[Glenn.]

Originally Posted by arista

Go to NYC


its banned there

I live in England, not NYC

[arista]

Originally Posted by Glenn

I live in England, not NYC

The Point is
Rules Change all over the World



You need to get used to it.

[AnnieK]

Originally Posted by smudgie

Perhaps bannng it in the children's play area would be a good idea.

As to a total ban, no, I thnk not.

Was just about o post the same thing Smudgie.....

I don't smoke and don't want people smoking too near my child but in a park??? My son doesn't stand till long enough to breathe air let alone someone's smoke who has just walked past.....

[Livia]

The world only seems to be changing for the smoking fascists. Still plenty of morbidly obese people stuffing their face with junk food. Driving too fast in unsafe vehicles, doing a hundred other things that put people's wellbeing at risk but smoking is the only thing that seems to be high on the agenda. Everyone I know who smokes is more than considerate about where they smoke, not near children, not in other people's homes, never in a car... and they pay enough tax to buy a couple of aircraft carriers and build a hospital every year.

[Jay.]

Yes, there are children.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Jay.

Yes, there are children.

Parks are for Healthy People
not for Stinking Dirty Smokers

[user104658]

Originally Posted by arista

Parks are for Healthy People
not for Stinking Dirty Smokers

They're banning fat people, too? Hooray!

But what about people with terminal illnesses or genetic conditions? That seems a bit harsh. Can you go if you have asthma or diabetes? What about athlete's foot?

I have a bit of a sniffle this week so I guess it's no park for me, either

[arista]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

They're banning fat people, too? Hooray!

But what about people with terminal illnesses or genetic conditions? That seems a bit harsh. Can you go if you have asthma or diabetes? What about athlete's foot?

I have a bit of a sniffle this week so I guess it's no park for me, either

No Fat folks are trying to get Healthy


TS do not get silly
this a Smoking Ban in London Parks idea.

[Livia]

I hope every smoker wanders to their local park on the day this stupid and largely unenforceable law comes into being, and lights up. The day motor cars don't pump out filth into the air is the day smokers shouldn't be allowed to smoke outside. It's a ridiculous law.

[arista]

Originally Posted by Livia

I hope every smoker wanders to their local park on the day this stupid and largely unenforceable law comes into being, and lights up. The day motor cars don't pump out filth into the air is the day smokers shouldn't be allowed to smoke outside. It's a ridiculous law.

I hope all the New Park Police on
Bikes Fine them on the Spot

[AnnieK]

Banning smoking in public areas will drive smokers into smoking more in their homes, cars etc......where it's a damn sight more likely that people will inhale second hand smoke..... It's a disgrace....I would have more respect from a total ban on the sale of tobacco products than this....

[Livia]

Originally Posted by arista

I hope all the New Park Police on
Bikes Fine them on the Spot

Seriously? You don't think there are other, more useful things they might be occupied with in a PARK? How about people eating their lunch in the park? Let's have the new park police check their lunch boxes, we don't want any fat or processed sugar in there. What about ball games? I mean, the ball could hit someone in the face.

Again, ridiculous law.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by AnnieK

Banning smoking in public areas will drive smokers into smoking more in their homes, cars etc......where it's a damn sight more likely that people will inhale second hand smoke..... It's a disgrace....I would have more respect from a total ban on the sale of tobacco products than this....

Me too Annie. Completely with you on this one. I'll hold arista down, you pinch him really hard.

[Dollface]

2 people were smoking in a carpark the other day, right next to our car which i was sitting in with all the windows shut. Yet i could smell it and it was almost gag-worthy it was so strong. They was also standing right next to their own car which had a baby and a toddler in, with the windows fully open. I thought at the time how stupid they were for smoking around children. So for play parks, which are designed for children to play in, i don't think people should smoke no.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Dollface

2 people were smoking in a carpark the other day, right next to my car which i was sitting in with all the windows shut. Yet i could smell it and it was almost gag-worthy it was so strong. They was also standing right next to their own car which had a baby and a toddler in, with the windows fully open. I thought at the time how stupid they were for smoking around children. So for play parks, which are designed for children to play in, i don't think people should smoke no.

