1.5.08

Smoking Ban Closes 7% of N. Ireland Pubs

Work smoke free or don't work at all. Glad you complained?

From BBC News.

Its (The Federation of Retail Licensed Trade) chief executive Stephen Kelly said: "The much-promoted view that non-smokers would be rushing to premises has not materialised.


This has been a much loved topic of debate on LIA (meaning I shout at the tubes until the spittle shorts out my monitor) and to this day I'm still not in favor of these bans.

Here's a quick run down of my talking points.

1) It's prohibition. It didn't work for alcohol, it won't work for tobacco.
2) If it's such a malicious problem, make it illegal. It's hypocritical to take tobacco tax to fund municipal works and education projects but then ban the same substance in public places. Think about it, the cigarettes you can't smoke on this property helped pay for its construction.
3) There are already nonsmoking establishments that serve alcohol. I don't understand the mindset of wanting to go to a bar and then complain of the smoke. It's like going to Six Flags and complaining about the roller coasters.

This isn't just me as a smoker not enjoying watching places I can have a cider and a smoke dwindle to seedy pool halls, it's also the lack of accountability and common sense. If it's so bad you have to publicly ban it, just fraking make it illegal already. If it's legal, and taxable, why are you telling me when I can use it? I don't smoke in my office or in my house. I smoke with other smokers. And where do we congregate? At bars.

Legislation like this makes me feel like I'm working a part time job where they don't want me any longer but instead of firing me they just schedule me for five hours a week in the hope I quit on my own.

Carry on.

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