombings. They are saying "we have unlimited funds and an unlimited number of dedicated footsoldiers to wage our war".
Chilling.
Wouldn’t deeply inhaling the poisonous fumes from vehicle exhausts be the more easily proven threat to public health?
Well, how else are they gonna fight terrorism? /s
LMAO!
Mr Blows added that he would refuse to pay any fine, which can be up to £2,500 for publicans or other businesses that allow smoking on their premises. "I want my day in court. And I am prepared to go to prison, if needs be. At least I can smoke there."
Oh lawd, they haven't banned smoking in prisons yet? I suppose they are expecting another "Attica" if they were to try it.
How hysterical....something that's Illegal to do as a free person, but is completely legal to do as a 'lag'.
"banging furry stoat head on desk"
No arguments here.
Anti-tobacco zealotry is a dangerous disease.
but.....it gives their empty lives meaning by making them appear 'caring' and superior to those lowbrows with the icky habit.....they can parade about with a snooty air, sanctioned by the Government, no less!
Without the religion of antismoking naziism to rally around, they would have to satisfy themselves with merely being nosy, unproductive Socialists and the modern-day Gauleiters.
We can't take that away from them, can we?
(snort)
They must be hospitalized immediately before they further empower our cancerous tumor of a government.
Some need to be jailed. From the article:
• Ministers were last night accused of squandering more than £6million on promoting the smoking ban.
Figures showed the Government spent £5.8million on advertising, while £640,000 was lavished on a new 'No Smoking' sign - even though it is virtually identical to the old one.
Both signs depict a burning cigarette enclosed by a red circle and crossed by a red bar.
The only difference is that on the international 'No Smoking' sign the cigarette points downwards, while on the Government-commissioned design it is horizontal.
What a thought....in jail they would be inhaling 'secondhand smoke' all day and all night.
I don’t argue from a public health standpoint. I argue from a nuisance standpoint.
For example, there are noise, urination and defecation ordinances for public spaces (among others). Likewise, a smoking ordinance would make sense on the same basis.
On private property, property owners should set their own policies.
Thing is with the muslims they will kill for what they believe in. Which sadly is a horrific totalitarian vision, where human beauty and creativity are surpressed.
And that makes our leaders afraid of them, and you see our leaders sucking up to win favor with the muslims. Those same elected leaders know the British and American public are too emasculated to do anything, so they order them around.
It seems you are actually admitting secondary tobacco smoke is not a real public health hazard.
I particularly dislike willfully stupid people.
Can we also ban them from public places?
Hey yourself!
You a local here yet?
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