[petertard]

There are now about 8m smokers still in the UK and 1m e-cigarette users. Over time, the number of e-cigarette users will increase and overtake the number of smokers, as former smokers realise they can service their nicotine addiction at less risk to their health and less cost to their purse. It might take 50 years or more before this happens but by 2100 at least, I expect real tobacco smokers to be in a minority to e-cigarette users, at least in the UK.

[scone]

Originally Posted by petertard

There are now about 8m smokers still in the UK and 1m e-cigarette users. Over time, the number of e-cigarette users will increase and overtake the number of smokers, as former smokers realise they can service their nicotine addiction at less risk to their health and less cost to their purse. It might take 50 years or more before this happens but by 2100 at least, I expect real tobacco smokers to be in a minority to e-cigarette users, at least in the UK.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/S.../UCM173250.pdf

E cigarettes aren't the answer. A full on quit IS the answer, sad thing is if everyone quit smoking, the government would want the tax to be made up elsewhere.

[Dancing Girl]

I am amazed, considering how long Richard Briers smoked, that he is still alive and working until recently at the advanced age of 80!!!! I found his comments about his co-star on his TV show quite revealing. Felicity Kendel was on Strictly and after years of thinking I "knew" her from her TV roles, I rather disliked her!! I will never forget the kiss between her and Vincent YUCK!! Sadly, she appears to be a woman who still thinks she is a knock-out !! Her behaviour with Vincent was embarrassing to watch. Apparently, she has been a "fair weather friend" to Richard!

[Dancing Girl]

I have a friend who is a smoker and although a mutual friend of ours is dying of lung cancer (and is a smoker) she still insists smoking did not contribute to lung cancer. She insists that children get cancer so it has nothing to do with smoking!! Some heavy smokers are deluded and will insist that smoking does not affect your health and then come out with stories about people in their nineties who have smoked all their lives!! She is furious that she can no longer smoke in restaurants and have to to outside!!! She just does not want to accept the truth, no mater what you say!!! AND she will never stop smoking!!! By the way, I have never, ever smoked a ciggies in my life!!

[80sfan]

Originally Posted by Dancing Girl

I am amazed, considering how long Richard Briers smoked, that he is still alive and working until recently at the advanced age of 80!!!! I found his comments about his co-star on his TV show quite revealing. Felicity Kendel was on Strictly and after years of thinking I "knew" her from her TV roles, I rather disliked her!! I will never forget the kiss between her and Vincent YUCK!! Sadly, she appears to be a woman who still thinks she is a knock-out !! Her behaviour with Vincent was embarrassing to watch. Apparently, she has been a "fair weather friend" to Richard!

I was surprised to read about their strange friendship, as it certainly never showed on-screen that they weren't really that friendly. I wonder how Richard got on with (fellow smoker) Penelope Keith? He doesn't mention her in the article

[dorydaryl]

Originally Posted by scone

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/drugs/S.../UCM173250.pdf

E cigarettes aren't the answer. A full on quit IS the answer, sad thing is if everyone quit smoking, the government would want the tax to be made up elsewhere.

They might not be the answer but they've helped my mum, who has emphysema, cut down drastically on the real thing- more so than all the patches, gums and other whatnots that she's had a go at. She says that while she has an e-cig, she isn't bothered about smoking a 'real' one. She has had periods of total abstinence but because she has had severe depression/ anxiety, nicotine is her 'crutch.

I know that she is only one case in point, however.

All the same, it's not in the government's interest to promote e-cigs for the very reason you give above...unless they tried taxing the e-cig, of course (I wouldn't put it past them, either!).

[simes188]

Originally Posted by Dancing Girl

I am amazed, considering how long Richard Briers smoked, that he is still alive and working until recently at the advanced age of 80!!!! I found his comments about his co-star on his TV show quite revealing. Felicity Kendel was on Strictly and after years of thinking I "knew" her from her TV roles, I rather disliked her!! I will never forget the kiss between her and Vincent YUCK!! Sadly, she appears to be a woman who still thinks she is a knock-out !! Her behaviour with Vincent was embarrassing to watch. Apparently, she has been a "fair weather friend" to Richard!

