Smoking ban/ID cards

[Octygone]

I have got nothing to loose by the smoking ban (yippee I can go to the pub without being smoked) and have nothing wrong/not planning to do anything wrong, so can't see any problem with the ID cards either .... ...at the worst everything will stay the same at best it could help stop terrorism ..........nothing to loose and all to gain

[JPreston]

I'm a smoker but have no problem with the smoking ban

I'm not allowed to smoke at my desk at work so why should pubs/restaurants be any different. It will save lives at the end of the day.

ID cards are nothing but an expensive sop to the most ignorant voters who don't mind being marked like a herd of sheep in return for the vague fuzzy feeling of security that they provide:thumbdwn:

[Mavrik]

I think all smokers are dirty scutters who shoul dhave their habbit stopped through the immediate banning of tobacco sales

I quite agree, but would you like the increase in taxes etc ?

also while we are at it, lets ban alcohol as well, there are more deaths related to alcohol than smoking, drink driving etc

[monkeychild]

Lets ban bans

[RobClubley]

I agree completely with the smoking ban. Here in NZ smoking is banned in all public buildings/restaurants etc. and most rented flats/houses too.

It's so nice to be able to go to the pub and not go home stinking of smoke.

I don't recall seeing fag ends flung out of cars at me either - yet!

As for non-smoking pubs in the UK - there's one in Leeds if that helps! Oxygen bar on the Headrow.

[ap0gee1978]

I once worked for a government agency. When I went for the interview I was asked if I'd ever been in trouble with the police - I said no but the guy gave me a knowing look....... I said I'd been stopped for having funny coloured headlights when I was 17 but was sent on my way. He said "thats what I was looking for" and moved on.

At the same interview I had a hair sample taken for drugs testing and had to endure a LOT of intrusion into my personal life' date=' financial affairs and family ties etc.

However, it was my choice to go through with it and hence, I diddnt mind. It diddnt feel particularly nice to be honest.[/quote']

You weren't undergoing Developed Vetting, were you? I had that about a year ago. Wasn't asked about my criminal past as I genuinely don't have one (I've only ever spoken to a policeman twice - once when reporting a crime, and once was a case of mistaken identity), and I didn't have a drugs test (although all the stuff I have to take for various ailments would probably have made the test a bit pointless! ) I did have to admit to buying, er, 'special interest' DVDs over the internet, having a Prince Albert, and being the third party in someone else's extra-marital affair, however. Not too difficult on here in relative anonymity, but having to do it face-to-face as part of a 2-hour interview wasn't much fun...

Strangely enough, I'd spent a bit of time at the place where the interviewer was based (just outside York), so after the grilling we had a bit of a chat along the lines of 'you know that pub the other side of the river...' Quite surreal considering what had gone on before...

[RobClubley]

Wow! Interesting interview subjects!!

[day tripper]

Bearing in mind as you wont be able to smell smoke in nightclubs you will be able to smell someones vomit festering away in a dark corner. I prefer to smell the smoke.

[RobClubley]

Bearing in mind as you wont be able to smell smoke in nightclubs you will be able to smell someones vomit festering away in a dark corner. I prefer to smell the smoke.

Mmm, nice

[WW_VRS]

Fair point though

[alexb]

Do you reckon Buy the time the Gov sorts out the procurment stage and then impliments the Mother database so we've all got our mark of the beast allocated, cards for ID will probably be obsolete so the next logical step is chip implants !

[Chris_Focus]

woohoo finally the government has done something sensible IMO:thumbup:

[Goochie]

You weren't undergoing Developed Vetting, were you?

Sure was. Signed the OSA too.

I had to declare that I had some photos of an ex naked on my webspace and had used peer-to-peer software to download porn, pirate software and MP3's.

Despite all this I passed.

[heresmo]

Do you reckon Buy the time the Gov sorts out the procurment stage and then impliments the Mother database so we've all got our mark of the beast allocated, cards for ID will probably be obsolete so the next logical step is chip implants !

Nah, cos they would cost too much and have no benefit.

Oh blimey.

Mo

[domhnall]

Smoking ban is typical populist BS from Poo Labour. I can see the case for protecting bar staff etc. but surely allowing each establishment to choose would be better. :rant:

Smoking ban makes lots of sense and ends the farce of people like train drivers having to stub out as they cross the border into Scotland. Also means that after years of being forced to avoid pubs by stinking smokers, non smokers will be able to go in for a drink without their clothes being made to smell as bad as the addicts. For those with contact lenses it means their eyes will no longer feel like they are being sandpapered as they do when you spend 30 mins or so in a pub at the moment.

