If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. To contact our Crisis Messenger (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Options
3 Months since the smoking ban in the UK - how's it been for you?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
As of today it's exactly 3 months since the no smoking indoors in public places came into effect
As a non-smoke it's been very good for me.
Have been caught out a few time though as places I've been to many times in the past have changed all their seating around now - so been telling people to meet in the back (which used to be non-smoking area) only to find the pubs have closed it off and just lumped everyone together so they don't have to walk as far to serve people.
As a non-smoke it's been very good for me.
Have been caught out a few time though as places I've been to many times in the past have changed all their seating around now - so been telling people to meet in the back (which used to be non-smoking area) only to find the pubs have closed it off and just lumped everyone together so they don't have to walk as far to serve people.
0
Comments
It's been generally good, except when I'm out with lots of smokers, and they all keep having to go outside. I'm used to it now though.
Still think it's stupid though.
Cant wait to go to the clubs again at uni and the next day have my throat not feel like I've been drinking sandpaper.
The quality of the air inside pubs has improved massively of course. But it still angers me no end that some areas of some pubs at least have not been allowed to continue welcoming smoking. So long as the premises are well prepared for it, there is no harm whatsoever in having a smoking room segregated from the rest. I speak as a non smoker incidentally.
How sad that old timers whose only distraction left in life at their age is going to their local working men's club or pub for a beer, a smoke and a bit of socialising with others, are going to end up staying at home- being the only place where they can light up without danger of catching pneumonia, abandoning their social life and quite probably dying earlier than they would have otherwise.
Just shows how far the addiction goes, it can't be pleasurable at all, squeezed in with people you don't know with the air being rancid.
I've not actually noticed any that have been switched on. I reckon they're for show most of the time! I was at the coast last week and it was sooo cold but none of the pubs or bars had their patio heaters on despite large crowds.
Well people blowing smoke in your face is a problem with people ebing inconsiderate twats rather than smoking being allowed inside.
I smoke less now but that's purely due to laziness rather than me making an effort to cut down. I definately smoke less in certain clubs where you have to queue to go outside to a smoking area, one look at the 30-45 minute queue and i think "sod that, i don't want a cig that much".
It's good when I'm in a pub not coming home smelling.
It's annoying when I'm walking about the high street as their are so many smokers on the pavement that I have to walk through them and breath more smoke than I ever did before the ban.
The ban at my local nhs pysch wards horrifies me as it seems so horrible for the smokers. I really don't agree with this (although actually they could have allowed it for an extra year by law they just choose not to).
I thought it would give people an incentive to stop, it certainly gave me a kick up the backside to stop. Also likes already been said, its great to come home from a night out not honking of cigs.
The flipside is, Ive quit but my mates havent!! therefore I still have to stand outside in the cold/wet even though I no longer need a nicotine hit:rolleyes:
Suppose I could play billy no m8s indoors, but nah.
I'm glad, I think it's great, especially in restaurants/places that serve food. Nothing ruined a meal in the past quite like a smoker lighting up at the next table.
Sadly I'm moving to Poland in February, where smoking is very common, there's no ban, and I'll probably struggle there, as an asthmatic. It puts me off going out.
I also feel a bit safer in a lot of places now cos where as the streets would be empty - they're now lined with smokers ..
Oh.
I still go out, I still have fun and my mates don't moan about the "smoky atmos"
Most people seem to be observing the ban, and if I want one I would be happy to go outside.
For now, everything seems to be Ok :thumb:
The only real downside is I now have to endure people that bathe themselves in perfume/aftershave more and having more allergic reations.
Unless I have to go outside as nearly all of my mates smoke because I don't want to be stood inside like a lemon
As for the gay places i go to. Of the 3, one is so small i stand outside anyway, the second one has a nice garden and the third has built a really nice smoking area, so nice all the non-smokers go in there
And the 2 clubs i go to, one has always had a really nice outdoor area which i used a lot before the ban and the 2nd one, the guy who runs it doesn't give a fuck about the ban so we all smoke anyway.
And even if the pubs were there, you wouldn't be able to get there because of all the trouble on the streets since 24 hour drinking came in.
Having said all that, I HATE sitting on my own inside the pub while my friends and boyfriend who do smoke go outside for a fag and end up chatting away. I feel quite left out - maybe I shouldn't refuse to go outside in the cold with them, but I do, and as a result I miss out on some social aspects of a night out. I also hate the large crowds of smokers that gather outside the pubs/clubs - I appreciate that they want to smoke and have nowhere else to go but it's not nice having to walk through a smoke tunnel to get into places. I also worry about the patio heaters aspect in terms of the environment - I haven't seen them used much but then it's only just turning into autumn now so I reckon they might become more commonplace. Lastly, have you noticed how much some places stink now that the smell of smoke is no longer masking it?! One of my favourite clubs in Cardiff used to smell pretty bad when people smoked there but now they can't, it absolutely hums. I don't like the smell of smoke but I think I preferred it the old way, it's honestly disgusting. Overall though I've been glad for the ban - everything takes some getting used to but I do think it's a good thing.
One last thing though. I saw an article on the BBC website - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6664871.stm - about the good and bad points of the ban and one guy that was interviewed actually said that he'd TAKEN UP smoking so that he didn't get left out when his smoker friends go out for cigarettes when they're all out. WTF?!
Give it time
Like Aladdin, I'd like to see some stats for after the winter when people have to endure the cold and rain just to have a fag.
I've just come back from Berlin where it was a pleasure and a joy to be able to spark up in a restaurant or hotel. You non-smokers are really missing out on the quite exquisitely perfect pleasure that is a fag after a meal.
Be interested to see how many shisha cafes are closing down per hour and how many people's livelihoods have been ruined versus how many people's have been bettered/increased (aside from the company that makes non-smoking signs who must be rolling in it).
Hmm, you'd have to show a lot of lost livelihoods to make up for the 17% drop in heart attacks in Scotland in half a year since the ban (compared to a usual average drop of 3% in previous years). In my maths that works out at around 800 in 6 months. Incidentally, smokers saw a 14% drop, whereas non-smokers saw a 20% drop. But I imagine that's just a coincidence, and that second-hand smoke is exaggeratted?