I don't think he's done much TV work since he left Monarch of the Glen. I also seem to recall reading somewhere that he decided to pull out of a major stage play a few years ago.

[scone]

Originally Posted by Dancing Girl

I have a friend who is a smoker and although a mutual friend of ours is dying of lung cancer (and is a smoker) she still insists smoking did not contribute to lung cancer. She insists that children get cancer so it has nothing to do with smoking!! Some heavy smokers are deluded and will insist that smoking does not affect your health and then come out with stories about people in their nineties who have smoked all their lives!! She is furious that she can no longer smoke in restaurants and have to to outside!!! She just does not want to accept the truth, no mater what you say!!! AND she will never stop smoking!!! By the way, I have never, ever smoked a ciggies in my life!!

Is that a reference at me? Because I don't smoke love

[Verence]

Originally Posted by simes188

I don't think he's done much TV work since he left Monarch of the Glen. I also seem to recall reading somewhere that he decided to pull out of a major stage play a few years ago.

I saw him in a horror film Cockneys vs Zombies earlier this year. He played a resident of an old folks home and for a lot of the time his character used a zimmer frame. I wonder if the character had been designed like that or was altered to take into account Mr Briers' health issues

[Fear of Fours]

Originally Posted by 80sfan

I was surprised to read about their strange friendship, as it certainly never showed on-screen that they weren't really that friendly.

It's called being a professional actor.

[katmobile]

Originally Posted by scone

Obesity, alcohol, both of these are killers also, maybe we should also put a picture of several pallbearers struggling to carry an obese person's coffin on bars of chocolate or have an image of a diseased liver on every single bottle and can of alcohol. This will not stop people from smoking, over eating or drinking, they have to have a health scare or decide to quit themselves and this applies to all of the above, not just smoking

As an over-eater myself can vouch for that the fact it wouldn't stop me - you have to want to save yourself.

[katmobile]

Originally Posted by scone

As I have stated several times... SOME people can get away with smoking, others can't. You are pointing out people who smoke and have had heart attacks when I could point out people who don't smoke and have had heart attacks, why are the people who don't smoke and who have never been exposed to smokey atmospheres having heart attacks?

Of course smoking is bad for you but so are a lot of other things.

Medical science wants to investigate Keith Richards (seriously) as he appears to have survived a illness without medical invention that normally kills without it - if he had a cast iron constitution it would explain how he able to survive years of smack abuse - Chrissy Hynde said his explain killed lots of her friends who thought they could get away with abusing the drug too. Some people do all the right things and die young and some do all the wrong things and live for donkey's years - logically you've got to play the odds and try not to do the bad things if you want a long healthy life.

There's always the story about the old geezer who smoked for years and then died in his 90s knocked over by a bus - but at the end of the day these are exceptions not the norm. That said as an overweight person I do get miffed by the attributation of everything that's ever been wrong with me to my weight - I'm sorry I refuse to believe bad sinuses are linked to overeating.

[katmobile]

Originally Posted by Gill P

My dad smoked as long as I remember. He died at the comparatively young age of 64 (a week after his birthday). He smoked a pipe, cigarettes and those small cigars. I don't remember him being well at all. He died of mitral stenosis and bronchitis. He also had a foul temper - probably due to his heart problems.

My mum lived until the age of 90 and she didn't smoke. I have never smoked.

My grandad who smoked a pipe lived into his early 80s - however he did work in his garden and walked a lot which probably kept him fit in spite of his smoking and enabled him to live to old age but even so he did have bronchitis. He was killed by three strokes - but his life was really over by the second one after that he was too scared to do anything he enjoyed anymore he stopped going to the pub or working in his garden. The strokes were probably caused smoking so I'd say although he had a good innings the final days of his life were probably blighted by it - he had type II diabetes too towards the end of his life - not sure why he had that possibly because he liked a drink possibly not.

