General Chat

Donna I being an ex smoker will give you lots of encouragement to stop!!!!

I wasnt saying you personally are selfish Linda, just in general us non smokers have less choice if a smoker lights up near us. E x :o))

I'm a smoker and agree with the majority that it is a filthy habit - but, in my opinion, so is chewing gum, spitting in the street (and it's not always smokers), drinking to excess, picking ones nose, etc etc. Smokers choose to smoke, non-smokers choose not to. In most restaurants there are smoking and non-smoking areas as already stated - the choice is there - dont go where you dont want to. With regard to pubs (and its quite a long time since I actually visited one, preferring to drink at home) the last time I was in a pub in Nottingham there was no room to drink, let alone smoke and the music level was beyond belief -where is the enjoyment in that, whether you smoke or not? Should we ban music then, and conversation, meeting friends for a night out? I too have had family members who have died from cancer and chronic obstructive airways disease - not from smoking though, but from working underground for 12 hours a day in a coal mine to earn a crust to feed the family!! Any death of a close family member is traumatic, whether they smoked or not - why look to blame it on the humble fag, when the deceased had the choice to stop if they wanted to. We are supposed to have freedom of choice in this country, and quite right too. I appreciate that those non-smokers of you will argue that you dont seem to have any choice in the smoking or non-smoking arguement, but I would beg to differ - most of you would not go willingly within a mile of a smoker by all accounts, nor entertain one in your home. Well, I would because friendship (smoker or otherwise) would appear to mean more to me that it would seem to mean to you. With regard to the smelly aspect - the smell of the great unwashed is far more repugnant! Jacqui

Right ive started a stop smoking support thread who wants to join!

My friends mean the world to me But they also respect my wellbeing & health, and think nothing of standing in the garden to have their fags. Smelly people dont rot your lungs & take your health away. E x

I tried smoking back in the early 60's but couldn't see the point, it did nothing for me. Later I tried cannabis, and to be honest if someone is passing a joint around I'll still have a toke, at least you can detect some effect! I also, like a lot of kids in the 60's, took a hell of a lot of speed, (purple hearts), but I think if I'd stayed with it I would have been brown bread years ago. I also tried most of the other common drugs, LSD, Coke etc. And now I'm at the age of 57 I'm a happily retired successful ex Electronics Engineer with a lovely family, so it is not all downhill once you experiment with drugs. But an aside. In 1967 in Watford most kids who went out of a weekend evening dabbled with drugs. Now everyone of my age vehemently denies any involvement whatsoever! All the dabblers can't all be dead, are they just overcome with some sort of guilt complex? Oh Yes. And all smokers stink. I can smell them yards away, it's foul!

Glad to hear you dont ban your smoking friends Elaine - very considerate of them to stand in the garden I think when they pay you a visit. Do they have to take their drinks out there as well? When my non-smoking friends visit me I dont smoke in their presence, as I too respect their wishes, but when its a mixed crowd of smokers and non-smokers I find that my non-smoking friends are really quite tolerant (well, they must be as they keep coming back to visit!) I wouldnt banish them to the garden though if they didnt smoke! Jacqui

What are the advantages of smoking?,,,None as far as i can see, Unless of course you like to stink,,,have yellow skin,,,bad breath,,,look older than you are,,and look a t*** when you are all dressed up ,out on the town,looking gorgeous......... with a fag stuck in your gob,,,,,very elegant,

As a smoker I resent your implication Claire that I stink, have yellow hair, bad breath etc etc. What a small minded individual you seem to be! Some smokers you know may well fall into that category, but I certainly do not! Nor do any of my friends and acquaintences that smoke. I could say that all non-smokers have pursed mouths with little lines (due to looking down their noses) beatled brows from glaring at smokers, etc etc. however that would not be the case. There are probably no advantages to smoking, but it is my choice, and my choice alone. I do not know what your own personal habits are (perhaps some I would find offensive), and would not comment on them if I did so what gives you the right to generalise on smokers the way you do? Jacqui

Yeah I know Terri, but do not stink as much as cheap tacky perfume used by totties who think more is best!! lol Jacqui - off to have a fag!

