Smoking ban compliant. Anything you think I should add?

This is a draft of an email to my conservative MP

Dear Madam,

As another winter approaches its getting a lot colder and frostier at nights. I live in Alness so the winds can be particularly icy there as you probably know.

I say this because I am writing to complain about the smoking ban in enclosed public spaces. I have heard there will be a review of this law next year and I wish to draw attention to several reasons why I believe the ban should be abolished.

1) Income from Nicotine products is a great source of income for our already crippled NHS. Far more income is generated from taxes on Nicotine products than it costs to treat smokers on the NHS. In other words, the government and the NHS are 'profiting' from smokers.

2) A lot of people say to me they drink at home because its a lot cheaper and at least they can smoke somewhere warm. I think this is bad because at least at the pub people must be sold drinks in certain measurements and at least there is someone watching (responsible bar staff) that they don't have too much. A lot of laws are placed in pubs to make sure people don't drink too much. The smoking ban defeats the purpose of these laws in that people would rather drink at home, risking their health by having too much to drink.

3) A lot of elderly people like to smoke, is it fair to them to expect them to stand out in the freezing cold? A few pubs I know do have outdoor heating lamps but they are not obliged to have them.

4) Smokers are sometimes treated as second class citizens. There have been occasions where I was smoking outdoors and was given verbal abuse for doing so.

5) The manageress in a local pub I went to, now closed, wether due to the smoking ban or not I can't say for sure, said 'The types of people who want a smoking ban don't come to this pub anyway.'

5) Ultimately I feel the current government is 'wrapping us up in cotton wool' so to speak. They're always telling us what we should or should not do, what we should eat, what we should drink. This has to stop. We live in a democracy and have a right to make our own decisions.

Yours,

Additional Details
You lot are only seeing what you want to see, which is, a way to attack a smoker.

Ruth S

Candy, you want the truth? I am a smoker, and I DO believe it is unconstitutional for these so-called Law makers to BAN smoking in public places! What tickles me is, some of the answers you have already received!!! Richard! why would you want to take an 18 month child to a pub!? Do you think it's OK to subject your child to the smell of old beer, bad language and loud music? You don't have to be close to a smoker to breathe fowl air! The omisson from vehicles is far more deadly than cigaret smoke! All you self righteous non-smokers! Check out your own "bad" habits before you start throwing stones at us! And Candy is right about businesses closing because of the lack of customers, not just because of the lousy economy we are ALL facing right now! I went to a resturant this last weekend, and usually, the place would be packed, and a wait of an hour or more! Yikes! We were seated immediately and the place was three quarters empty!! and this was a Saturday night!! And as for the remarks about us being Second Class citizens, I didn't know we had class distinction in this country! Why are we worse than Drug dealers and murderers?
Anyway, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but, to keep the peace, they should keep it to themselves!
Candy honey, nice letter but FAR too long! I lost interest halfway through it! Condense it so it's short and sweet, don't elaborate on certain subjects. Better still, if you want to have more impact, get a petittion going! The MP or whoever, isn't going to sit up and take notice because of one man's complaint!! it's going to land up in the dust bin! Get as many smokers as you can to sign your CONDENSED complaint, you have a much better chance of getting someone to listen to you!!
About the Government! NO, they are not wrapping us up in cotton wool! It's a matter of controlling the masses, taking away our God given rights to find happiness, even if it be from the end of a cigaret!! God Bless, and happy smoking!

Texas Tiger

Interesting but you miss the fact that while you have the right to make your own decision, if you make the wrong one it affects me. Why should my 18month old Asthmatic son have to inhale your second hand smoke?

You have written your letter as somoene who is thinking only of themselves and you are not addressing the reasons the ban was put into action in the first place. That being the case your letter would lose all actionabilities due to your refusal to address the correct issues.

This is akin to pushing your car into a gas station, washing the windows and pushing it out. yes you made YOUR point but you have NOT solved the problem.

John Elias

You don't have to smoke. You have the right to decide whether to go outside and smoke or stay inside and not smoke.

king_of_mercia_(aka darkness)

surely you can't be serious ? in the long term - the smoking ban will only improve our quality of lives, and I am a smoker myself but I can see the obvious reasons behind making ppl NOT smoke in public places.

Its a dirty habit and its injurious to health - yet highly addictive heh.

So the Government and the NHS should profit on our ill health ? that's absurd.

david c

By all means send your letter. It will do no good as the smoking ban is here to stay. I am a smoker and have no problems with the ban. It will not be long before most pubs have closed along with the bingo halls and the like. This is a direct cause of the smoking ban and the cost of drinks in pubs. Will all of the anti smoking brigade be happy when their locals have closed and staff have lost their jobs. What will they pick on next?
I have to take issue with the arrogant and self righteous gilly g. How dare she call smokers second class citizens. Do you consider yourself to be little miss perfect? Your pompous attitude adds nothing.

Blue ladies

amazing is England like 10 years behind the rest of the world.

its proven its bad to smoke, its proven its bad to smoke around others,

do you like hurting those closest to you?

