Smoking ban In Parks ?

[Oscar Namechange]

Radical plans to ban smoking in London parks 'could become blueprint for Britain' - ITV News

Note the word ' London' In here. One of the most highly congested and polluted cities In the country.

Have these people actually ever been to these Parks? Do they not realise that these area's are not In the middle of some deep countryside somewhere, but the most congested area's known to commuters.

So great. You can sit In a park without fear you may get a whiff of tobacco smoke wafting your way In a high wind while coughing your lungs up on exhaust fumes of passing cars and trucks.

[hoppy]

Join the club. I live in a 100 unit apartment building. Recently, they banned smoking anywhere in the building. So, people would stand outside the front entrance and smoke. People complained they had to walk through tobacco smoke to enter or exit the building. Now the designated smoking area is in the alley behind the parking garage. It's getting ridiculous. .

[Oscar Namechange]

hoppy;1466183 wrote: Join the club. I live in a 100 unit apartment building. Recently, they banned smoking anywhere in the building. So, people would stand outside the front entrance and smoke. People complained they had to walk through tobacco smoke to enter or exit the building. Now the designated smoking area is in the alley behind the parking garage. It's getting ridiculous. .


Your Hoppiness Sir. How wonderful to see you :-4



While there Is no doubt about the effects of second hand smoke, I think we have become ridiculously over-sensitive and frankly, pandering to those who object.

Most smokers like me, are not Inconsiderate, mindless, selfish so and so's. Most smokers like me would not dream of lighting up near children, expect to smoke In other people's houses or cars but It's gone too far,

Ban smoking In London parks and you stand more chance of getting mowed down by a taxi coming up a bus lane, a Pizza delivery boy on a motor cycle running late, speeding cop cars In persuit or If you're really unlucky, a woman driver high on anti-depressants driving a 10 seater people carrier to pick up one small toddler from nursery at 3pm. Then In the evening, you can run the gauntlet of those who consume large amounts of alcohol before climbing behind the wheel of a car whilst maintaining a haughty disdain for those who smoke.

This country needs to get their priorities right. Tackle the GP's who hand out sedatives by the bucket to young Mothers. Tackle binge drinking In teenagers that stretch our emergency services every weekend night. Tackle the pollution In Inner cities and then come and whine at me.

[FourPart]

Although, as an ex-smoker myself, I am hyper-sensitised to the obnoxious smell of tobacco smoke, I still find the ban on smoking in bus shelters round here a little OTT. In open parks it would be even moreso. What next? Banning houses from using coal fires? Garden barbecues?

The parks also tend to be a haven for the homeless / alcoholics / druggies (not that one is necessarily the other), but can you imagine them giving up on their smokes because of a ban. Also can you imagine an already overworked Police Force trying to enforce it?

[tude dog]

hoppy;1466183 wrote: Join the club. I live in a 100 unit apartment building. Recently, they banned smoking anywhere in the building. So, people would stand outside the front entrance and smoke. People complained they had to walk through tobacco smoke to enter or exit the building. Now the designated smoking area is in the alley behind the parking garage. It's getting ridiculous. .


I quite smoking like five years ago and I love the aroma of cigarette smoke.

Back in California they banned smoking in practically every open door place.

It has nothing to do with health, second hand smoke scare etc.

It is punitive.

control

[AnneBoleyn]

I too am dismayed over large smoking bans, particularly in one's own home! It is a legal product. Have the guts, politicos, to make it against the law.

However, it is kind of nice not to smell smoke everywhere. I can see certain restrictions, but not in one's own home!

In NYC, where we have the highest taxes on cigarettes in the country, there is no smoking on beaches, boardwalks, all public parks, & playgrounds. I can understand the playgrounds.

But again, there is something nice about not smelling smoke everywhere. It is becoming almost rare to see someone smoking.

[theia]

A smoker here who wouldn't dream of imposing her habit on anyone else.

But I think the attitude towards smoking is verging on the neurotic. We all have behaviours that can be detrimental to others and I can't see this ever changing. It seems that we are very selective as to which behaviours we choose to legislate against and once a behaviour becomes a target, the legislation becomes more and more trivial.

[AnneBoleyn]

theia, what efforts do you make not to "impose?" Hoppy's situation to me is just plain wrong. He should be permitted to smoke in his own home.

[theia]

AnneBoleyn;1466208 wrote: theia, what efforts do you make not to "impose?" Hoppy's situation to me is just plain wrong. He should be permitted to smoke in his own home.


I smoke only in my yard or in my car. Well, usually...

one of the older ladies I clean for used to be a smoker. She likes an occasional cigarette and sometimes asks me for one and likes me to join her, in her lounge. I wouldn't turn her down but I don't like smoking indoors because it makes my clothes smell.

[FourPart]

With this being a Tower Block, there are signs at the entrance stating that there is no smoking permitted in the block, but I was always of the understanding that this was restricted purely to the communal areas, not in the flats themselves - although it hasn't been specified one way or the other. However, I can't see anyone trying to enforce it. The Council probably wouldn 't be able to afford the legal battles.

