Re: Smoking free county

If one wishes to be bloodyminded about it, (and honestly, I am indeed being flippant about it) the tax that smokers pay to buy a packet of cigarettes surely merits any one of them taken ill to hospital, entitled to ask for a private room! after all, the huge amount they have paid extra compared to a non smoker, also pays towards every non-smoker to be treated in hospital, plus smokers die earlier so they are less a burden on the NHS as many others are, as many smokers don't stay around to age !!

Just stating of course!

Re: Smoking free county

These days it's not about the tax but getting sick through smoking takes scarce doctors and nurses away from other patients. There is a huge strain on the nhs because of a lack of staff. With all these doctors retiring and nursing bursary withdrawn we should all be trying to look after our health. Easier said than done of course.

Re: Smoking free county

Good Post OGF, I guess ex-smoker's have more sympathy with those who are still addicted to cigarettes. Perhaps those who are complainers about the last bastion of freedom for smokers (outside) believe if they complain enough, even that will be banned. Thank goodness we are not yet a Stazi state!

That reminds me, whatever happened to all of those jobsworths that were employed to check whether the ban was being enforced when it first came out? You never see them anymore.

Re: Smoking free county

That is quite true Annie, unfortunately, smoking is a personal choice. It is an addiction, and only the person that is addicted, just as drug addicts and alcoholics have to do, can make the decision as to whether they are able to give up smoking, usually with help, or continue to pay over £12.40 for a packet of twenty cigarettes. (I still cannot get my head around that cost).

Smokers usually fall into four categories.

A. One who smokes because they have always done so, and can afford to pay that unbelievable amount of money for a packet of cigarettes

B. One who smokes whenever and wherever they fancy outside in the open air, couldn't care less whether someone is turning their nose up in disgust, their attitude is "stuff you, it's not illegal"

C. One who knows they should give up smoking because they cannot afford it, always making it their new year resolution, always promising this is their last packet, always believing that tomorrow they will not smoke any longer.

D. Those who just enjoy a cigarette socially, believing foolishly that illnesses such as Cancer or any other tobacco related respiratory problems will never happen to them.

Whichever they are, they all know one thing - It's an addiction.

Re: Smoking free county

It is an addiction no one is denying that .
Just as much as heroin or cocaine is an addiction .
And just as babies can be born with heroin addiction I wonder if children of smokers are predisposed to smoke ?
Certainly everyone objects to people shooting up cocaine or heroin in a public park I feel sure this is illegal .
The dangers of discarded syringes to children and animals is not disputed .
Drug dealers targeting children are rightly despised .
Why then should it be considered ok to smoke in front of children ?
It normalises a dangerous habit .
It’s not just anti social it is a real and proven serious health risk .
More people die of smoking related illness than through any other cause worldwide .
So smoking in public places should IMO be completely banned this would include public parks and beaches .
This policy has been in force in most of some countries ie Australia for years .

Re: Smoking free county

Even cancer can not be attributed totally to smokers Muddy, and Breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men are the two main causes of mortality from cancer.....
But even those fall a long way behind Dementia and heart disease....

Dementia is now Britain's biggest killer, overtaking heart disease for first time new figures have shown. Some 70,366 people died from Alzheimer's disease and dementia last year compared to around 66,076 deaths from heart disease.

Re: Smoking free county

Smoking does cause or at least contribute to heart disease .
My husbands father died at 60 from heart disease by which time he could barely walk . He was a life long chain smoker .

https://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessat...moking-heart#1

While it’s not proven some sources think that smoking does contribute towards dementia.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-...g-and-dementia

Some ( research provided by tobacco companies ) say the opposite ie it helps prevent dementia .

Re: Smoking free county

The thing is smokers have not always done so .
Children aren’t born ( as far as I know ) with a inborn craving for nicotine .
They learn principally from their parents .
They do inhale nicotine from second hand smoke they copy their parents .
Children of smokers -at least in the past - tend to smoke .
My husband was a three packet a day man until he was thirty .
A fact that no doubt contributed to the heart disease he suffers from and is medicated for now.
That is why my heart sinks when I see young mothers smoking over the heads of their young children .
Decades of education has not touched them .
There can be no smoker - certainly in the U.K. who is not aware that smoking kills .
As once addicted it is so difficult for people to quit surely the only solution is to make it totally uncomfortable and unacceptable so that others especially young people will not become addicted.

Re: Smoking free county

I was intrigued by your stats on cancer deaths and whether these are UK stats, so I double checked and according to cancer research UK, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK accounting for 21% of all cancer deaths. I think you were quoting incidence of cancer but that's not the same as mortality. Breast cancer has some fabulous treatment and screening. In terms of heart disease you would have to separate that from smoking-related because smoking can also cause heart disease & stroke. COPD is also a big killer and also linked to smoking in many cases.

Here is the C&P from their site :

"There are around 35,300 lung cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's 97 every day (2015-2017).
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 21% of all cancer deaths (2017).
In females in the UK, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death, with around 16,300 deaths in 2017.
In males in the UK, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death, with around 18,800 deaths in 2017.
Mortality rates for lung cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2015-2017).
Since the early 1970s, lung cancer mortality rates have decreased by more than a quarter (28%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than four-fifths (84%), and rates in males have decreased by almost three-fifths (56%).
Over the last decade, lung cancer mortality rates have decreased by more than a tenth (12%) in the UK. Rates in females have remained stable, and rates in males have decreased by around a fifth (21%).
Mortality rates for lung cancer are projected to fall by 21% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, to 58 deaths per 100,000 people by 2035.
Lung cancer deaths in England are more common in people living in the most deprived areas."

The smoking ban has been really effective in reducing the death rate. Of course it can be a secondary cancer so not always linked to smoking. It can also be linked to pollution. But CRUK say approx 72% of cases are caused by smoking.

Only 5% survive lung cancer for more than 10 years. 79% of lung cancer cases are preventable.

My uncle died of lung cancer in his 50s and smoked like a chimney. My friend's husband has had a lung removed as a result of lung cancer and has smoked like a chimney all his life. He's about my age. He is still alive. They have great treatments in Britain these days but that's not a good reason to carry on. The disease itself is truly devastating.

I would never ever have a go at a smoker or lecture them on health risks and I would simply move away from them, but I am so grateful we have a ban.

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/hea...r#heading-Zero

Here is a link for the connection between smoking and dementia :

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-...g-and-dementia

"Smoking is the main cause of avoidable death, through heart disease, strokes and lung cancer. It is a risk factor for lung disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and poor immune function, and also adversely affects fertility and maternal health. There are therefore many general health reasons for not smoking"


There is a comment on that last link :

"The evidence is that stopping smoking reduces your risk of dementia. This is similar to other findings with smoking, where stopping smoking leads to a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease or of cancer."

So smoking, dementia, cancer and Cardiovascular disease are all linked.

Ok lecture over, the powerpoint presentation will be emailed to those who would like a copy! Amen!

Re: Smoking free county

Sorry Muddy I think we may have been posting at the same time!