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Why do so many smokers smoke in areas that are very clearly marked as no smoking?


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Old Yesterday, 17:59
Hackettboy
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Most people think they are above the law anyway ,
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Old Yesterday, 18:09
Richard46
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Most people think they are above the law anyway ,
Actually compliance with the no smoking laws; the real ones from 22007; not 'rules' posted hopefully on signage; seems to have been almost total. Certainly I have not seen anyone break them.
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Old Yesterday, 18:13
tim59
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I think that most smokers will always smoke wherever the hell they want, regardless of any No Smoking signs.

I often go into town to help my mother with the shopping and there are always large groups of smokers stood outside the main precinct, puffing away and creating huge clouds of filth in the process. You should see the looks that they give you if you cough or wave your arms around to dispel the smoke. I have never smoked myself and I think it is a filthy habit. Mind you, I have asthma, so smoking would not be a good idea. My dad smoked heavily for most of his life, though and he recently died from lung cancer, as a result of this. He basically contributed towards his own ill health and death, as do most other smokers and he remained in denial about this until the day that he died.

Mum and I run the gauntlet of "The Smoke" whenever we walk into or out of the shopping centre. We call it Lung Cancer Avenue, in fact, lol. Still, I guess that it keeps the Macmillan Nurses and the cancer wards in hospitals in work. My dad was the only one in my immediate family that smoked and he paid a heavy price for it. So, I have no sympathy for smokers at all. They made that choice to wreck their own health and so they must accept the consequences of their own actions. They have no one to blame for their health issues but themselves.

So, in reponse to the thread title, I guess that smokers will carry on smoking, because there is no one around to stop them and they know that they are relatively safe from prosecution. No one would be brave enough to confront a smoker face to face. I know that I certainly wouldn't.
Are they breaking the law, well no they are not. Funny people blame smoking for lots of things, but the thought of blaming traffic for the increase of asthma suffers unthinkable
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Old Yesterday, 19:33
TheDC
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I wonder how these "it's my right to smoke, put up with it and shut up" people would act if people were deciding to spit around the entrances to buildings or walking down the street and some landed on them, and they got a similar "it's my right to spit, so put up with it" response when they objected. They wouldn't like it I imagine. So why should we have to put up with clouds of smoke when going in and out of buildings and fags waved in our faces while walking down the street? It's not unreasonable (or hard) to smoke out of the way of other people.

I notice even in places where they ask you not to smoke and provide plenty of designated areas (like lots of zoos, theme parks and the likes), lots of smokers still ignore it and light up where the hell they want. With this sort of behaviour, is it any wonder so many people see smokers as rude, selfish and ignorant?
Lots of smokers seem to think if something isn't a criminal offence then its fine. There are plenty of horrible things you can do that aren't criminal.

Also they will go on about air pollution, thats a separate matter. The air in London is terrible for instance, but that's a different matter. Just because the world isn't perfect no reason why we shouldn't all try to make it a better place.

It's all very well saying just stand 10ft away and you won't smell it. But in reality it needs to be further than that and its often difficult finding a spot many that is far enough away from all the smokers dotted all over the place. That's the reason why they have a designated area outside many places and aren't just spread out.
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Unread Today, 09:00
malpasc
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The difference between air pollution caused by traffic and that caused by cigarette smoke is at the moment, because there is no widely viable alternative, we need road transport that runs on fossil fuels and unfortunately it will cause emissions that pollute the air. People don't need to smoke.

Once cleaner alternatives for running motorised transport have been found then I would expect a lot more low emission zones or fossil fuel-powered vehicle bans will come into place, particularly in areas with heavy traffic or around residential areas. At the moment most alternatives are very expensive or don't allow the mileage required, so aren't really practical for all the kinds of transport we use.
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Unread Today, 09:22
tim59
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The difference between air pollution caused by traffic and that caused by cigarette smoke is at the moment, because there is no widely viable alternative, we need road transport that runs on fossil fuels and unfortunately it will cause emissions that pollute the air. People don't need to smoke.