[Oscar Namechange]

My husband has one lung and only 40 % gas exchange and lung capacity In his one lung.

When you are healthy, It's natural not to notice the environment around you but when you are In my situation, you really begin to start looking. You start to notice the amount of aircraft overhead billowing out fossil fuel emissions and you notice exhaust pipes blowing out carbon fumes.

I live next door to a school and at 3 pm, It's just toxic out there with Mums parked up on pavements with their engines running.... the one's who try to justify It, by saying, but I'm going to be 5 minutes'... yeah, multiply that by 60 cars.

Ironically, If I'm ever out In the lane or the Close at 3 pm with a fag hanging out my mouth, the ones who give me that look that silently disapproves of my daring to smoke outside my own house just because I live next to a school, are the very one's with a 10 seater people carrier In order to collect one toddler.

[AnneBoleyn]

theia;1466212 wrote: I smoke only in my yard or in my car. Well, usually...

one of the older ladies I clean for used to be a smoker. She likes an occasional cigarette and sometimes asks me for one and likes me to join her, in her lounge. I wouldn't turn her down but I don't like smoking indoors because it makes my clothes smell.


What if a passerby complained while walking past your yard? In a city in Texas the mayor tried to ban smoking in one's own yard if it were on a parade route! It was Julian Castro of San Antonio. Our member from Texas, the teacher, I forgot his name, told us that story.

I had to give up smoking for health reasons, & I'm ashamed (really am) but I cheat now & again. When not overpowering, I do like the smell of tobacco smoke. Isn't smoking in your car a more enclosed place than in your home?

Shucks, theia, I really loved smoking. I admit it.

eta---It was Accountable! I enjoyed his posts.

[FourPart]

Oscar Namechange;1466221 wrote:

I live next door to a school and at 3 pm, It's just toxic out there with Mums parked up on pavements with their engines running.... the one's who try to justify It, by saying, but I'm going to be 5 minutes'... yeah, multiply that by 60 cars.


Not only that, but more often than not the distance from the school is often less than 500m. Not only is it a disgrace that the kids shouldn't be made to walk that distance, but more often than not, the cars are the Chealsea Tractors, with deisel engines that don't reach their efficiency level for at least several Km, and are, therefore using even more fuel with even more fumes.

[Oscar Namechange]

FourPart;1466225 wrote: Not only that, but more often than not the distance from the school is often less than 500m. Not only is it a disgrace that the kids shouldn't be made to walk that distance, but more often than not, the cars are the Chealsea Tractors, with deisel engines that don't reach their efficiency level for at least several Km, and are, therefore using even more fuel with even more fumes.


Tell me about It !!!

One afternoon we came home, got Into the Close just, ( The Close Is a dead end ) and there was grid lock from the school gates right down the Close Into the next road. We actually noted the time and It took 20 minutes to crawl the length of 10 houses to get to the entrance to my lane off the Close. Up by the school gates at the end, one vehicle was causing all the grid lock. She'd driven right up to the school gates and then found, she couldn't reverse out because of cars coming In behind her and she couldn't do a U turn. In the end, after 25 minutes, we finally managed to get around her and we were both gob smacked to see the driver was a woman In a 4 X 4 who lives In the next road... and It was summer !!

[theia]

AnneBoleyn;1466222 wrote: What if a passerby complained while walking past your yard? In a city in Texas the mayor tried to ban smoking in one's own yard if it were on a parade route! It was Julian Castro of San Antonio. Our member from Texas, the teacher, I forgot his name, told us that story.

I had to give up smoking for health reasons, & I'm ashamed (really am) but I cheat now & again. When not overpowering, I do like the smell of tobacco smoke. Isn't smoking in your car a more enclosed place than in your home?

Shucks, theia, I really loved smoking. I admit it.

eta---It was Accountable! I enjoyed his posts.


I think I would give her/him short shrift if that happened.

I always have both my car windows wide open, unless I have a car next to me at traffic lights and then I close that adjacent window until we move off.

There are only a small number of cigarettes I enjoy during the day...the rest are pure habit.

[FourPart]

I've seen a School Train in operation on the estate here, so I know there is such a scheme in place - it just seems a pity more people don't use it.

In case anyone doesn't know what a School Train is, a couple of parents, usually on a rota, escort the kids to school, picking up more kids en route. As each kid joins the train they have a cord fastened to each wrist by Velcro, with the parents at each end also fastened to the kids at their ends. A very healthy, efficient system, and fun - to say nothing of being far cheaper.

[theia]

FourPart;1466230 wrote: I've seen a School Train in operation on the estate here, so I know there is such a scheme in place - it just seems a pity more people don't use it.

In case anyone doesn't know what a School Train is, a couple of parents, usually on a rota, escort the kids to school, picking up more kids en route. As each kid joins the train they have a cord fastened to each wrist by Velcro, with the parents at each end also fastened to the kids at their ends. A very healthy, efficient system, and fun - to say nothing of being far cheaper.


Lovely idea...except that I hope they didn't pass a park where nasty people were smoking cigarettes. If they did, the air coming from the school train on the return journey would have been unbearably smokey.