by Daniah Hathaway

Created on: August 14, 2010   Last Updated: August 16, 2010

Smoking Ban - A Good Call

When the smoking ban in the UK came into effect back in July 2007, I was a smoker but it didn’t bother me that much about having to go outside to get my fix. In all honesty why should non-smokers have to be forced to sit in a pub filled with cigarette smoke? They have made the choice not to pollute themselves, but then if they wanted to watch the football with their friends in their local pub they had to endure the excessively smoky environment.

After the initial culture shock of a smoke-free, cleaner pub I came to prefer this to the smoke filled environment of years gone by. It makes all pubs more user-friendly, it means non-smokers can enjoy a few drinks without having to end up smelling like an ashtray and the diehard smokers still have a space to indulge their habit. Albeit outside, in the cold and rain, but go to any pub even in the pouring rain and I’m pretty sure you’ll find a small group huddled together under one of those large parasols puffing away happily.

I have since quit smoking and I really appreciate the smoke-free environment of pubs and restaurants. I like many ex-smokers find the smell of cigarette smoke rather unpleasant now and would rather avoid it if at all possible. I am not one of these ex-smokers that preach about quitting, if you want to smoke that’s fine I understand, I just don’t want to end up smelling awful because of it.

I also think that by making public places a smoke-free zone we may in fact stand a chance of driving down the number of teenagers who take up this habit. As I know all too well, it can start due to peer pressure or a desperate desire to fit in and ten to fifteen years later your still doing it. As radical and unpopular as this will be with all smokers, I honestly feel that smoking should be banned in public, meaning it can only be done in designated areas - pub gardens, smoking huts and in the peoples own home/garden.

I say this because I feel that the less this is seen by the younger generations then there could be more hope to prevent our children from making our mistakes. I find it sad to see parents walking along pushing buggies or towing a child and puffing away at the same time. Child want to be like their parents, they copy their behaviour and what you need to ask yourself is, do you really want to see your child smoking? The answer for me was no, which was why when my son was four months I quit. I stopped on the 2nd July 2008 and haven’t touched a cigarette since and I never intend to either.

For a long time smoking was seen as not only socially acceptable but the ‘in’ thing to be seen doing, times have changed, peopled views have changed and we now are all too aware of the dangers of smoking. People are going to continue to smoke no matter how expensive it becomes or how hazardous it is, but it shouldn’t mean that others who do not wish to participate in this pastime should be put at risk.

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