Smoking Ban

[caskwith]

Over here in UK we are about to see the most aggressive attack on smokers to date. as if huge taxes werent bad enough (on a £4 pack of cigarettes for example tax makes up over £3 of the price) we are now going to see a total smoking ban in all public spaces. this means all pubs, bars, clubs and even private clubs. there are to be no concessions, even if you own your own club and all visitors have to be members they will still not be allowed to smoke. the ban will even affect bus stops as this is classed as a public area. bars that up until now have set aside spearate areas/rooms for smokers will have to stop this too. there was even talk of banning smoking in your own house if you have guests present for a party etc!!!
i do not have the luxury of a smoking room in my house and due to british weather smoking outside is a pleasure only enjoyable on warm summer evenings (especially if i want to enjoy 1 1/2 hours of a Cohiba Esp). currently i smoke in bars etc with friends however it seems that my last refuge is now to be made a smoke free zone.
anyone want to offer some sympathy, vent some anger or tell of a similar story and maybe offer a solution??

[SUOrangeGuy]

I'm sorry for you man. Does this law include cigar bars and cigar lounges (Where they sell cigars to smoke)? You may not even have these types of places but when I went to college we had a whiskey and cigar bar and due to the fact that half of the bars revenue was from smokes the smoking bans didn't apply. If this is possible you may want to hunt up a place like that.

Currently I smoke at a lodge where they received a smoking waiver because all the bartenders are volunteer and live on the tips they make. No employees means no rules against smoking.

[Mad Dog Rocket]

I can feel your pain, I only wish that I had solutions to offer. I suggest smokers not take it easy - organize and fight, but even then it certainly feels like a losing cause. It boggles my mind that England has done this... I was actually considering a trip to London to visit some of the older shops and enjoy some ISOMs. Since I won't have the money before the ban comes into effect I guess I'll never get the chance.

[Mad Dog Rocket]

SUORangeGuy,

I don't believe that there are any exemptions.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4709258.stm

[SUOrangeGuy]

I am so tired of these "the government knows best" policies. If the workers are volunteering to be there and the patrons all smoke whos health are they protecting from unwanted smoke?

What about the health of the people who own/operate cigar stores and lounges? They're not gonna be too healthy when they end up out of business.

[D. Generate]

I plan on spending a lot more time in London after December and this really irritates me.

As an aside, does your name have anything to do with cask ales?

[tazziedevil]

Oh I feel your pain. As of the first of the year here in Tazzie, you can't anywhere indoors. Anywhere-cigar bars are a thing of the past, clubs, pubs, coffee shops.

Sorry to hear another city bites the dust.

[vic_c]

What a bunch of crap !! Each individual establishment should be able to decide whether or not to allow smoking.
Or they should at least just ban cigarette smoking!

[caskwith]

[QUOTE=D. GenerateAs an aside, does your name have anything to do with cask ales?[/QUOTE]

no my name doesnt but im intrigued as to why you may have thought of this, is there an Askwith cask ale in the US, it would be cool if there was.

also as to people suggestion smoking louges, in the UK smoking louges are a very rare occurance, i know that they exist in london but i havnt come acroos one, however even if i did find one they would have to ban smoking even if that is all the established provides!!

[SeanGAR]

It just ridiculous that the governments are legislating this sort of . Its one thing to require non-smoking sections; its quite another to ban smoking altogether.

We had one bozo here try to get smoking banned from within 30 feet of the doorways to university buildings, which are already all nonsmoking. They compromised to have one entrance where smoking is not allowed. If we get to choose, I'm all for the non-smoking entrance being by the stinky dumpsters. Let the anal people who don't like smoking by entrances smell garbage .. thats still legal, right?

[smokinpoke]

smoking ban in the motherland that sucks. well i think in the u.s. we had something like this... it was called prohibition. eventually enough people will get tired of their elected goverment officials and the complete smoking ban will be lifted... good luck to all

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

Let the anal people who don't like smoking by entrances smell garbage .. thats still legal, right?

Legal, and very appropriate.

I really hope there is a US prohibition-style backlash in the UK over this asinine ban.

[Charles]

My sympathies to you. These same kinds of people are trying to control lives in the States as well. Some people are just so unhappy with their own lives that they feel the need to take away those things that make others happy.

One of my best memories of driving around the UK in 2001 was ending up in a pub every night with a pint (or three) and my pipe. This is real

[ResIpsa]

Man, I must be getting old. I just read an article a couple of days ago about a smoking ban going into effect in I think Scotland. Now I can't remember where I read it, if it was here I should be dinged , but I'm pretty sure it was in the paper. Anyway (rambling is another sign of old age I hear) the story goes that the ban goes into effect in Scotland. Either the very first day of the ban, or within days thereafter, an 80 year old guy goes out in the rain to smoke, slips on the wet pavement, falls and hits his head and DIES. Death by smoking ban.

okay, here is a good link to the story i think
http://www.smokersclubinc.com/module...ticle&sid=3016

Maybe a BOTL on the other side of the pond has heard/read and can elaborate

[sirsmokesalot]

our bad goes into effect this friday in jersey.. good thing i dont realyl go out that much anymore..