Smoking ban starts this weekend

[citizenED]

Smoking ban starts this weekend. In about four weeks time people will be heard to say "can you believe it, people used to be able to smoke in pubs..."

citizen

[Mark]

excellent, although it means I'll frequent the Gowlett and CPT more often which probably will offset the smoke free health benefits

[mockney piers]

all together now

hip hip...

[JoeChuff]

Hooray!!

less laundry to do!!

[SeanMacGabhann]

And it means I'll be able to go to pubs until I'm 90 instead of 80!

[macroban]

I wonder if this thread should be in the smoking lounge.

I've been thinking about the economic impact on East Dulwich.

How many of the East Dulwich alcohol drinking businesses are marginal and a drop of (say) 10% of turnover would threaten their survival?

[SeanMacGabhann]

Good question macroban - I would say the majority of LL businesses are ok with it.

Unfortunately I can some of the off-main-road establishments suffering - unless we drinkers unite and do our best

[mockney piers]

If anything I reckon it'll go up. like sean I shall be more inclined to go to the CPT quiz on a wednesday now that I won't be in an oxygen starved fug.

[Asset]

only time I want a cigarette is when I'm in a drinking establishment.

[TillieTrotter]

Ms Jowell, you're always in a drinking establishment!! (quick call the Sun)

[Brendan]

Yeah I only smoke in the pub. Which means I probably smoke about 4 nights of the week. I am going to miss it but I realise that it is for the best in the long run (ho hum).:'(

If the bloody sun would come out and allow outside drinking it might ease the pain a bit.

[jim_the_chin]

i must say i stopped as i only smoked when in the CPT watching football - and I hated not being able to breathe in there when it was a busy winters night.

i always said i wouldn't stop because the government forced me to, but meh!

and i'm running instead (see sponsorship) and feel a bazillion times better as a result.

[Keef]

Brendan Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yeah I only smoke in the pub. Which means I

> probably smoke about 4 nights of the week. I am

> going to miss it but I realise that it is for the

> best in the long run (ho hum).:'(

> If the bloody sun would come out and allow outside

> drinking it might ease the pain a bit.

Ditto!

Feel a bit bitter about it being forced on me, and to all the self rightious non smokers (lots and lots of whom used to smoke and enjoy telling us how strong they were in giving up), please don't be smug, especially in the short term, or I may be forced to throw my pint over you and tear your throat out!!!

Er, sorry, stressful morning, I'm going for a fag :-S

[Fear 'n boozin]

sparks up. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

*wheeze*

*cough*

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Keef]

Mmmmmm phlegm :-S

[Brendan]

Snuff. That's the answer. Abnormally for my generation it is a type of tobacco I am quiet familiar with. My first experience with the stuff was when I was about 10 and an old Zulu gentleman who was the groundsman at the school my dad taught at gave me a pinch from his silver snuff box. My head nearly exploded, much to his and my father?s amusement. This was back in the ?80s when tobacco was still good for you, you understand.

Anyway if I can no longer look suave and debonair with my roll-up sticking out the corner of my mouth people are just going to have to get used to me sneezing loudly with brown stuff dribbling out my nose.

[*Bob*]

Bring back Skol 'Bandits'!

What's a bit of mouth cancer between tobacco-lovin' friends?

[peckham_perkster]

Me and my housemates were talking about this last night and coming up with the news stories that we know will be featured once the ban takes place. Here's what we came up with.

1. After it's been in place a while a look at the economic effect it's had on pubs, no doubt highlighting differences between the north and south. The red tops going for the jugular when they find a pub threatened with closure due to the smoking ban - I doubt this will happen personally.

2. An old man who goes to the pub every day who enjoys his pint of bitter and a roll up being forced to go outside and the pub owners and regulars saying it's outrageous. He fought for his country and this is how we treat him.

3. General comments on how lovely it is but now you can really smell the other nasties in the pub - stale booze on the floors, that weird wet dog smell some boozers have etc.

4. Images of the smokers outside in the rain in the badly erected shelters some pubs will have put up.

5. Pan to shots of city workers outside bars as well as offices - will they start to block the pavements?

6. Stories about people moaning due to the amount of cigarette ends on the pavements and councils agreeing that it's unsightly but it's a lesser of 2 evils and they are doing what they can.

7. After in place a while stories about how many fines have been dished out to individuals with the 'on the spot fines' and to businesses - van drivers smoking that kind of thing.

8. A piece on working mens clubs where they all think it's outrageous and others saying they've not noticed the difference really.

Anymore for anymore?

[SeanMacGabhann]

very good PP - and all too predictably true. Never mind that in other parts of the world where economic depression has been caused by smoking bans - New York, California, celic tiger Ireland.. oh hang on they are all doing fine

re Point 5 however - I see signs have gone up around my office to the effect that smoking is now not allowed outside the office either (in the lobby area - not ANYWHERE outside the office)

[macroban]

Why not look on the bright side?

There's a business opportuninty to sponsor new bus shelters outside the East Dulwich pubs and bars.

[Ted Max]

Or open an off-licence.

[citizenED]

PP, there was some guy on radio the other day suggesting that the smoking ban was another attack on the working classes and that he could see people getting ill because they would have to keep nipping outdoors for a fag. When the interviewer suggested that not smoking might have a positive affect on health, the guy doubted that smoking was really bad for you... classic.

citizen

[*Bob*]

If it wozzunt for me (*cough*) an' all the taxes wot I pay on me fags (*wheeeeeze*) the NHS would be on 'er knees.

[JoeChuff]

the other story is people taking up smoking in order to pull in the outside smoking areas in clubs - i know this happens in NYC

[Ladygooner]

Yuk! Who would want to pull a smoker? Its like kissing an old ashtray!