Sunkist
Senior Member
Yup! I know somebody famous way back said something similar- A. Lincoln, M. Twain, can't place who it was.
UK bans sale of cigarettes to future generations.
- Thread starter Aunt Bea
- Start date
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
Yes, people will find a way around it. But does that mean that everyone who might smoke would? No. There are always people who want to circumvent the law for personal gain, but that doesn't negate common sense laws and define national health policy.
As for becoming a Communist country, I think that's blowing it out of proportion. Our governments pass all kinds of legislation, that's part of their job. We all live with restrictions, it's just that we accept them as common sense. I think such claims are simply scare tactics.
As for your final line - again, it's an exaggeration. But yes, I am happy there is a body (our governments) that oversee's policy and enacts laws that support them. Again, we live with rules that control how we live every day. When it comes to smoking, the change in law isn't being enacted "because they can", it has solid evidence to back up the simple truth that smoking tobacco is a poor choice, both for individuals, our services, and organizations. We're on the road to a total ban for all, and that isn't going to change.
VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
Lots of things are addictive. Lots of things aren't the cause of 5.8m deaths every year worldwide. Lots of things don't cost the NHS £2.5bn every year.
And honestly, what's good about smoking? It's not like it's offering anything back other than tax revenue. Health and life is far more important than money. IMO
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MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
I agree with you. And nobody's nose better be on my personal property (patio) except my own, unless they're invited here - and in that case, during their stay, I don't smoke.
OneEyedDiva
SF VIP
- Location
- New Jersey
Re the OP: Good!
As a former smoker, I quit nearly fifty years ago, I can say honestly that smoking was an addiction I genuinely enjoyed. I loved that first cigarette in the morning, the ones I lit while driving, and of course the ones shared over a drink or two. At the time it felt deeply satisfying.
But eventually reality caught up with me. I began noticing shortness of breath. More and more places were banning smoking. And I understood that if I kept going, this “lifelong habit” would come with lifelong consequences. So I quit. Cold turkey. It was three miserable weeks, and then slowly, very slowly, the craving faded. It never disappeared entirely, but it loosened its grip.
At the same time, I have a lingering concern about the steady expansion of government authority into personal behavior. Some regulations seem broadly sensible, speed limits, for example, have an obvious public safety rationale. Others feel more debatable, such as mandatory seat belts, motorcycle helmet laws, (I never needed laws for this anyway, I always wore a helmet when I had a motorcycle and a seat belt in my car, long before either became mandatory.) or sweeping smoking bans. The pattern that worries me is the gradual normalization of government deciding how individuals should conduct themselves in private matters. Over decades, the boundaries shift, often subtly, and people become accustomed to deeper and more intrusive forms of control over personal choices.
Trish
SF VIP OAP
When I started working, people smoked everywhere - in the workplace, on trains and buses, in restaurants, cinemas, supermarkets ... parents with children, a baby in one hand and a cigarette in the other. It was normal.
When the 2007 smoking in public places ban came into force, smokers were furious. Gradually though, it became normal.
These days, it would be unthinkable for someone to smoke in the workplace or any indoors public space. I worked with people who, although initially outraged at not being allowed to smoke at work, later said that it actually helped them to quit.
From Cancer Research UK (the most recent statistics I could find online):
Over-legislation is certainly not something I would welcome but, sometimes there might actually be a ban which makes sense and, to me, the smoking ban does make sense. The ban due to come in next January, is not aimed at existing adult smokers, it is aimed at young people, those born on or after 1 January 2009 who, hopefully, will have no interest in smoking.
When the 2007 smoking in public places ban came into force, smokers were furious. Gradually though, it became normal.
These days, it would be unthinkable for someone to smoke in the workplace or any indoors public space. I worked with people who, although initially outraged at not being allowed to smoke at work, later said that it actually helped them to quit.
From Cancer Research UK (the most recent statistics I could find online):
Smoking rates in the UK have fallen significantly since the introduction of smoke-free laws in 2007, dropping from approximately 25% of adults (roughly 10 million+ people) in 2007 to around 10.6%–11.9% of adults (approximately 5.3 to 6.4 million people) as of the latest data in 2024–2025. This represents a reduction of nearly 2 million smokers within the first decade after the ban, with the decline continuing to the present day.
Over-legislation is certainly not something I would welcome but, sometimes there might actually be a ban which makes sense and, to me, the smoking ban does make sense. The ban due to come in next January, is not aimed at existing adult smokers, it is aimed at young people, those born on or after 1 January 2009 who, hopefully, will have no interest in smoking.
MACKTEXAS
Well-known Member
Then tobacco products will still be available in stores for purchase by existing adult smokers born before January 1, 2009?
Edited: Never mind, I found confirmation of a yes to my question on AI. I should have checked there first. Thanks.
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Trish
SF VIP OAP
Existing smokers (born before 1 January 2009), will still be able to legally buy and smoke cigarettes and tobacco products. The proposed law is not to criminalize smoking, possession or use of tobacco by today's adults.
There will be increased funding to help current smokers who wish to quit but, it will remain their choice whether to do so, or not.
As I understand it, there will be a gradual increase, beginning 2027, when the legal age for buying tobacco (currently 18) will raise by 1 year every year, so those born after the cut-off date will never reach legal age. It's a generational ban designed to stop the next generation (and thereafter) from starting to smoke in the first place, not removing the right for today's adults.
I hope that, for younger generations, not smoking will become the norm, just like not smoking in indoor public places became the norm for our generation. One day, generations to come may look back and smoking will be something people did in the old days.
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I think it's a great plan. I think America should copy it.
I wish smoking had been against the law for my age group when I began smoking. We were just starting to know how dangerous it was, but even with the most dire health warnings I probably would have smoked, wrongly believing that when I got old (say 30) I would quit. Young people don't really believe they'll ever be old and they have no idea of how hard it would be to quit.
I smoked for 25 years and that entire time I tried to quit almost every weekend. When I finally quit I was truly miserable, depressed and crying for a year and now, 30 years later, I'm still not as happy as I used to be. Smoking can permanently change your brain.
I wish smoking had been against the law for my age group when I began smoking. We were just starting to know how dangerous it was, but even with the most dire health warnings I probably would have smoked, wrongly believing that when I got old (say 30) I would quit. Young people don't really believe they'll ever be old and they have no idea of how hard it would be to quit.
I smoked for 25 years and that entire time I tried to quit almost every weekend. When I finally quit I was truly miserable, depressed and crying for a year and now, 30 years later, I'm still not as happy as I used to be. Smoking can permanently change your brain.