General Chat

increasing pensioner population living longer, increasing the retirement age, in a few years more pensioners than workers. I can solve it - remove the smoking ban, reduce price of cigarettes (in Heathrow duty free 2 weeks ago 200 Dunhill Int cost £11.20, average price of packet of 20 in UH is £6.52) lots more lovely tax to the g'ment and people will not live so long, ditto for drink, more taxes in the pot, as for obesity - well ignore it - problem solved.

Hi Chris, I can only plead "guilty" on most counts. I hadn't realised until now that I was doing my bit for humanity.

On a similar note, yes, please let's remove the smoking ban. Let's get into the world of free choice. Spain has got it about right. there are places you can smoke, and places you can't. Free choice.

Shame this country isn't so tolerant.

Sue x

If they bring back smoking in pubs - they'd achieve all that - and stop a lot of pubs from closing, thereby reducing unemployment!!!

..and it (the pub) would give smoking (and non-smoking) pensioners somewhere to go to socialise when it's cold and their local day centre has been closed.

Hi Maggie

Do you know of a small, unoccupied island off the coast?

Sue x

Hi Sue
No I don't, but if I did, I'd be the first to squat there (and open a 'proper' pub!!) LOL

I 2nd or is that 3rd or 4th the motion.........Bring back smoking in pubs. :o)

From Jan 2nd, smoking will be banned in all bars & restaurants in Spain (fat chance)
What I can never understand is that the government is always telling us in one breath how to stay healthy & live longer & in the next breath it says it can´t afford us?
Double standards or what?
What they really mean is that they don´t want to have to fork out for health & social care for geriatrics, so would we please all die in our sleep in our own homes & not incurr any expenseMarion

From Jan 2nd, smoking will be banned in all bars & restaurants in Spain (fat chance)
What I can never understand is that the government is always telling us in one breath how to stay healthy & live longer & in the next breath it says it can´t afford us?
Double standards or what?
What they really mean is that they don´t want to have to fork out for health & social care for geriatrics, so would we please all die in our sleep in our own homes & not incurr any expense
Marion

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HOW THEY SPEND THE TAX ON CIGGIS MONEY

PERHAPS THEY COULD TELL US

HOW THEY SPEND
MY MONEY

Are we allowed to smoke on this thread? If so, I'll join in :-)

Holland have brought back smoking in pubs that are owned by the proprieter.

I think smokers in the 70's paid for all the NHS in taxes. A couple of years ago I read that of the 8 billion tax paid by smokers it was only costing the NHS 1 billion for health related problems.

Now don't you feel good we are supporting the NHS LOL.

Seriously though pubs used to have a bar (usually occupied by men ) plus a smoke room and a snug used by non smokers. It's alarming how many pubs are closing and this is with the licensing hours extended.

The pubs seemed to be themed for youngsters and there are not many thaT YOU CAN GO TO TO TALK, MUSIC IS FAR TO LOUD. a QUITE EVENING AT A PUB IS A THING OF THE PAST.
Sorry didn't mean to shout accidently clicked on cap lock.

A few weeks back I was having a lovely chat with my doctor, about this and that, as you do lol.

Got talking about smoking/living healthy lifestyle etc......and he said that (in his opinion, with hindsight) the medical profession had got it wrong!

The gist of what he said went like this........."we (the medical profession) have spent so much money on treatments, and the prevention of, heart disease/strokes etc and getting people to live longer healthier lives, but at what cost? All we have really achieved is to condemn people to living longer but with Altzhimers (sp) and dementia."

And quite frankly I agree with him........I'd love to live to a ripe old age, - but not at the cost of suffering with dementia!

Mary

*lights a cig*........and replies to DIZZI and Pat Kendrick :-))))

I heard a radio interview a few years ago, (can't remember who was being interviewed but he was a health minister or something like that), the interviewer asked....... *how much of the tax raised on tobacco products goes in to the NHS, and how much of that is used to treat smoking related diseases?*

The guy replied *about 90% of the tax raised goes in to the NHS and about 30% of that money is used for treating smoking related diseases*

So needless to say, the next day when I went in to work, I took great delight in telling my non smoking work colleague that I had probably paid for her recent hip replacement and that she should be grateful to me - and not keep moaning about me smoking! LOL

Mary

A couple of weeks ago, I was in hospital on the Surgical Assessment Unit.
As I lay there, having just had the IV lines taken out, but with morphine canula still in, I saw this man walk down the ward. I was just about to face my first solids when he appeared at the side of my bed. "I see, from your notes, you are a smoker" he said, and I agreed. "How do you manage when your in here, and have you thought of giving up".
Well just at that moment all I was thinking about was getting rid of the excrutiating pain He said he was employed by the NHS to encourage people to give up. He was not a doctor or a nurse, but had looked at my notes.
The upshot was, that I told him I was at that moment sucking a Nicotine tablet, and once I was stable, I would have a walk to the in house Boots, and buy some more. "Oh no need, I'll get them prescribed for you", and he did.
I felt pounced upon,and taken advantage of, whilst I was still in a very a pianful and vulnerable state. Talk about a captive audience.
Julia in Derbyshire

Im not a smoker and never have been, It didnt do my Nan or Mum much good however..........

Everyone has a choice if they want to smoke or not.
Pubs are not what they used to be since the ban, and are closing down and loosing money.
There is less tax being generated.
And pubs are a lot less fun nowadays,empty and full of the under 30s.

I agree that smoking should be banned in restaraunts but pubs, never.

Teresa

Cooper, as a smoker, I do so agree with you re smoking being banned in restaurants, but not pubs.
But I remember well going to a small pub some years ago, where you had your meal in the main room of the pub. We stopped smoking whilst others next to us, had their meal. Afterwards, we wanted to have a cigarette with our drinks, and it was made obvious, that we should not. After all, we had gone to have a drink and cigarette to wind down. The gesture should have been reciprocated.
Julia in Derbyshire

Sue, there is an uninhabited Island off the coast, Unfortunately it was used to test "Anthrax" many years ago,so not worth the risk going there.**M**.

Mary and Pat - as to taxes some 35 years ago I worked in a small (850 employees) tobacco manufacturing factory. The system then (it has changed since) that a cheque to cover tax had to be given to Customs & Excise (who were there on site) by noon each day in order to release the leaf from Bond for the following days production. One minute past noon was too late.

Each week the second signator changed (always a top manager) and regularly I would be seen dashing like a mad thing around the factory trying to find my boss in order for the cheque to be signed in time. The amount? In those days a mere £250,000 - £300,000. Remember this was one small factory in UK. The time early to mide seventies. It was always well known that the smoking taxes more than paid for the NHS several times over but the anti-smoking lobby only ever quoted the cost of smoking related diseases.

As a cigarette / tobacco user, you are a nicotine addict, a drug addict. I would have thought that you'd be happy about getting free nicotine gum or patches. You save the money you would have spent on tobacco (and you wont smell like an ashtray) - what a bargain!