A smoking ban?

[artie]

I’m not sure I understand what you mean?

Essentially what they would be doing would be saying only people born in 2024 (for example) or earlier can smoke.

Assuming I'm an 18 yo man, or woman, or thee, thay ,it, an adult who enjoys the occasional was going to say ***, but best not. I'll say cigarette. Suddenly it's not legal anymore for me to buy smokes, but my 19 yo mate can happily continue.

Well I suppose they will twitter on about that for a while instead of doing something useful.

 

[BearTricks]

That was a point raised - who are the government to tax to make up for the loss of income?

Surely offset by the money saved on healthcare.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

There is far more raised in taxes than smoking costs the Country.

 

[Scruples]

I would say it's definitely a sensible aim, whether it'll work is anyone's guess. A lot of drugs are illegal, but still in circulation.
I stopped 20 years ago, and wish I'd never started.

I stopped smoking 7 years ago because of the grandchildren's appearance on the scene. I still hanker for the odd cigar but I know it will taste vile and and I'll need another to see if if gets better and then....

 

[mi2021]

It won't work it will create a black market just like the other drugs policies.
The current regs seem quite effective, though they now have to deal with vaping.

I live near a school and it is alarming to see how many 12 to 16 year olds are smoking especialy girls I don't see any effect on the age limit preventing them from buying cigarettes is having on them getting them

 

[mi2021]

There is far more raised in taxes than smoking costs the Country.

If you look at the NHS figures they estimate it costs them 14 billion a year to look after people with smoking related illnesses and the government figures show they raise 10.8 billon a year in tabacco taxes

 

[Nail]

Assuming I'm an 18 yo man, or woman, or thee, thay ,it, an adult who enjoys the occasional was going to say ***, but best not. I'll say cigarette. Suddenly it's not legal anymore for me to buy smokes, but my 19 yo mate can happily continue.

Well I suppose they will twitter on about that for a while instead of doing something useful.

Aah, gotcha.

I think it’ll be a ban after the last lot through rather than banning anyone existing. So it’s 18 now and basically they would be the last generation allowed. You at 18 can smoke now but no one younger than you is ever allowed.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you look at the NHS figures they estimate it costs them 14 billion a year to look after people with smoking related illnesses and the government figures show they raise 10.8 billon a year in tabacco taxes

Statistics. It much depends who commissions them.

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-rea...that smoking,and mental health care services.
It is estimated that smoking has cost the NHS in England £2.6 billion per year.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I stopped smoking 7 years ago because of the grandchildren's appearance on the scene. I still hanker for the odd cigar but I know it will taste vile and and I'll need another to see if if gets better and then....

My mother said she was always tempted to have a cigarette after a nice meal out, but she knew if she did she'd be into the second packet before she got home. I'd love a nice cigar once in a while ............ but the once in a while would instantly become one an hour.

 

[artie]

Aah, gotcha.

I think it’ll be a ban after the last lot through rather than banning anyone existing. So it’s 18 now and basically they would be the last generation allowed. You at 18 can smoke now but no one younger than you is ever allowed.

Might work.
I'm guessing it would be a ban on purchasing tobacco rather than smoking.

Judging by the number of school kids smoking at the bus stops in the evening the 18 yo limit isn't working.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I made that point a while back - I bet they'll ban the sale but not the possession or the use.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I remember years ago when The Times was broadsheet reading an article on the inside page about children smoking. I was holding the paper up to sun, I could see the picture on the front page directly behind the article through the paper - which was of Naomi Cambell and Kate Moss, both sitting with a lit cigarette in one hand a packet of Marlboro in the other. Pictures like that probably influenced more young girls than any amount of advertising did.

 

[Nail]

Might work.
I'm guessing it would be a ban on purchasing tobacco rather than smoking.

Judging by the number of school kids smoking at the bus stops in the evening the 18 yo limit isn't working.

Yeah, probably.

I like this style of van as it’s a ramping down rather than a blanket ban.

Fully banning it just wouldn’t work, especially for those who have been smoking for 20, 30, 40 years. This way the smokers die off without being replaced. Tax income reduces but so would the healthcare costs.

Eventually it’s fully banned so no smokers at bus stops….