Once cleaner alternatives for running motorised transport have been found then I would expect a lot more low emission zones or fossil fuel-powered vehicle bans will come into place, particularly in areas with heavy traffic or around residential areas. At the moment most alternatives are very expensive or don't allow the mileage required, so aren't really practical for all the kinds of transport we use.
And people have the right to smoke outside, do people need to run a car or do they choose too. Strange how the government has not declared smoking illegal ( wonder why ) could it be to the money they get off it, in taxes which of cause then get spent on things like the NHS, roads, defence and lots of other thing.
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Unread Today, 09:24
walterwhite
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Because in the case of railways, their byelaws are fully enforceable.

Other private locations would just ask you to leave.
I never once mentioned railways. I mentioned private property.
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Unread Today, 09:50
jjwales
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And people have the right to smoke outside, do people need to run a car or do they choose too. Strange how the government has not declared smoking illegal ( wonder why )
Because that would be going too far, and prohibition doesn't work anyway.
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Unread Today, 10:38
CSJB
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I think that most smokers will always smoke wherever the hell they want, regardless of any No Smoking signs.

I often go into town to help my mother with the shopping and there are always large groups of smokers stood outside the main precinct, puffing away and creating huge clouds of filth in the process. You should see the looks that they give you if you cough or wave your arms around to dispel the smoke. I have never smoked myself and I think it is a filthy habit. Mind you, I have asthma, so smoking would not be a good idea. My dad smoked heavily for most of his life, though and he recently died from lung cancer, as a result of this. He basically contributed towards his own ill health and death, as do most other smokers and he remained in denial about this until the day that he died.

Mum and I run the gauntlet of "The Smoke" whenever we walk into or out of the shopping centre. We call it Lung Cancer Avenue, in fact, lol. Still, I guess that it keeps the Macmillan Nurses and the cancer wards in hospitals in work. My dad was the only one in my immediate family that smoked and he paid a heavy price for it. So, I have no sympathy for smokers at all. They made that choice to wreck their own health and so they must accept the consequences of their own actions. They have no one to blame for their health issues but themselves.

So, in reponse to the thread title, I guess that smokers will carry on smoking, because there is no one around to stop them and they know that they are relatively safe from prosecution. No one would be brave enough to confront a smoker face to face. I know that I certainly wouldn't.
I wonder how these "it's my right to smoke, put up with it and shut up" people would act if people were deciding to spit around the entrances to buildings or walking down the street and some landed on them, and they got a similar "it's my right to spit, so put up with it" response when they objected. They wouldn't like it I imagine. So why should we have to put up with clouds of smoke when going in and out of buildings and fags waved in our faces while walking down the street? It's not unreasonable (or hard) to smoke out of the way of other people.

I notice even in places where they ask you not to smoke and provide plenty of designated areas (like lots of zoos, theme parks and the likes), lots of smokers still ignore it and light up where the hell they want. With this sort of behaviour, is it any wonder so many people see smokers as rude, selfish and ignorant?
I'm usually reasonably polite and respectful to non smokers, but if I ever came across the two posters above I would follow them around smoking the biggest cigar I could find.
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Unread Today, 10:47
walterwhite
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I'm usually reasonably polite and respectful to non smokers, but if I ever came across the two posters above I would follow them around smoking the biggest cigar I could find.
That has amused me. Strange people.
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Unread Today, 10:57
James2001
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I'm usually reasonably polite and respectful to non smokers, but if I ever came across the two posters above I would follow them around smoking the biggest cigar I could find.
Maybe smokers need to ask what makes us feel the way we do about smokers. It's certainly not through them acting polite and respectful towards us our whole lives. When you spend your childhood being smoked around and being told to "shut up and put up with it" when it's making you feel ill, it makes you feel just a teensy bit bitter. Maybe if smokers had been more considerate around me and people around me when we were growing up, I'd feel more like returning that favour now.
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Unread Today, 11:20
malpasc
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And people have the right to smoke outside, do people need to run a car or do they choose too. Strange how the government has not declared smoking illegal ( wonder why ) could it be to the money they get off it, in taxes which of cause then get spent on things like the NHS, roads, defence and lots of other thing.
Not just referring to cars, but lorries for delivering food and goods, buses, vans etc. Motorised transport is an essential in the way our society runs.

The government is kind of stuck over the issue of smoking - it has signed up to EU and WHO agreements about reducing smoking because of the harm it can cause to people's health, but at the same time it raises a huge amount of tax revenue for them.