Pink dont like the smell or taste

gilly g

God you smokers are all just a big bunch of selfish whiners!!!
You are second class citizens, no worse than druggies or winos!

Why do you never stop to consider the feelings of non-smokers?
Smokers have no idea just how repulsive it is for a non-smoker to have to smell your smoke.
Also when smelling it we run the risk of contracting potentially lethal diseases through no fault of our own (look at what happened to Roy Castle)!
In my opinion smoking should be banned completely. They should just stop selling it.
BAN SMOKING NOW!!!

Dogbreath

Well smoking stinks. Nonsmokers stay out of pubs because they value fresh air. Perhaps they should legalize heroin and crack so they can tax them too. This could be the start of a new industry, put people to work caring for them in rehab centers. And the income they get from working there is taxable too.

Smoking will turn your lungs and you into an old bag before you know it.

guns0302

im not a smoker and i shouldnt have to put up with going to the pub and having somebody elses smoke in my face and me breathing it in..if you wanna smoke you should go outside for respect to ppl who dont smoke.

although your letter is pretty good.lol..but tbh the law would not change back.there would be too many complaints and a smoking ban in public places is supposed to be a GOOD thing and maybe it will help you quit smoking.

Stacey S.

there is a simple solution to your problem,
stop smoking unless you want horrible lungs(lung cancer) and risk others when they havent done anything to you..

Taf

6) I am a selfish human being and demand the right to blow my cancer causing toxic fumes over everyone else and make them and their clothes stink. The alternative, that I should go outside for two minutes is unthinkable.

LORA

Try the lozenge, it really helped me to quit!

TERRY C

perhaps the government would like to take a national referendum on this issue to see exactly what the majority is. those that do not tolerate smoking have the loudest voices but are they actually the majority?

SeaEff

Candy, I think you'd be as well banging your head against a brick wall, but I do see what you're trying to say.
I've noticed on my rare nights out that the non smokers tend to end up outside with the smokers anyway which sort of defeats the purpose of the smoking ban in pubs.

edit to I'm pink, Alness is in Scotland, first place in the UK to impose smoking ban.

gator

have you had a chest x ray? did you know that the dangers of smoking effects woman more than men? true, nicotine is a great source of income but health issues like empysema, lung cancer, and heart attacks out weigh it, your argument would stand up if presented 50 years ago but with the knowlege and proof that we have today, it's just plain stupidity.

Skiff

Im a smoker at the moment but am trying to quit. That said, I still don't agree with the smoking ban, I think It should be down to the landlord of the pub whether people can smoke or not. That way there would be places smokers could go and have a drink and not have to stand outside and the non-smokers could go to a pub that supports the ban, everyone would get what they wanted.

food lover

Firstly I have to say that I do not smoke (before everyone start moaning!)
But I agree with you in a lot of aspects, firstly it is affecting pubs badly, I would say about 40% of the people I used to see every weekend now stop in so they can enjoy their drink and cigarette together.
You may well say 'well let them' but a pub is much more than a place to get drunk, it is a place where a lot of the older generation come to meet and talk to friends. These people may now not see anyone from one week to the next, it is a small community in a lot of pubs where people look out for each other and help each other out. This I'm afraid is now coming to an end.
I do not say that everyone should have to inhale other peoples smoke.....what I am saying is, it should be down to choice. Every pub near my home has at least 2 rooms, why can they not be a smoking room and a non-smoking room (if the publican wants?)
That way we could try and take every ones opinions into account!
At pubs closing down at a rate of 6/7 a week I think we need to try and accommodate everyone.!

Lynn C

im a smoker and have heard that in parliment they have a smokers room also it was the goverment and royalty that brought tobacco into this country in the first place as for children having to put up with smokers in pubs lets be fair i remember when kids wasnt allowed in pubs, i stay in and have a drink at home like you say its warmer and friends come round we went to pubs to socialise but no more, i dont drink a lot maybe 2 glasses of wine a week, they said they wanted to follow the europeans well in spain they had the choice we didnt we just did what we was told.

alex hephaestion

I read a few days ago that ASH want the government to consider banning smoking in cars.

and once again ASH have totally missed the point

As a smoker if I were to be placed into a hermitically sealed room with a person for 2 hours and started chain smoking what would happen to the other person?

Now instead of a smoker what if a car was placed into a hermitically sealed room for two hours and left to run what would happen to the person then?

The answer to the 1st question is probably nothing

The answer to the 2nd question is most definitely the person would be DEAD

NOW LOOK AGAIN AT THOSE ANSWERS

So, I say to all those misguided people who seem to think that it is the tobacco that is killing them start using that energy of yours by forcing the government to put health warnings with pictures of road kill on the bonnets and boots of cars. Ban the advertising for cars. Place garages on the back roads out of sight. Reduce the number of petrol stations. Raise the age you can get a licence to drive to 25 and finally release the truth about the real health hazard to our people from the automobile.

Tinker

HERE HERE!!

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