They've banned cigarettes from shops

I recently quit smoking and I don't think banning cigarettes from shop displays will change the way that people choose to smoke. If it stops children from seeing them then all well and good but if they want to smoke they will smoke.
Have a great weekend.

I agree! Stop smoking!

I did quit and it was my own choice, no one elses.

I too agree with the ban. Okay, if someone wants to smoke, they will. But the numbers will cut down. And theres no doubt about that...

Hi Thea. Yes the nanny state has hit a new level of insanity. How on earth will this stop people from wanting to smoke? We see a wide range of stuff displayed in shops but we don't feel like we have to buy it unless we need it. Maybe they could ban Mcdonalds signs from outside those restaurants and beer pumps from bars in pubs too. I think this ban will spread to the whole of the EU along with probably fattening food and bottles of wine lol.
Have a great weekend.

We also must remember that smoking is a harmful habit in the same way that driving too fast is dangerous but governments don't make lives miserable for drivers except by raising the price of fuel which when burned pollutes the air far more that cigarette smoke. If more people used public transport when possible the earth would be a healthier place. I agree smoking is a bad habit but it is not the sole contributor to bad health among humans.
Cigarettes were invented when Sir Walter Raleigh returned to England from abroad and brought home some pipe smoking tobacco. Cigarettes evolved from this and it was once considered highly fashionable to smoke but we know better now.
Have a great weekend.

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I own a car and I've been a driver for many years. I live in a small town without access to reliable public transport but too many people drive when they don't need to, a few hundred yards to the local shop for example and worse still to the pub.
You did well to stop smoking after all those years and I congratulate your children for becoming successful in their careers.
We have to remember that as long as cigarettes are available smokers will exist and nothing will stop it except a smokers decision to quit. Do we complain about heroin addicts being given free needles and methadone at the expense of the tax payer? No! I believe smoking is bad but it's being made out to be public enemy number one, it's being singled out as the sole cause of ill health and death while there are far more contributing bad habits which should be brought to the attention of these anti smoking extremists.
I hope your good health continues and I hope your children continue to enjoy their successful careers. Thank you for a good discussion.

Well done! From your word "No!" onwards, you really have hit the nail on the head of what it's all about. I'm not condoning smoking in the slightest, but the reactions to and hysteria over it have got way out of proportion. Like you say there are other equally harmful...maybe even more harmful things which people are actively encouraged to do, yet the smokers get the blame for everything.

because of that smoke, my health is getting worse even if i am not a smoker, i can still inhale the bad smokes around me. its like OH MY! there are many people everywhere who is smoking!!! do they have conscience that what they are doing is not right both in themselves, to others and to the world?! smoking is reaally bad, and i don't know why they keep on sticking with it...

Here in Europe we are no longer allowed to smoke in public buildings. Before that law was in force we could smoke in bars and restaurants which allowed somking. It was then a non smokers choice whether they entered the building or not. Now, with the law in place, smokers have to smoke outside so if people hadn't complained so much in the past about smokers smoking in designated placed we wouldn't have the problem of people smoking in the street.
I hope your health improves and I hope you manage to avoid cigarette smoke as much as possible.

I recently quit smoking so I know exactly how it feels to be patronised by these anti smoking bigots. Okay smoking is bad but so are a lot of things such as fried food and lack of exercise. Do we see obese people being singled out because they live on junk food? No! Would obese people stop eating junk food just because it wasn't on display? No! So why are smokers singled out as public enemy number one? I really don't think this ban will change anything, freedom of choice will always be the determining factor.
Have a great weekend.

I can´t stand people who own the universal truth! I smoked for 50 years and my lungs are wonderful. Fortunatly not all people are the same.
I stopped smoking but will not make my friends go out for a smoke in the middle of the winter. That´s SADIC!
Happy posting!

@ Bullet...Unfortunately, I would like my child's freedom of choice to be a responsible one....and smoking is not one of them. I would always hope that my children do not take on the same bad habit as me, because it no longer becomes just a habit, but an addiction that is very hard to quit. And to be enslaved by this addiction is not something that I am proud to display to my children. Therefore any help we can give them is good to me.