Would people really be prepared to pay more income tax or tax elsewhere if smoking were completely outlawed? The government wouldn't just shrug their shoulders and accept the loss of a massive money generator for their coffers. We're a strange country regarding taxes. We all want Scandinavian levels of social service but would never be prepared to pay the taxes required to fund it. Any party that had massive tax increases in their manifesto would never get voted into power. We're not a massively socialist society in the UK.
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Unread Today, 11:34
Jellied Eel
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Actually compliance with the no smoking laws; the real ones from 22007; not 'rules' posted hopefully on signage; seems to have been almost total. Certainly I have not seen anyone break them.
I have! Canary Wharf has security guards who'll try 'fining' smokers on the estate sometimes. And a security guard at a local college yelled at me for smoking despite signs proclaiming smoking was illegal in that area. Which puzzled me somewhat as it was a public footpath on a main road. Just because there's a sign saying it's 'illegal' to smoke somewhere doesn't mean that's legally binding or enforceable.

But I try to be courteous, despite some rabid anti-smokers. As for bus stops, any smoker knows that if you're waiting for a bus, lighting a cigarette will usually summon one, especially if it's the last one in a pack.
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Unread Today, 11:44
jmclaugh
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I have! Canary Wharf has security guards who'll try 'fining' smokers on the estate sometimes. And a security guard at a local college yelled at me for smoking despite signs proclaiming smoking was illegal in that area. Which puzzled me somewhat as it was a public footpath on a main road. Just because there's a sign saying it's 'illegal' to smoke somewhere doesn't mean that's legally binding or enforceable.

But I try to be courteous, despite some rabid anti-smokers. As for bus stops, any smoker knows that if you're waiting for a bus, lighting a cigarette will usually summon one, especially if it's the last one in a pack.
Any organisation can put up a sign saying smoking is prohibited in its grounds like the NHS where you will see loads of staff puffing away outside or a cafe at its outside tables, one should of course comply with such requests but that doesn't make it illegal. Smoking is only illegal, as in against the law, in the specific places the law says it is prohibited.

I'm now an ex-smoker and vaper which is always good for a laugh if someone tells me it is illegal to 'smoke' wherever I am.
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Unread Today, 11:55
anne_666
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Most people think they are above the law anyway ,
Since when was it illegal to smoke outside? I'm afraid the pathetic rabid anti-smoking brigade don't have the power to alter law to suit themselves.

Just as it's not illegal to dangerously pollute the air from infinitely worse traffic fumes which rabid anti-smokers hypocritically and happily contribute to out of choice because it suits them. The infinitely worse mass addiction and too much lovely revenue available from both.
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Unread Today, 11:58
tim59
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Not just referring to cars, but lorries for delivering food and goods, buses, vans etc. Motorised transport is an essential in the way our society runs.

The government is kind of stuck over the issue of smoking - it has signed up to EU and WHO agreements about reducing smoking because of the harm it can cause to people's health, but at the same time it raises a huge amount of tax revenue for them.

Would people really be prepared to pay more income tax or tax elsewhere if smoking were completely outlawed? The government wouldn't just shrug their shoulders and accept the loss of a massive money generator for their coffers. We're a strange country regarding taxes. We all want Scandinavian levels of social service but would never be prepared to pay the taxes required to fund it. Any party that had massive tax increases in their manifesto would never get voted into power. We're not a massively socialist society in the UK.
The government is also stuck over transport, they say they want more people to use public transport, but at the same time its become a very expensive way to travel, also the motorist is a great souce of tax, so saying we want more people to use public transport and really meaning it are not the same, its like encouraging people to buy smaller cars and giving lower road fund licence has backfired on them as its cost them too much in tax collecting so its changing the system again
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Unread Today, 11:59
Jellied Eel
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Smoking is only illegal, as in against the law, in the specific places the law says it is prohibited.
Yup, but anti-smoking campaigners keep looking for ways to further restrict smoking, eg calls to ban smoking in all public places, parks etc.

I'm now an ex-smoker and vaper which is always good for a laugh if someone tells me it is illegal to 'smoke' wherever I am.
I've still not tried vaping. But I have found the perfect funeral for when I succumb to my habit!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V89j04Vyj84

Wonder if I could ban non-smokers?
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