Comments on: Vous avez du feu?

By: nardac

nardac — Thu, 18 Nov 2004 01:18:09 +0000

Yes smoking is the norm here. The very first time I arrived in France, waiting at Charles de Gaulle for my luggage to come by on the belt, I noticed two people lighting up. It’s too strange to be smoking at an airport when you’re not at the bar!

Secondly, the other day, while I was karaoking, I noticed this extremely pregnant girl coming to sit next to me. So we all stopped smoking at our table…only to see her light up!!?! Too mad. Her whole table just watched her calmly smoking, no one said anything.

Nouwanda, even if you’re not all like that, give me a break. The french don’t care about the non-smoking section, not just in bars, but everywhere in general.

By: Nouwanda

Nouwanda — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 16:49:19 +0000

Hey, we’re not all like that! You little Rosbeef shouldn’t be deceived by aparences and cliches!

By: Watski

Watski — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 15:21:25 +0000

I’m neither anti nor pro smoking but I am pro my health. And smoking is not good for my health passively or individually.

In a choice between a smokers right to smoke and a persons right to be in a place where smoke is not present then the latter should be King every time.

The arguments for not having the ban are pretty thin to be honest though, ranging from:

’smoking to be banned in food related establishments only’ - so people who buy food in pubs are more entitled to have their health looked after than people who merely want a drink? Does eating bring on the symptoms of smoking related diseases more than not eating?

to: ‘it will just make me smoke more’ - well fine, that’s your daft fault but you wont be doing it near me,

to: ’smokers pay £8bn worth of taxes so are entitled to treatment on the NHS when falling ill’ - fair enough, as long as people with non-self inflicted problems aren’t behind you in the queue,

to: ‘what am I going to do if I can’t have a smoke when I have a drink?’ - well, have a go at not smoking if you want a drink that much. Your choice.

By: Chameleon

Chameleon — Wed, 17 Nov 2004 11:08:19 +0000

Hopefully the Scottish Executive will not capitulate to industry pressure and introduce the blanket ban on smoking in all public places, pubs and clubs included, which it has promised. Personally, in many ways, I believe a more expedient compromise would have been to allow smoking in certain clearly designated venues (i.e. with a Smoking Permitted sign on the entrance doors) to continue (which may, admittedly, smack of apartheid, yet which would at least permit freedom of choice, though I would be the first to acknowledge that if a non-smoker wanted to spend an evening of relaxation with evil weed-addicted friends that it would not solve much if the price of their company consisted of the stench of stale smoke you so eloquently described). One of the slogans in pubs and cafes here vaunts mutual tolerance and politeness, which, in practice, favours the smoker. Some of the most inveterate smokers I have encountered have belonged to the medical profession. It is a myth that knowledge or awareness of health damage automatically acts as a deterrent: humans are not purely rational animals (what a drab world it would be if our everw action were dictated by rational utility-based calculations!). I am no exception, scoffing chocolate whilst fully apprised of its artery-clogging properties. I recently lost my Mother to the cumulative effects of smoking: it was absolutely heartbreaking to witness her slow deterioration. She smoked throughout her pregnancy with me (when I quizzed my Father as to whether she had experienced any cravings, he laughed “Only for more cigarettes!”) and whilst I like to console myself that, as an academic, it did not inhibit my intellectual capacity, I did suffer severe bronchitis whilst growing up, a condition, which magically disappeared when I left home for university. I loathe the damage that smoking does to people, yet whilst tobacco duties account for such a substantial proportion of revenues we can expect little real progress…except in the rare instances where politicians are willing to show the courage of their convictions.

By: Susan Dennis

Susan Dennis — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 23:59:04 +0000

We need to swap venues for a day… Second hand smoke is impossible to find here in Seattle, WA USA. Even if you can find a smoker and nonchalantly sidle up to snag some, he or she will move their cigarette or even put it out.

I was a smoker for 40 years. It was one of my skill groups. I don’t want to go back but the smell of someone else’s cigarette is heaven. Hmmm another reason to visit France!