Smoking Outside as a freedom/right

[likesfish]

bring on the bad weather I say
smoking place balcony four storys high facing the sea
makes me laugh (once too often having to pick fag butts up)
also wok has banned smokers from smoking under the canopy in the entrance

 

[ChrisJ]

There should be a place for people to smoke, but I sort of agree with the no smoking on hospital grounds rule.

When I was in hospital with a lung condition, I could not go outside to get fresh air without walking through 10 smokers who surround the doors.

If people have to smoke, do it away from doors so people don't have to be subjected to the smoke.

 

[spanglechick]

well - i don't imagine anyone's surprised to hear that schools and their grounds are non smoking for staff. bloody stressful job too - yet smokers expected to go all working day fagless.

what happened? people gave up.

slightly different if you're just visiting a hospital - as it won't make you give up, but for staff, it doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

 

[AnnO'Neemus]

...Sure smoking is bad, but i would defend anyone's right to kill themselves however they wish, just so long as they don't hurt anyone else physically.

I know that the British Constitution is based round the lack of rights for the individual, but surely there should be a right to smoke outside. It seems too oppressive not to...

You've just answered your own question there, really.

Smoking in the presence of other people does hurt them physically, through passive smoking; that's why it has been banned indoors.

What about the 'right' of non-smokers not to have to run the gauntlet of a really smoky entrance and breathe in loads of toxins and carcinogens when they are visiting a hospital?

Like you say, I'm also all for the right of people to kill themselves however they wish, I'd just rather they were doing it solely in their own homes and weren't doing it in public and possibly taking me with them.

 

[Dante]

Q. Where do the surgeons go between ops for a fag? I remember the surgery rec room as being filled with ashtrays at one london hospital (and whiskey bottles at another...)

I work (School not NHS) on a non smoking site, as a teacher i can't leave the site during the day in case of a fire/emergency. Part of the job spec. (arse)

 

[mattie]

There was an argument floating around that some employers tried to ban smoking as they thought it took too much time from the working day. Unless somebody can smoke at their desk or in front of their workstation, it wastes time for them to go to a designated area when non-smokers are expecte dto be working. Of course, that's not an issue during breaks, but I suspect that most smokers light up more than twice during a working day, and a blanket ban prevents anyone from taking an unscheduled fag break.

Edited to add - of course, the thread deals more with smoking as a general right, but a lot of comments have focused upon specific employers.

 

[audiotech]

One place I worked if you wanted a "smoke break" you had to clock out and then clock in again.

 

[Roadkill]

On the face of it it seems harsh but the employer is tempering these measures with a massive anti-smoking campaign including free patches and smoking cessation groups.

No, that is harsh. It's up to staff whether they want to smoke or not, and it's certainly not up to employers to try and nanny them out of it.

What about the 'right' of non-smokers not to have to run the gauntlet of a really smoky entrance and breathe in loads of toxins and carcinogens when they are visiting a hospital?

Like you say, I'm also all for the right of people to kill themselves however they wish, I'd just rather they were doing it solely in their own homes and weren't doing it in public and possibly taking me with them.

Smoke disperses quickly outside and there is no measurable health risk. People who complain about others smoking outside are, however they might try to justify it, only complaining because they don't like the smell. Well, tough shit. I don't like a lot of perfumes etc either, so should we ban them?

The question of smoking around entrances to public buildings has alreasdy been covered and the answer is simple: stop people smoking near doorways, and provide a shelter and an ashtray elsewhere.

 

[gosub]

I just went to the local hospital with my girlfriend as she had an appointment to check out her eye.

Now, i'd like to say that i'm not a smoker, but I was sad to note that smoking is now banned outside the hospital and so the smokers are forced into sneaking around trying to hide their addiction.

I understand the no smoking inside rule, but when did this country get to a point where someone can dictate that they should have NOWHERE to go.

When will people accept that we cannot force everyone to be some ideal. Sure smoking is bad, but i would defend anyone's right to kill themselves however they wish, just so long as they don't hurt anyone else physically.

I know that the British Constitution is based round the lack of rights for the individual, but surely there should be a right to smoke outside. It seems too oppressive not to.

Sooner or later someone is going to notice that not having rights is leading to an Authoritarian state with no individual rights. Some people are even saying we should not have the European Human Rights Act.

Are you talking about Bstoke? (By coincidence last time went up there with mum for her eye exam) Am a smoker found it annoying, not as annoying as pay and display car park, the place is 2 miles from the town centre, felt like another tax. the rules don't apply at Parklands next door though they are not that big on the right to kill yourself by other means in there.