And then there's the fact that Gordon Brown is a Scottish MP. They have their own parliament now, so why's he down in England, getting ready to preside over a nation that didn't vote for him, instead of running 'his own' country? That might sound racist, but what's the point of devolution if MPs from the provinces (for want of a better word) get to rule in the English parliament? We wouldn't roll over and let Phoney Tony appoint Jacques Chirac or Angela Merckle, so why's it OK to have Gordon Brown in charge...?:rant:

well that would be because there is no English Parliament, there is a UK one and a Scottish one and then assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland. This I am afraid is the result of having domestic matters such as law and order, health and education handled in devolved bodies in some parts of the UK but not for others. As long as the UK Parliament retains power over people in Scotland, Wales etc then I am afraid you have to allow them to be represented there. The alternative of course is to break up the UK. Either of these are legitimate options but retaining power over the other nations and denying representation to all but the English is not. Sorry 'bout that

[heresmo]

Interesting point, domhnall.

Does anyone else think that it's too cut and dried that dear Gordy will be the next leader and for that reason alone, either it won't happen, or almost certainly he won't be the next PM if it does? Thinking that British people never like to be told what they're getting whether they like it or not.

Sort of relevant in a wandering sort of way...

Mo

[domhnall]

Interesting point' date=' domhnall.

Does anyone else think that it's too cut and dried that dear Gordy will be the next leader and for that reason alone, either it won't happen, or almost certainly he won't be the next PM if it does? Thinking that British people never like to be told what they're getting whether they like it or not.

Sort of relevant in a wandering sort of way...

Mo[/quote']

I don't see it's any different from what happened when Mrs Thatcher was ousted by the tories, we got a new PM that they chose. Our system elected a Labour Government not the PM. Who the party that wins has as leader is a matter for them. The system means you choose your local MP. The only people who got to vote for Blair were the people in Sedgefield.

[ap0gee1978]

@Goochie: From what I gather, as long as you're not Osama bin Laden or Ronnie Biggs, the only way you'll fail DV is by lying. It really is surprising how much the government know about even ordinary folks :nervous: - any porkies and you'll fail the test!

@domhnall: I don't smoke myself (if that's what you're thinking), and although I think establishments should be free to decide (and be subject to market forces if that's how it ends up), I don't necessarily disagree completely with the ban. It's one solution to a difficult problem, but as I mentioned in my previous post, it's still flawed. At the end of the day, it wouldn't have been my solution, but there you go. My main objection, and the reason I described the decision as populist, is the big F-O fanfare Phoney Tony's given it simply because the government is delivering on one of its manifesto promises. OK, so what about the rest of them? On the big scale of things, it's a pretty minor development, seeing how other workplaces, buses, shops, etc. etc. have been non-smoking environments for decades virtually. You'd think they'd abolished slavery or given women the vote, the way the Labour Party keep banging on about it. Meanwhile crime goes up and up, schools get worse, transport goes down the pan, and oh yeah, British Forces are off fighting illegal wars on the say-so of the US president.

As for the Gordon Brown thing, fair enough, he's an MP, not an MSP; hence he gets the opportunity to rule the whole of the UK. I guess I can't argue with that. My biggest objection is that he's been appointed by the current PM, rather than by the members of the ruling party, as happened with the example given of John Major. At least with John Major, the fact that the whole of the parliamentary Tory party got a vote introduced a certain amount of balance. Brown is being handed the controls on one guy's say-so. It's the despotic lack of a democratic process that bugs me. But then again, it's just another example of Tony Blair's autocratic, legacy-craving, cronyistic personality. Another example of which is that a senior civil servant has been asked to resign (read: 'sacked') for opposing Blair's appointment of Lord Birt as the chairman of a particular government agency. Why did he oppose the appointment? Lord Birt isn't the best man for the job, apparently. But go against President Blair's will, and you can pick up your P45 on your way out... :thumbdwn:

[pixi]

Oh dear, seems I'm a dirty scutter

Hi, my name is Pixi and I am a smoker I actually don't mind that there is going to be a smoking ban because it will mean that there will be less opportunity for me to light up. Not that I spend all my time in pubs/clubs.

