Smoking in public places

[guest]

G - I know who you are so watch your back.

[Nails]

G get your handbag -guest has his eye on you.

G you are indeed a well bred middle class citizen

[Toni]

Remember MeatMarket that the people who work in pubs may not feel the same about passive smoking! It is not their lifestyle choice.

And in Ireland many pubs have put heaters outside so most smokers congregate around them rather than around the door. Someone made a killing from stocking patio heaters before the ban came in - they were sold out all over Ireland!

[Adventure Racer]

I think the real question is who phrased the poll questions? There's a job waiting for you in the EU referendums office.

[bendover]

great, thats what i need!

[Nails]

oh ye baby -isn't that sexy

[Dave S]

The thing that always amazes me is if you visit a hospital how they are all stacked up outside the main entrance.

They've actually got smoking rooms for all the smoky joes in hospitals, I even saw a guy with his cig packet on the table and an inhaler nestling nicely on top...muppet

[Pinches]

The only place to go for a fag at my office is in the bike shed. Not next to it, near it or just across the way, but in the ~@#*ing shed, which I might add is at the top of a not insubstantial hill. So by the time you've cycled to work you're generally looking for the odd alveoli full of oxygen, but what you actually get is an exotic B&H/Marlboro/Golden Virginia cocktail. Not the proverbial badger...

Still, I'm sure it's no worse for the old lungs than breathing in all the bus fumes on way up t'hill in t'first place...

[mharky]

Get one of these...

http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=20042

When I'm dictator all cars will be powerd by rapeseed oil...

[J.Tullster]

Do they actually work though? if they've got porses small enough to let oxygen in, they probably let pollutant gases in too. maybe stop soot though.

[PeterG]

Plus theres always the comedy value of someone walking to their smoking hut wearing a pollution mask

[Copepod]

I did an MSc Environmental Technology (Health & the Environment option) at Imperial College, London, 1997/8. We looked into the issue of masks for cyclists, particularly in cities, and came to the conclusion that because masks restricted the flow of air, cyclists actually had to breathe deeper and / or faster to inhale the same amount of oxygen. As particles (or molecules larger than O2 / CO2 / N2) could also enter through gaps at the edge of the mask, wearing a mask was counter productive - better to choose routes that avoided vehicles with petrol and particularly diesel engines. However, one friend was arrested for cycling across Kensington Gardens! Of course cycling or walking a given journey also reduces the overall pollution level if it means one less car journey. More difficult to quantify cycling / walking v. bus, tram, underground train / metro, rail etc.
Having worn an air-tight army NBC mask (with NBC suit), I can assure you that it's hard work getting enough breath when doing anything more than mild activity eg carrying a casualty on a stretcher.

[rocky]

When I'm dictator all cars will be powerd by rapeseed oil...

So you're running for Swedish Prime Minister then?

[Carnage Head]

Some people seem to be putting all of the blame for the high levels of smoking in the UK on smokers. Now, I'm not saying that they're blameless - indeed, they must probably shoulder most of the blame. However, the cigarette companies must also take some flak (especially in the 'good old days', when they could even claim that smoking was good for you / would make you more attractive / etc). Various governments can also take some of the blame for not taking action on smoking, although they have admittedly had to tread a fine line between freedom of consumer choice and protecting the public's health / saving taxpayers' money. (But restricting billboard and sport advertising was a welcome step taken by the current government.)

Let's see what happens this week - the smoking in public bill will begin its journey through parliament this week. The government apparently is facing another potential rebellion, by those who think that they are not going far enough: the bill proposes to retain the right to allow smoking in pubs which don't serve food. This is likely to widen social inequalities further:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4699780.stm

[Shea]

Smoking companies are dicks. They actually put their ads at the eye level of children! How dis-honest is that? Pratically all ads are aimed at teenages, the rebelious and unguided. Personally i think its disgusting.