**I'm a bit afraid to speak**
As a lifetime non-smoker I actually feel quite intimidated about saying anything in this thread, which appears to have become quite predominantly commented in by either current or past smokers. Please don’t clunk me on the head with the nearest ashtray !
One of my closest friends is a smoker and we've managed to never fall out over any of the issues. She's the only smoker in my circle of close friends mind you and she's always been a considerate smoker.
Its clear that there are always two sides to every debate and the arguments on both side are no less valid, just at odds with each other.
However, from a purely personal point of view, I sympathise greatly with the dilemma smokers are faced with, whilst at the same time 100% endorsing the ban. My reasons are many and diverse (which always tends to be the case with myself).
Rather than leap up on my soapbox and start shouting the very obvious reasons. I will try my best to resist the temptation to over debate with people here; especially since I appear to largely outnumbered, being one of a minority in this thread who apparently share some of my views. Instead I will just go for one long outpouring of 'stuff' (usually my way
) and simply state the most important reasons entirely as they fit in the context of my own small world... and then I'm going to run out the door.
Im the mother of three grown sons aged 19-23, all raised in a completly non-smoking home...to my deep regret all three of them began smoking, to varying degrees, in their mid teens. All three would like to stop and they have attempted to stop a number of times and failed.
The 20year old suffers regularly with bronchitis, the youngest suffers with asthma. As an asthmatic myself I know that the smoking increases the chance of his attacks and that the severity of the attacks can be made worse. Yet he still struggles to give up for more than a week or so without lapsing.
Its particularly difficult for socially active youngsters to maintain their willpower given the peer pressure and constant temptation they're surrounded by every time they go out. Invariably this is when they succumb. Try telling a 19 year old that perhaps they could try not going out pubbing/clubbing for a few weeks, while they get over the worst of the cold turkey.
All three of my sons witnessed a grandmother slowly wither away to nothing and die of lung cancer. She had never smoked in her life, but her husband had always smoked heavily in the house. The doctors believe passive smoking was very likely a major contributing factor in her cancer.
The boys saw that their grandfather continued to suck away on the cancer sticks even after her death. His one concession being that he would go outside to smoke. Five years on his health was so damaged he was in serious danger of not lasting the year. He underwent major heart surgery as a result. It took this to ultimately get him to give up the weed. Basically it was stop or die.
Three years ago my boys lost their second grandmother to cancer. She was an asthmatic and a chain smoker who had tried to give up more times than she could remember. It was always being around other smokers that dented her resolve. Perhaps, if she hadn't had to run the gauntlet of other peoples smoking, she may have been able to stick to her resolve long before she became ill.
We'll never know but it's something which still occurs to me, particularly when one of the boys fall off the wagon again and tells me it happened when they were out socialising with friends; someone offered them a ciggy and it was all too easy to give in. Anything that will help them towards maintaining their resolve so that they quit completely is well worth putting a few noses out of joint for. Yup, I’m biased...but it's personal.
Smokers will, understandably, avoid remembering the fact that their smoking doesn't
only affect the people around them in the more obvious ways. I approved of one of the recent TV campaigns which highlighted the effects visited upon the loved ones of smokers, for whom the risks have become a horrible reality.
To see a young girl having to come to terms with the fact that she will watch her mother slowly suffer and die from a disease that she could very possibly have avoided. The 'passive' effects of smoking are much more far reaching than the immediate issues of other people having to put up with the unpleasant smell etc.
Naturally, I'm directly affected by people smoking around me. I get an allergic reaction to certain strong tobacco smoke. Just one gulp of it can trigger a severe asthmatic attack. Most smoke will affect me on a variety of levels; some are just more annoying than others.
The smell of just one cigarette will often make me nauseous; being in an enclosed, crowded and smoke filled room will usually mean stinging, watering eyes and in really smokey rooms I will end up coughing or wheezing. Therefore, it has and does affect my own social life. Even if I don't surrender and just go home, I obviously won't enjoy my evening as much as I could and it can often take a couple of days to recover completely. Is that fair?
Paradoxically, I actually feel guilty if I wave away a trail of smoke which always seems to seek me out. If someone notices and apologises then I feel bad. I feel guilty for making them feel uncomfortable.
I think all this explains the reason for my own approval of the ban. If anyone has been battling hard to stop then anything which helps to break the addictive hold that smoking has over them, is a fantastic thing. My eldest has cut down considerably because of his workplace ban and I can only see that improving further with tighter restrictions.
DT mentioned that they have an outside smoking hut at her college but only students are permitted to use it. The reason for this seems completely obvious to myself and relates to my general points.
It may seem unfair, and life’s a bi@tch it's true, but teachers and lecturers are expected to set an example to students on many levels. Why should this be an exception? They fall into the same role model camp as the parents and should lead by example. Smoking certainly isn't something to be encouraged in youngsters, I’m sure everyone would agree.
Julie told a sad story about a elderly man. As undoubtedly sad as the story is, Julie explained that he was drunk. So it's fair to say that he could just as likely fallen and hit his head when simply going to the loo or going home. It's merely a fluke of circumstance that the tragedy happened when he was being sent outside to smoke.
I'm aware my opinions are completely subjective and differ from those of others here. But I respectfully fail to see the rationale behind the expectation that a ban will initially lead to a rebellious increase in smoking.
Certainly, nobody's going to START smoking simply because of the ban but why would anyone increase their smoking in response to it. Wouldn't that be an pointless exercise for them? It also seems to be in direct contradiction to the effect that current restrictions appear to indicate. There has been a marked reduction in the number of smokers in my own place of work (approx 1,000 employees) since smoking was limited to the external smoking shelters a couple of years ago. Equally true is the fact that many of the smokers have actively reduced the amount they smoke in response.
There is some short term hardship involved for some, but as 6alive has pointed out, despite reservations, people did quite quickly adjust to the ban in Ireland, and the positive gains are indisputable and far reaching. Even in the short term, some smokers have said that they have cut down because they can’t smoke freely.
If it helps just a small percentage of people who have been trying hard (like my sons) and desperately want to stop, then frankly I think that has to be a pretty darn good reason. Who knows how many lives might be affected in a positive way from that simple fact; the ones who may have suffered serious illness or may even have died as a result of smoking associated diseases and the families they would have left behind. How can you even begin put a value on that.
My feeling is that surely the ban is meant to be about much more than the immediate benefits, it's all about gradually changing social attitudes towards smoking now, in order to help future generations to live a healthier life. Is that such a bad thing to be a part of? I appreciate people feel they live in a democracy and should have the right to the freedom of individual choice. Some spoke of a marginal majority on the vote...matters not to me. The point of democracy is surely that you can't always cater for the individual. The greater good is under consideration, not just that of our own generation. Our society as a whole will benefit in the long term. It’s all about short term pain for some, long term gain for all. It's about pushing on with the prevention of problems rather than just managing them and finding cures.
**sneaks out out of the room sheepishly to hunt for that bottle of Fabreeze **
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seemingly the family were up in arms. Also Smokers are doing the right thing they are standing outside, but seemingly its classed if your walking under an underpass its classed as being inside. how stupid is that. 
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