Those people were ignorant in the extreme to smoke next to a child. But that isn't all smokers; in fact I'd say people who are ignorant about where they smoke are in the minority and really should know better. And this law doesn't cover "play parks" or there would be no argument. It covers parks... acres and acres and acres of land.

[Dollface]

Originally Posted by Livia

The world only seems to be changing for the smoking fascists. Still plenty of morbidly obese people stuffing their face with junk food.

Yeah but if you eat near a child, you aren't putting their health at risk.

[Dollface]

Also it's not only bad for the children, but i'm pretty sure it's harmful for dogs/pets to inhale it too. You're likely to get a lot of dog walkers in a big park.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Dollface

Also it's not only bad for the children, but i'm pretty sure it's harmful for dogs/pets to inhale it too. You're likely to get a lot of dog walkers in a big park.

But it's out in the open air! If you're worried about the harmful effects of a little cigarette smoke across a park, why aren't you worried about the CO2 your car's pumping out into the air?

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Dollface

Yeah but if you eat near a child, you aren't putting their health at risk.

This isn't a discussion just about children. It's not only children that use parks.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Who will enforce it?

Park Wardens?

is this 1972?

[Marsh.]

How about hiring more staff to clear all the drug needles and used condoms out of the park first.

[GypsyGoth]

I don't smoke and I don't like people smoking near me, however banning people from smoking outdoors is ridiculous.

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by arista

I hope all the New Park Police on
Bikes Fine them on the Spot

I think any branch of the police, whether genuine police officers or quasi police such as 'Community Bobbies, or some totally new force, would better serve the tax-payer in being deployed on less ridiculous matters.

This is yet more 'smoke-screen' B.S. deflection by a nanny-state Government which ought to be concentrating on more pressing problems of a thousandfold gravity.

Smokers enjoying a 'fag' in a park do not represent any type of threat to non-smoking park users because the smoke dissipates harmlessly into the 'fresh' air. As to 'smoke tainted clothes' - parks are huge spaces and non-smokers have a choice not to be in close proximity to smokers who are smoking.

I am a dog owner and lover, but will state that a more genuine threat to all park users is the risk of disease from dog faeces and urine - a small risk admittedly, but a real risk none-the-less. Included are Hookworms and Roundworms. Another - non-faecal - risk from dogs --infinitesimal as it may be - is Rabies.

So do we advocate another law to ban all dogs from parks?

No - of course we don't. That idea is as preposterous as banning all kids from parks because some of the more feral kids harass other park users or vandalise some of the park amenities.

The only possible objection that non-smoking park users could make against smokers, is the possibility of unsightly spent cig butts littering the floor, but this - like the irresponsible dog owners who do not clean up their dog's mess, or the poor calibre parents who do not 'police' their kids behaviour - is where the law should take a hand by implementing draconian penalties for transgressors.

I'm just waiting for a Government ban on people with Ginger hair (no I'm not one) from breathing unless they pay a new Ginger Tax. .

[Dollface]

Originally Posted by Livia

This isn't a discussion just about children. It's not only children that use parks.

Agreed, i just used the word child because i thought it speaks out to people more
Thing is, i don't condone smoking because i've had to watch my otherwise healthy Nan (whom i adore) use an oxygen machine because years of smoking ruined her lungs.
So i guess i just think smoking is dangerous full stop, not only for by-standers but for the smokers themselves (though i understand what people put into their own bodies is up to them)
Not only is there the health problems though, there is the littering too. (though i know not ALL smokers throw their cigarette butts on the ground)

[kirklancaster]

Originally Posted by Marsh.

How about hiring more staff to clear all the drug needles and used condoms out of the park first.

More -- How about Zero Tolerance and draconian punishment for the ignorant bastards who deposit drug needles and condoms in the first place?