[dorydaryl]

Yeah, I think that the link between smoking and stroke isn't always stressed as much as the link between smoking and COPD/ lung cancer. Strokes really, really, are the pits.

[junnja]

So sad to hear this. I had the great pleasure of working with Richard, a few years back.

He is one of the nicest people I have ever met. A very funny, charming, down-to-earth, and interesting man.

There is absolutely no side to the man. I thought I was going to be working with a stuck-up individual, full of his own importance. With a don't you know who I am? attitude. How wrong can you be?

I'll always have fond memories of him. And consider myself very fortunate to have both met, and worked with him.

Absolute legend.

[chinchin]

Not as nice as he has been painted I'm afraid. He got the actress Liz Smith sacked from a play because of her age.He refused to work with her.

[Saltydog1955]

Originally Posted by chinchin

Not as nice as he has been painted I'm afraid. He got the actress Liz Smith sacked from a play because of her age.He refused to work with her.

It might well be true, but now's not really the time to be dragging it up.

[rionia]

Originally Posted by chinchin

Not as nice as he has been painted I'm afraid. He got the actress Liz Smith sacked from a play because of her age.He refused to work with her.

‘We had casting approval but the director went to Tokyo and forgot that,' Richard replies, commenting for the first time. ‘She's a super actress but wrong for the part. I wrote to her and said how very sorry I was that she wasn't right and had been badly treated by me and I regretted the hurt caused.' She didn't write back.


http://www.carolinephillips.net/arti...ichard-on.html

[Saltydog1955]

Originally Posted by rionia

‘We had casting approval but the director went to Tokyo and forgot that,' Richard replies, commenting for the first time. ‘She's a super actress but wrong for the part. I wrote to her and said how very sorry I was that she wasn't right and had been badly treated by me and I regretted the hurt caused.' She didn't write back.


http://www.carolinephillips.net/arti...ichard-on.html

That makes Liz Smith look as if she held a grudge, but Richard comes out of it as the gent people say he was.

Perhaps people should do a bit of research before blackening the name of a man who's only just died.

[chinchin]

I just wanted a little balance that's all. We are none of us perfect.

[Saltydog1955]

Originally Posted by chinchin

I just wanted a little balance that's all. We are none of us perfect.

There's a time to be critical, and this isn't it.

[nanscombe]

I doubt there's going to be hundreds of people just waiting to dish the dirt on him..

[80sfan]

Originally Posted by chinchin

I just wanted a little balance that's all. We are none of us perfect.

I don't think anyone is perfect but it does seem Richard Briers was certainly a lot more grounded and likeable than many others in showbiz.

It certainly seems he regretted the Liz Smith incident and tried to make amends... Smith comes out worse actually in that story by holding a grudge

[dorydaryl]

Has there been any comment from Felicity Kendal, yet? Penelope Keith gave him a lovely tribute on the news.

Am still reeling from how prophetic his interview was.

[cyril-furr]

Originally Posted by Dancing Girl

I have a friend who is a smoker and although a mutual friend of ours is dying of lung cancer (and is a smoker) she still insists smoking did not contribute to lung cancer. She insists that children get cancer so it has nothing to do with smoking!! Some heavy smokers are deluded and will insist that smoking does not affect your health and then come out with stories about people in their nineties who have smoked all their lives!! She is furious that she can no longer smoke in restaurants and have to to outside!!! She just does not want to accept the truth, no mater what you say!!! AND she will never stop smoking!!! By the way, I have never, ever smoked a ciggies in my life!!

I'm a lifelong non smoker too, so I would be very happy to dance with you girl
But yes, most smokers are in so much denial of the truth that they are kiiling themselves with the noxicous weed, they will never give up.

My philosophy is, there are enough problems you may have inherited from your family or can catch, without indulging in proven life-shorteners to make matters worse, such as nicotine & tar, or alcohol in excess.