My work place has just introduced a smoking ban for staff and visitors, patients are still aloud to smoke at present. If Tony Blair and his cronies decide to include my client group in this ban I will personally invite him to come along to my ward and tell a large floridly psychotic male that actually he can't have his cigarette

[domhnall]

As for the Gordon Brown thing' date=' fair enough, he's an MP, not an MSP; hence he gets the opportunity to rule the whole of the UK. I guess I can't argue with that. My biggest objection is that he's been appointed by the current PM, rather than by the members of the ruling party, as happened with the example given of John Major. [/quote']

It seems he must be a reader of Briskoda, I read in several papers yesterday that Gordon Brown is unhappy at the way he seems to have been automatically chosen and that he wants Blair to have some sort of selection so he will have t compete for the job.

see? the power of Briskoda eh?

[heresmo]

It seems he must be a reader of Briskoda' date=' I read in several papers yesterday that Gordon Brown is unhappy at the way he seems to have been automatically chosen and that he wants Blair to have some sort of selection so he will have t compete for the job.

see? the power of Briskoda eh? [/quote']

Good ol' Brisky

Peter Hain MP (Sec of State for N Ireland and Wales) said on Beeb Question Time this week (paraphrased) that he did not foresee any cabinet member standing against Gordy and that there weren't otherwise any worthwhile contenders.

Since they never throw their hats into the ring until the last minute, it'll be interesting to see whether Hain's hat arrives...

I suppose in Churchill's day, they would have thrown their cigars into the ring

Mo

[Xavier]

I'm all for a no-smoking policy. As others have said, when I was in Ireland, it was wonderful. I enjoyed my pints of Guinness even more

I hear people say "establishments should choose". But I do not know of a single pub/bar which is entirely non-smoking. So if the establishments can chsose and they all permit smoking (even in designated areas), where does that put the allergic people like myself?

Because it's not enforced at the moment, I really think it's a pain. I've been to a pub countless times where there's a "no smoking at the bar" policy, yet everytime, I see someone with a fag in their mouth / fingers. In that case, what should the staff do? Say "I won't serve you until you put out that cigarette" ? Doesn't sound too good from a PR point of view does it, even if the bar tender is right. If you remove the ability for a given place to chose on the policy and have it enforced by law, it stands a bigger chance of being respected IMHO

I feel a poll coming along

[ChrisRs]

As for non-smoking pubs in the UK - there's one in Leeds if that helps! Oxygen bar on the Headrow

(Know it well!!) ....Expensive beer!!

HOWEVER:

I FULLY agree with a ban on smoking in pubs. There is a pub near me in Skipton (Narrow Boat) that has a balcony and tables up stairs where smoking IS allowed. None downstairs by the bar. It works very well and is a good compromise until it's banned altogether next year. Personally I cant wait and it WILL save lives. As smoking becomes more and more anti social more smokers will give it up!!

[ap0gee1978]

Peter Hain MP (Sec of State for N Ireland and Wales) said on Beeb Question Time this week (paraphrased) that he did not foresee any cabinet member standing against Gordy and that there weren't otherwise any worthwhile contenders.

Since they never throw their hats into the ring until the last minute' date=' it'll be interesting to see whether Hain's hat arrives...

[/quote']

That sounds to me a bit like when an MP who's about to be sacked is told he/she 'has the full support of the Prime Minister'. Sadly, Ruth Kelly seems to be the exception that proves the rule...

Did anyone see Ben Bradshaw on BBC Breakfast this morning saying there was no need to take any pre-emptive measures against bird flu, and how the government had already contained an outbreak of a similar disease, but because they'd been so successful at containing it, no-one had heard about them doing it? Strangely enough, he didn't give any other details - presumably it was the Phantom Bird Flu strain - this is New Labour moving away from spin, then?! I've posted on here already about how the government likes to use things that would otherwise be pretty insignificant as a kind of news 'smokescreen' (e.g. the total non-crisis with Iran), and with a bit of forethought, bird flu ought to be a flash in the pan. But then again, foot and mouth was supposed to be like that too. Wouldn't fancy being a poultry farmer at the moment - talk about being treated like a mushroom*!!!

* i.e. kept in the dark, and fed on bullsh*t!

[alexb]

Smoke ban officers to follow offenders home

Jason Allardyce / London Times | February 19 2006

TEAMS of council enforcers are to be given the power to trail people who flaunt the ban on smoking in public places, including following them to their cars and homes.

Critics fear the move raises the prospect of local authorities using the officers as revenue raisers to boost their coffers. Similar charges have been levelled against the armies of private traffic wardens, dubbed