Roll on July the 1st SMOKING BAN

[The Muts Nuts]

Muts Nuts,
You say a fellow worker was minding his own business driving along and was spotted by CID and ticketed to his firm for £70.
As the law stands, there is no ban on smoking in a car, so on what basis did the CID issue a ticket?
Are you suggesting the law just drives around looking to see somebody having a fag in their car and calls up their details and sends a ticket?
I've had a ticket for a road traffic offence and the ticket sent to your boss will have the offence for which the ticket was issued.
There is a fixed penalty for littering, so if like many smokers, your fellow worker lobbed his dog end out of the window whilst driving then that's why he got ticketed.
The argument to continue allowing people to smoke in public places on the basis that smokers provide a valuable source of revenue for the government is invalid.
No doubt taxes will rise as the government will seek to replace the lost revenue.
Smoke if you want to, it's your right to do so, smoke at home, in your car in other peoples homes if you want, smoke outside that's fine too, but just as you have the right to smoke, others have the right not to do so.
And sadly the fact that you don't care is all too evident of the selfish "Pull up the rope, I'm alright Jack " attitude that is all too common nowadays.
Gazza 57

I dont not care for the fun of it, i dont care at all about this country seeing as not one single politician gives two ****s about it, i live here because i was born here, thats all. By the time im 30 i wont be here, iv made my mind up long ago to leave this hole and have a better life abroad. Could you see yourself bringing up a kid in this place, if you can your a fool, i would want my kids safe in schools, not in fear of stabbing/bombings ect.

Anyway, back to the smoking topic, i hate it, wish id never started and would love to quit but its VERY hard. And yes, it is that i have a lack of willpower, but dont tell me its easy if youve never done it yourself.

[Eshrules]

They enforce it very easily. A fellow worker at my firm was driving along minding his own business smoking a cig. He didnt realise he was being followed by CID and got a £70 fine direct to the company, the first he knew about it was when he got a call from the boss demanding an explanation.

I dont get this country, they want it to be smoke free ect but what happens if we all quit smoking, where do you think they will get there MILLIONS of pounds a year from cigs?

Good idea, wrong way of doing it. Im a smoker too by the way and dont care, i work out-doors with 1 other person who also smokes so it wont affect me, and pubs have non-smoking sections as it is.

i disagree totally.

ok, first of all, it will be difficult to enforce the ban in every single county, under every single circumstance. its nigh on impossible to do.

i dont think the idea behind the smoking ban is to force people to stop smoking, simply to move them away from those who choose not to. second hand smoke is a massive factor in the cause of lung cancer and asthma in young children. whilst i admit cars and other forms of pollution play their part, by far, smoking is the most non-social habit that i know of.

i agree pubs have non smoking 'sections' but the smell of smoke to a non smoker is repulsive, imagine a typical resteraunt setting. you may have one or two smoking areas, somewhere, the non smoking and smoking will meet, so you're not eliminating that god awful smell, nor the fumes which will naturally drift around the room unless you have an extracter unit above each and every smoking table.

also, consider the places such as bus and train stations. too many times have i gotten ready, been stood at the bus stop waiting for my bus to manchester for my night out and some inconsiderate fool comes along and lights up. you smell of smoke before you have even got there and with someone with sensitive airways such as myself, it can ruin your night out.

smokers need to remember one thing, you choose to smoke. those who dont smoke should not have to put up with the smell, the fumes or the rirks that come with 2nd hand smoke. THAT is what the ban is trying to do.

[gazza57]

Thanks for that Niklock, I wasn't aware of that, perhaps this guy was driving a marked firm's car and that's why he was ticketed, I suppose the premise is that there may be others who will have to share that transport and this law is to protect them from the effects of passive smoking.
It's difficult to see how the CID would know otherwise that the car was a commercial vehicle and not a private one.
Also what about an owner operator, are you saying that if you're the sole owner and operator of a commercial vehicle that you get a ticket for having a fag in it on your own?
Gazza57

[gazza57]

Muts Nuts
I know giving up is not just hard, it's really really hard, my dad smoked from 14 to 67 years old, he gave it up and it's as hard to kick as any other drug, in fact it's as addictive as heroin.
Sadly my dad giving up came too late to save him, he died 2 months ago he suffered many lung related ailments including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) directly attributable to smoking and in less then 20 months reduced him from a lively bright 5 foot 10 inch 11 stone bloke to a frail 6 and a half stone skeleton.
That's why I feel so strongly in favour of the smoking ban.Unfortunately also I grew up in a house where both my parents smoked so perhaps I'm due for some of that, who knows.
As far as the rest of it goes, you strike me as a person unhappy with this country in general, not just about smoking in particular. The rest of the world is not much different there are plenty of people everywhere on the planet that will rip you off one way or the other given the chance.
The Uk is not perfect I'll grant you, but then neither is anywhere else.
Gazza 57

[jack71]

smoking ban here since april 30th,now everyone complains about the amount of stench from stale B.O!!! some people just dont get the lynx effect!!! also major complaints now that the smoke cant hide the reek of people crackin' off a sneaky bum burp!!!! nothing worse than a packed bar waiting to get served and some dirty git drops a clanger ,everyone looking to see which rotten skunk is giggling the most!!!!

[buster]

It is illegal to smoke in work transport, but not in private transport i can see a lot of problems with, private van owners being nicked for taking a go-kart to their local track, or a jet ski to the beach...

It is only illegal to smoke in a company vehicle if you carry passengers or other people regularly use the vehicle. If you are the sole user, you can smoke.

I have company vehicles and have talked to their helpline, as I was unsure about the mechanic scenario, i.e. If you are the only user, but you have your car serviced, the fact that a mecanic has to drive the vehicle should make it illegal for anyone to smoke in it. According to the helpline, it is ok to smoke if others users, including servicing staff, only use it very infrequently.

I do wonder how councils will look at it though, especially if they get to keep the revenue from the fines.

[Captain Answer]

I don't really care either way, but it probably will stop me having one while i'm out at the weekend