Should We Now Move The Smoking Ban To Public Open Spaces?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31602414

[horseshoes]

Sorry, I didn't answer the OP; my answer is yes.

[Hypognosis]

@Eddie51

//Nicotine is more addictive than Heroin is what I meant to say, sorry.//


If I remember rightly, Nicotine triggers the release of endorphins by the brain, producing a 'high'. At least it does the first half a dozen times. Cruelly, for the rest of their lives, smokers have to indulge to lift themselves from a 'low' back to a 'normal' level. Even an evening chain-smoking in the pub fails to produce the kind of 'high' they once had.

Heroin mimics the natural endorphins but, worse still, replaces them. The brain loses the ability to make the natural compound and the user begins to require the drug just to maintain normal brain functioning. Their lows are devastatingly low, using just raises them to 'functional' and, like with alcohol, highs require steadily higher doseages (the liver gets ever more effective at breaking intoxicants down, until it fails), which inevitably leads to disaster.

If only we regarded tobacco pushers the same way we regard drug pushers, eh?

[douglas9401]

It's well established that non smokers are less tolerant, more prone to extremes of outrage, are holier than thou and allow a passing puff of smoke with the bad stuff removed to raise their blood pressure to dangerous levels.

Source: the comments above.

To answer the question, no.

[-Talbot-]

more prone to extremes of outrage


lol, Yes that's true. I remember when I suggested at an AGM of my local club that when we have a kids disco we put a smoking ban on for that date.

I recieved a very calm rational, intelligent response from the smokers.

[EDDIE51]

If Nicotine was discovered today it would be a class A drug.
Unfortunately there were no drug laws 250 years ago.

[ToraToraTora]

Ref the costs/tax argument. There is a tendency to focus on the direct health costs but that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are all sorts of indirect costs associated with smoking, fires etc, higher insurance premiums, indirect health costs eg life time care for children born handicapped because their mothers smoked etc etc

[Hypognosis]

Actually, TTT, the article Eddie51 linked to accounts for all those secondary things (fire & rescue etc), which was why I said I was only quibbling with the 'lost productivity' element, which was only 2.9bn out of a total ten times that size.

I see no-one has challenged my assertion that, in spite of everything, the tobacco companies are still making a profit, making any whining about smokers costing the taxpayer a classic case of misplaced anger. Set your sights on the right targets and you can fix society in short order.

[ToraToraTora]

"I see no-one has challenged my assertion that, in spite of everything, the tobacco companies are still making a profit,......" - well it doesn't really need saying does it, of course they are making profit that's what they do but that's of no relevance to this discussion.

[EDDIE51]

Plain packaging is on the way , all cigs will soon be in identical packs with just a large anti smoking warning and the makers name/brand in 3mm high letters on the bottom of the pack.
That may hit the tobacco companies profits . I wxpwxt

[EDDIE51]

Hit submit too soon
I expect to see many people switching to the cheapest brands.

[Sir Alec]

If you've never seen this, it's well worth a look.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGBv8j4Xb3E