Jaqui No My friends dont have to take their drinks out into my garden. But then again they also dont get drunk in my house. Im afraid I put my two young kids first, not smokers. They are my priority.I choose not to have smokers in my house mainly because of them and I just dont like the smell. Also my friends are a little more polite & considerate than you seem to be in your reply to me on this thread. Elaine x

Jaqueline! All smokers have pursed mouths with small lines on their lips from sucking on their foul fags! There is nothing that makes a girl or woman so unattractive as sucking desperately on a fag! And I can smell smokers from yards away, just passing someone in the street I can say "Yes, smoker!"

Jacquleine,,,why take it so personally,,,? I meant ALL smokers. not just you, I havent met one yet who doesnt have that''odour' about them,

I'm not a smoker - never have been but I don't discriminate against smokers either.... never have done.

Claire - smokers do smell of smoke - those with less fastidious habits smell of b.o. alchies smell of booze. embalmers smell of formaldahyde. cooks smell of food. and no doubt you have your own particular smell! Not all smokers have yellow hair, teeth, bad breath, stink etc. but I do know quite a few non-smokers who fit the bill exactly. Perhaps if you did not generalise about smokers so much, then no offence would be taken. Elaine - good for you for looking out for your childrens health and well being. I would not smoke around a child, nor inflict deliberately my smoke on anyone else. My point is that I can show tolerance towards those who do not agree with my point of view, when apparently it would seem that non-smokers have no tolerance levels at all. Jacqui

I come from a smoking familY.I was the odd one out but I couldnt stand the smell.A smoker cant understand how it makes a non smoker feel and vise versa.My brother has tried several times to quit as hes married to a non smoker and has to endure watering eyes etc due to his smoking but its an addiction so he alwys goes back to it.One of the reasons being when he goes out for a drink its all around him so he gives in. Here in NZ there has been a non smoking policy in eating places for years.Those who like to smoke have an area set aside usually near the door or outside.There was many complaints at first but now everyone accepts it and it is more pleasant for non smokers who are eating.

What about the economic reasons for not smoking? The econony would be better off because there would be fewer sick days, less production would be lost to cigarette breaks and money saved by not having to clean up behind smokers. Any reduction in the number of smokers would mean more money for the for the NHS to spend elsewhere. Health care may be free in the UK but it's paid for by taxes from smokers and non-smokers alike. That aside, what was it that made you first pick up a cigarette? What can be done to stop today's children from starting? Crista

Non-Smoker. The government should ban smoking in all public places. Smoke at home - not in my face!! I hope that's not ambiguous.

jaqui Oh I have tolerance all right, I tolerated my parents smoking as I grew up, my eyes smarting as they played cards with my aunt & uncle,all smoking. I tolerated my workmates running to the loo for a fag break several times a day, why i covered their job. I reluctently tolerated sitting in resturants, cinemas, and other public places breathing in smoke before certain laws were changed to ban or limit smoking from these places, I dont ask people to stop smoking, as you say its their choice . But if non smokers have a choice, why are we expected to hold our breath or tolerate breathing in stale smoke. Smoking is a choice not a nesscesity like breathing in air.

Elaine, I am sorry that your parents did not show you enough consideration during your childhood as you obviously show to your own children. I too have covered for colleagues who smoked whilst they skived off to have a fag, and I have also covered for those colleagues who did not smoke who just wanted to skive off to have a natter, leaving me to do their work. I do appreciate a cinema and theatre as being smoke-free actually, as I do buses, trains, aeroplanes etc. You see, the thing is, I do not spend every waking moment smoking - I have other things to do, places to go and people to see. I do not intentionally inflict my smoke on anyone, nor do I try to inflict my views on anyone either. I do resent being told by sanctimonious cretins that I smell, have bad breath, have yellow hair, yellow teeth and goodness knows what else because I smoke. As I have said on another thread, I have had the misfortune to know individuals of that description who have never smoked a cigarette in their lives. I think we will have to agree to disagree on this one - you in your small corner (non-smoking of course) and I in mine. Jacqui