MPs to vote on smoking ban for those born after 2009

[Tinky]

I smoked for 38 years, my health is now very poor suffering with COPD and asthma and many other ailments due to smoking, I finally went cold turkey to stop when I had to undergo an endarterectomy on my neck 26 years ago. It was either stop or face suffering a massive stroke. I only wish this act was in force before I got hooked. What are your views?

I recall we had a long and heated thread on the subject of banning smoking in pubs etc back in the day … I look forward to seeing how this one unfolds

Pointless for a few years yet.
You have to be 18 already, so anyone born in 2009 could not buy them until at least 2027 atm.

Also, its a ban on buying them, not smoking them (if someone else buys them for you).

I expect many will just turn to vaping as well, which doesnt seem that much better.

---------- Post added at 19:46 ---------- Previous post was at 19:43 ----------

Plus of course, banning drugs always works so well ......

[Taf]

"You can smoke cigarettes at any age, but you are not allowed to buy them until you are 18.

s.7 (1) Children and Young Persons Act 193 as amended by the Children and Young Persons (Sale of Tobacco etc) Order 2007

If you are caught smoking by a uniformed police officer or park keeper in a public place when under 16, he or she can take away your tobacco and cigarette papers.

s.7 Children and Young Persons Act 1933"

But it's also illegal to buy alcohol under 18, and it's totally illegal to buy controlled drugs. Does that stop a lot of youngsters and vendors?

[Anonymouse]

Exactly. When the Americans tried Prohibition, there was more booze, not less - and lower quality at that. The same thing will happen here with cigarettes.
I have some experience - not personal (except for a brief abortive attempt at 13, which only confirmed what I already knew, I have never smoked and never will, nor did my 2 half-sisters, one of whom has sadly passed away), but my late Dad, when I was 6 or so. He caught spasmatic bronchitis, and our doctor gave him a choice: quit smoking or quit breathing. Guess which one he picked?
Incidentally this is a kick in the teeth for anyone who 'can't' quit - my Mum was a heavy smoker too, but she quit to support him - and we didn't have patches, vapes or hypnosis back then.
She quit anyway. I don't recall seeing her going cold turkey. No relapses, no unhealthy substitutes - she just quit. If she could, they can.
The house smelled a lot better after that.

[mrmistoffelees]

I’ll be honest I like smoking, i really like smoking Be that a cigarette or occasionally a cigar

I understand smoking is ultimately going to get me especially as a started approx 37 years ago ironically the day my grandfather died from lung cancer. I’ve made my choices and I’ll have to accept the consequences.

What I don’t understand is why alcohol is considered more socially acceptable
.

[jfman]

The cynic in me would say alcohol employs more people and generates more taxes through the distribution chain (inc. hospitality industry).

[nffc]

Originally Posted by jfman

The cynic in me would say alcohol employs more people and generates more taxes through the distribution chain (inc. hospitality industry).

Probably true.


And much as I think it's probably a good thing not to get kids into smoking and to stop people before they start (I've never smoked and don't intend to), those born in 2009 are what, 14/15 now, so would be a few years off being able to buy cigarettes themselves anyway, as has been mentioned. So how's this going to work in 15 years time when they're 29/30, and someone born in 2008, who is 30/31, can buy cigarettes, but someone born in 2009 can't, but basically the same age?


That's going to basically make having proof of age to buy cigarettes mandatory from this point forwards isn't it?

It just means more imports.

anyone buying cigarettes abroad would be able to bring them back to the UK as long as they were legally acquired elsewhere.

Once again the super nanny uk state, with ultimately stupid & meaningless laws, just so they can pretend to do something.

[denphone]

Not a smoker myself but is it not freedom of the individual to make their own personal decisions as long as it does not interfere with those who do not smoke.

---------- Post added at 07:58 ---------- Previous post was at 07:56 ----------

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

I’ll be honest I like smoking, i really like smoking Be that a cigarette or occasionally a cigar

I understand smoking is ultimately going to get me especially as a started approx 37 years ago ironically the day my grandfather died from lung cancer. I’ve made my choices and I’ll have to accept the consequences.

What I don’t understand is why alcohol is considered more socially acceptable
.

Where will it all end as its just the start of a slippery slope.

And l don't smoke or drink alcohol personally.

It’s ironic that many of the same objections levelled here were made when car seatbelt use was made compulsory. However, a lot less people die in car accidents now, and nobody seriously suggests civil liberties make car seatbelt laws odious.

Personal freedom is never absolute, especially not in a complex interconnected society. Every decision we take has the capacity to influence other people. Legislating against something is always a balancing act between an individual’s freedom to choose and the impact of their choices on society, especially those who have to pick up the pieces when our choices have serious negative consequences.

I’ve experienced those negative consequences twice in my life - members of my family who died of lung cancer due to smoking. I have also seen other members of my family struggle to quit, because nicotine is always addictive (in a way that alcohol is not). So I have little sympathy with the personal freedom argument, nor with the whataboutery when it comes to other controlled substances like alcohol.

[mrmistoffelees]

Sorry but it’s a genuine question not whatsboutery

Why considering all the financial and social impacts is alcohol more socially acceptable?

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

Sorry but it’s a genuine question not whatsboutery

Why considering all the financial and social impacts is alcohol more socially acceptable?

Your question is premised on financial and social impacts - to answer you on that basis is to accept whatever assertion you’re making about those impacts, but you haven’t set out what you think they are. It sounds like whataboutery because you’re just pointing a finger and expecting other people to fill in the blanks for you.

[mrmistoffelees]

Originally Posted by Chris

Your question is premised on financial and social impacts - to answer you on that basis is to accept whatever assertion you’re making about those impacts, but you haven’t set out what you think they are. It sounds like whataboutery because you’re just pointing a finger and expecting other people to fill in the blanks for you.

I’d just like to know why do people think that alcohol is more socially acceptable than smoking. No finger pointing

If you don’t want to answer well obviously that’s fine…..

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Chris

Your question is premised on financial and social impacts - to answer you on that basis is to accept whatever assertion you’re making about those impacts, but you haven’t set out what you think they are. It sounds like whataboutery because you’re just pointing a finger and expecting other people to fill in the blanks for you.

Is his point not that they are (within a reasonable margin of error) pretty much the same across the whole spectrum?

It doesn’t require anything more than someone who favours banning but not the other to consider why the same doesn’t apply and what the difference is. If your point would be that it’s not as addictive then fine. But I don’t think it’s fair to dismiss the comparison as whataboutery.

(For the declaration I don’t smoke but do enjoy the odd beer, rum or glass of wine)

---------- Post added at 12:01 ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 ----------

Originally Posted by mrmistoffelees

I’d just like to know why do people think that alcohol is more socially acceptable than smoking. No finger pointing

If you don’t want to answer well obviously that’s fine…..

I think there’s something in the fact very many people can enjoy drinking in moderation in a way that isn’t often found in smokers. Growing up I knew of far more adults who smoked 20 or 30 a day, those still alive now paying the price in terms of their health, than would sit and drink to excess daily or even weekly.

That’s not to say there aren’t people who do, or that their addictions haven’t caused the same or worse financial, social or health impacts.