Be interesting to see if they can pull it off.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I'll email my sister, she's a Kiwi who works for their health service and hear her views on their ban.

 

[Jacob]

.....

Judging by the number of school kids smoking at the bus stops in the evening the 18 yo limit isn't working.

Not a reliable indicator - the overall figures show massive decline in smoking but without the booming black market culture of other banned drugs.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

When my children were going through school probably more of their friends used recreational drugs than smoked.

 

[niall Y]

I suppose you have to ask the question," why do people smoke?" If it's because they enjoy it, then I can't see this particular genie ever going back into the bottle, especially after over 400 years. It's a good soundbite for a party conference, but there are greater battles to be fought elsewhere.
As, for black markets in tobacco, if you know where to look - they already exist. Mainly ones avoiding customs charges. A blanket ban at a later date will no doubt cause these to go into hyperdrive. Of course, if you are desperate enough you can always grow your own.

 

[isaac3d2]

Personally, I'm against blanket bans.... (I mean, why should we not be able to have blankets? )
Seriously though, I do believe that adults should have the right to choose to do what they want, provided no one else is harmed.
But therein lies the problem! How do you measure the harm done, by anything that we do?
If non-smoker gets lung cancer from passive smoking, there is clearly harm being done to the non-smoker. But if a smoker gets lung cancer, well that's self inflicted isn't it, and no one else is harmed, right? No, wrong! The rest of society has to pick up the bill for the medical treatment required due to self inflicted harm from smoking.
Also, if society in general normalises smoking (as it has), then children are encouraged to smoke by default! Children copy adults.
Preventing children from getting addicted to smoking in the first place is beneficial to them and to society as a whole. That's going to take a long time, however that should not stop us trying.
Weighing general harm prevention against general freedom is not always easy and any rules put in place to do this can be difficult to enforce.
As said, I don't believe in blanket bans. A previous poster mentioned the abject failure of alcohol prohibition in the USA. Not to mention the fact that criminal gangs were essentially given a licence to print money from this law. The current problems of hard drugs in the USA are in part due to Prohibition creating a criminal infrastructure and culture to take advantage of that stupid law.
So, what do we as a society do? Personally, I think that smoking for adults (that is over 21 !) should be allowed, in private and with only other consenting adults present, under licence. The licence fee could include the cost of a private health insurance policy to cover costs of smoking induced illness. (Edit: and an annual mandatory course on the effects smoking has on the body!)
As to increasing the age limit by one year every year; well, it might work for a few years but I don't see it as practical for the long term. A ban on all public smoking and purchase of tobacco by licence holders only would be, IMO, a good thing.

 

[artie]

I remember years ago when The Times was broadsheet reading an article on the inside page about children smoking. I was holding the paper up to sun, I could see the picture on the front page directly behind the article through the paper - which was of Naomi Cambell and Kate Moss, both sitting with a lit cigarette in one hand a packet of Marlboro in the other. Pictures like that probably influenced more young girls than any amount of advertising did.

I commented along those lines to my son recently.

I didn't realise it growing up but all the movies and tv shows I watched were just thinly disguised ads for cigarettes, alcohol, cars and fashion.

 

[artie]

I suppose you have to ask the question," why do people smoke?"

I asked myself that many times.
I smoked my first ciggy as a preteen, smoked regularly in secondary school, stopped for a year or so when I left school and then got down to some serious smoking from from say 17 to 24.

By that time I had a wife and child and found myself watching TV in the evenings and smoking while suffering from heartburn and not really enjoying it, but sometimes I'd have one lit and half smoked without realising.

So I quit and it wasn't that difficult once I made my mind up.

Making my mind up was the difficult part.

That's well over 40 years ago.

Why did I smoke, I think in the beginning it was to be one of the guys. In the sixties any group I found myself in 80-90-100% were smokers.

A lot of the interactions involved banter about who's" flash" it was. Who was too tight, or the guy who could bring them out of his pocked lit. etc, etc.

I can't say I ever got great pleasure from a cigarette. I got a little nag when a didn't smoke for a while which went away when I did.

I'm glad to see there are many less smokers nowadays it's a filthy habit with no upside I know of.

But if you're an adult I respect your right to smoke if you desire.