We have had all the horrendous figures and stats of what harm smoking did, however where are those same figures showing any decrease since the smoking ban came into force !!!

It's not just an issue of health though. Even were smoking not damaging to others health it would still be hugely unsocial to smoke in public areas as it forces nasty smoke into the whole room. Just the same as lighting up incense sticks would, or letting off stink bombs, or burning citronella candles etc etc. It's ludicrous that smoking in public was ever tolerated.

It's not just an issue of health though. Even were smoking not damaging to others health it would still be hugely unsocial to smoke in public areas as it forces nasty smoke into the whole room. Just the same as lighting up incense sticks would, or letting off stink bombs, or burning citronella candles etc etc. It's ludicrous that smoking in public was ever tolerated.

The 'bottom line' is Realist, we have had enough measures to abide by, now its time to get to grips with the drinkers - that cause far more damage
And, I wish you wouldn't lump 'all' smokers together as the pits - some of us are considerate

Hi Patsy. Yep I know all smokers are not the same, but the considerate ones are in the minority sadly.

And you are right on target in relation to the drinkers and the entire situation of selling drinks in city centres and all the outfall that results in. It is similarly utterly ridiculous.

However, while ever the government continues to be filled by corrupt individuals taking back-handers from powerful conglomerates, nothing is likely to change. Alcohol sells, and profits fuel greed and power. There is little moral standing in the government and powers that be.

There will eventually be another bloody revolution and military and police have been gearing up for it for a long time imo. Everything runs in cycles.

Well that's mighty nice of you to concede this !

Lots of smokers even to this day still don't see a problem with smoking in public. They begrudgingly go outside to designated smoking shelters and only because they have been told to do so by the government. Had the smoking laws not been put in place these people would still be polluting public places with their toxic smoke.

As I said in my first post this is an utterly puerile and selfish stance to take. If 10 years ago I had walked into a pub and set up a wooden block full of Incense Sticks I would have been thrown out. People would have complained. Equally if I sat there routinely setting off stink bombs I would also have been thrown out. Yet smokers for years were permitted to pollute public rooms in their own way. It was and remains utterly ludicrous.

I stand by my statement that no-one should be permitted to create a dangerous environment in a public place.

Your comparison with cars or for that matter any mode of transport is interesting. I can't deny that forms of transport pollute the environment and no it's not acceptable that they do. However, we are an enslaved species and those who control are forcing us in the main to use fossil fuels for all of our forms of energy. Renewable energy sources should be cheap and readily available but they are not. Have you ever wondered why solar panels are so expensive as to be out of the reach of the ordinary folk? There is no reason for them to be, the solar cells can be mass produced quite easily. Further to that, I myself could very easily build my own solar panel. It requires little effort, mostly soldering individual solar cells together and putting them in a suitable frame that can withstand the heat etc. Yet there is no point in me doing this because the controlling powers have implemented all manner of laws and regulations to stop me from achieving my goal. If I made a panel, I would not be permitted to plug it into the National Grid for example. I would also not get house insurance if it was attached to my house and/or plugged into the wiring. Any panel has to meet all sorts of stringent regulations and the average Joe Bloggs would not pass those regs.

All of which is to say that at present we are forced to use the forms of transport that the governments permit which mean fossil fuelled polluting cars, busses, trains, planes, ships and whatever. Yes I could take a bicycle but for long distance it is just not practical or workable.

If the government repealed the law tomorrow that prevents smokers from smoking inside pubs and restaurants, they would immediately flock back inside and carry on as before believing it is their God given right to do so. Despite all they know about the health risks to others, and the discomfort they cause others, they would carry on regardless, just as they always did before.

Bottom line is the government HAS to take action to stop them and thankfully that's what they are doing.