They stopped advertizing cigarettes on Television, years ago, there were always ads during every program. I have no problem taking away the easy accessibility to them...I don't mean making them illegal, but openly displaying them in racks, after racks, after racks in front of a store, is an influence that I would like my children to be able to avoid.

But again, I feel the same way about booze! I don't think cigarettes should be singled out.

Sweetchariot I can see how you might have misunderstood my comment. I whole heartedly agree that children should not be encouraged in any way to smoke and if this ban goes anywhere towards preventing temptation amongst children then I will look at it as a positive step. As for people actually wanting to smoke I really don't see how this ban will have an impact. If it cuts the number of smokers by half then I will look back and congratulate the government on their good work.

I agree!

You covered some very good ground there but that ground has been covered many times over the years. Has it made people quit or not want to smoke? Smoking is an addiction so smokers will only quit if they want to, not because the anti smoking majority want them to.
Have a great weekend.

Hi Maxine,
Smoking is not the worst sin you can see in this society. I bet violence is more harmful than cigarrettes. And I think that they either make it illegal (which they won´t because government love the money they get from tobacco producers) or they don´t bother poor smokers.
We all have our ways of thinking. It is not fair that some will impose theirs on others. I quit smoking, but it was my decision.
Hug!

Hi my friend Margareta. A few of my friends smoke and that is up to them. Two of my relatives died and that was due to them smoking so very much. Cigarettes do cost quite a lot of money in the UK. The people in my home country have heard about the health dangers of smoking. I am very keen on traveling and lots of people smoke in other countries. It is fine for them. Hug. Maxine

Hi there Bullet Tooth. I know that people smoke because they wish to do so. They won't give up just because others want them to. Even if cigarettes go up in price by three times or more smokers will still buy them. I don't wish to upset anyone with my comments. I don't wish to smoke cigarettes but some people do and that is their choice.

Hi maximax8 you didn't upset me with your comments at all, this is a discussion, views are welcome so please don't feel that your views have upset me. I appreciate an open honest opinion.

I am happy that my opinion didn't upset you Bullet Tooth. Smoking is one of those topics that people are either for or against. Have a lovely day.

Hi Tamara. Smokers lives are being made more difficult every day but smokers don't make other people start smoking in the same way that drug dealers get people hooked on drugs. The UK supplies drug addicts with needles and heroin substitute funded by the tax payer but is that frowned upon? It is a world of free choice and as long as smoking is legal there will be smokers who will want to buy cigarettes whether they are on display or not. I recently quit and it was my decision, not the decision of a fascist anti smoking extremist. Banning beer pumps from pub bars and bottles from shop shelves will definitely stop people from going out and getting drunk. I don't think.
Have a great weekend.

Governments will never do that, they make far too much money from taxation so smoking, although frowned upon, will always be a major contributor to government funds.

I forgot to say I hope you have a great weekend.

Well done for stopping. I quit five days ago and I feel much better. I stopped because I wanted to and not because someone told me to so I don't think the display ban will help much if at all. Have a great weekend.

I don't know anyone who quit because of the advertising and sponsorship ban. Obesity and alcoholism are big health issues but we don't see alcoholics and obese people being victimised. Have a great weekend.

I agree with the point you're making about children not seeing them for sale but they will still see people smoking so if they want to start smoking they still will. If it succeeds in making just one person stop or change their mind about starting then it's a positive step but I honestly don't see how it will. They banned advertising and sponsorship many years ago but that didn't discourage smokers or stop people from starting. The only solution would be to totally outlaw smoking but that will never happen, the governments are far too hypocritical to do that because they know they need the revenue. Have a great weekend.

At leas they are taking some semlance of a stand. Here people are not supposed to smoke within 100 feet of the entrance to office buildings. Guess what? No one stops them. So that means that asthmatics, older people, children, those with allergies often have to pass through a cloud of smoke to enter an office building. All it takes is the scent of smoke to set someone off with respiratory issues.

If people want to smoke in the privacy of their own homes so be it. Public places like parks should be off limits. I really hate driving along enjoying some fresh air and someone pulls up nearby with their cigarrette hanging out of the window.