Cyprus-Forum.com

[cyprusgrump]

I deny no one anything in the privacy of their own home or private area. It's just public spaces enclosed spaces i object to. I don't mean to insult anyone or deny liberties i retract my Obama statement i still personally find it a sign of weakness i mean even Bond soesn't smoke (or womanise) now !

The problem with the legislation as it stands is that it bans smokers from every 'public area'. Every single bar and restaurant. Even a smoking bar owner with smoking staff is banned from inviting smokers into HIS bar - even though non-smokers like yourself would be perfectly able to avoid the smoking bar and go somewhere else.

This is an intrusion on the rights of the smoker - like them or not - to consume a perfectly legal substance (from which the government takes a HUGE amount of tax) where they please.

And anti-smokers like yourself and Milti that support this legislation take us even further towards the nanny state that controls everything we eat and drink.

Okay i get it now, i do not support this legislation. Smoking areas should be provided for customers that are separate. This really cannot be too difficult in Cyprus considering it's outdoor life. Obviously things like buses etc this is not going to happen. Hospitals i believe have the right to ban smoking in their grounds and internal spaces.
I am aware that in the UK the smoking ban effectively killed the local pub and it's culture. Times are a changin' for sure it's just the end of an era. As much hate and fire you read into Milti's points i fear he is correct in the fact that emerging economies & countries do have a higher % of smokers like it or not these are the facts.
LOL i just remembered the sin bin at the airport with all the junkies like goldfish in a bowl puffing away. All those weak hooked junkies drawing in that nicotine fix ahhhhhh yeah that's it. Don't tell me it's choice and they enjoy it haha who could enjoy that experience ?

There are plenty of people that thoroughly enjoy the act of smoking tho... This ridiculous idea that they are addicted and can't give it up because of the nicotine content makes me laugh... Is nicotine addition SO strong that you are addicted after your first puff... NO.

And if nicotine is so bad why do all the 'cures' for smoking contain... nicotine?

Have you not noticed how the likes of ASH promote the nicotine products promoted by big pharma...? Where do you think ASH gets ists money from...?

As for the sin bin... even they have been banned now...

Interesting fact about airports tho... do you know that air quality on aircraft has reduced since smoking was banned? They don't have to change the air so frequently now you see - hence the increase in blood clots on long flights....

[chedda]

Hey Grump, the cures for smoking do not work IMHO as you are right they feed your need for nicotine under the guise that you can slowly ween yourself off it in a controlled manner. These are not cures really just substitutes. Medicine has shifted in recent history we do not deal with the cause of illness it's far more profitable to treat the symptoms.
Interesting fact about aircraft air quality ps did you know big chain supermarkets pump neat oxygen into shopping areas to make you high so you buy more ?

[chedda]

On a side note drinking alcohol even to excess can be countered with a good healthy diet this cannot be said for cigarettes. PS all this talking about smoking is giving me cravings.

[cyprusgrump]

Hey Grump, the cures for smoking do not work IMHO as you are right they feed your need for nicotine under the guise that you can slowly ween yourself off it in a controlled manner. These are not cures really just substitutes. Medicine has shifted in recent history we do not deal with the cause of illness it's far more profitable to treat the symptoms.
Interesting fact about aircraft air quality ps did you know big chain supermarkets pump neat oxygen into shopping areas to make you high so you buy more ?

You got that right!

[cyprusgrump]

On a side note drinking alcohol even to excess can be countered with a good healthy diet this cannot be said for cigarettes. PS all this talking about smoking is giving me cravings.

It is still a matter of choice for the smoker tho - not the state.

Same as if I choose to eat burgers, put salt on my food, indulge in dangerous sports, etc.

[miltiades]

[quote="boomerang"]the point here is milti and you missed the point...the government cannot tell you what you can do and what you can't do while they are taking money from you ...got it...

The same can be said with a myriad of other " do or not do "
Here is a list.
The government , following your logic , can not tell you that you can only drive at speeds permitted and that you ...require a license !!!
The government can not tell you that it is illegal for you to grow hash in your back garden or that you can not take hard drugs or that you can not drive your car when intoxicated !!!
Responsible governments take advice from the WHO and not from irresponsible citizens !!!!
I suppose next the government , following your logic , will be telling us that we can only have one wife at a time !!!

[cyprusgrump]

the point here is milti and you missed the point...the government cannot tell you what you can do and what you can't do while they are taking money from you ...got it...

The same can be said with a myriad of other " do or not do "
Here is a list.
The government , following your logic , can not tell you that you can only drive at speeds permitted and that you ...require a license !!!
The government can not tell you that it is illegal for you to grow hash in your back garden or that you can not take hard drugs or that you can not drive your car when intoxicated !!!
Responsible governments take advice from the WHO and not from irresponsible citizens !!!!
I suppose next the government , following your logic , will be telling us that we can only have one wife at a time !!!

Oh what a fool you are!

What happened to self control and responsibility...?

Can you not see now how speed limits are set arbitrarily in order to generate income from fines...?

Why can't I grow hash in my back garden... who decided? Who voted for it...? Hash is probably safer than alcohol yet we wage war on those that produce, import and distribute it. The 'war on drugs' is unwinable yet we spend billions on it...

Why should everybody be controlled by an arbitrarily chosen alcohol limit? Even the 'scientist' in the UK who is campaigning for the limit to be reduced admits there is no evidence that it would save lives...

And you think the WHO is responsible? They want to limit how much wine you can drink and how many burgers you can eat based on no evidence whatsoever... They are a completely self-interested group of bansturbaters who spout pseudo science....

You'll no doubt be happy when they control everything you say and do....

[chedda]

I think across the civilized world drink driving is frowned upon i cannot believe anyone with any sense believes otherwise. Being drunk impairs your ability to drive safely FACT please don't include this in your list of comparisons it is not an equivalent. Cyprus being a small place lets you easily walk home (zig-zagging) when hammered ! Expensive un metered taxis do not help the situation.
There is a general sense of confrontation on this forum which does not help a mannered discussion i think we are all guilty of this sometimes.Hate breeds hate FACT

[cyprusgrump]

I think across the civilized world drink driving is frowned upon i cannot believe anyone with any sense believes otherwise. Being drunk impairs your ability to drive safely FACT please don't include this in your list of comparisons it is not an equivalent. Cyprus being a small place lets you easily walk home (zig-zagging) when hammered ! Expensive un metered taxis do not help the situation.
There is a general sense of confrontation on this forum which does not help a mannered discussion i think we are all guilty of this sometimes.Hate breeds hate FACT

Of course being drunk impairs your ability to drive safely... as would being high on drugs...

Nobody is arguing that drunk people should be allowed to drive...

HOWEVER, the way we increasingly tackle problems like this is to introduce draconian laws and limits which punish everybody. Even those that fancy a quick beer with lunch or a drink on the way home from work.

Meanwhile, real drunks flout the law and drive while many times over the limit... why worry, they probably haven't got a licence anyway...

We have a 'one size fits all' alcohol limit which politicians which to decrease year on year to solve the problem of drunk drivers who aren't affected by it anyway.

The police should actively be policing - catching people whose driving is impaired for whatever reason - drunk, drugs, mobile phone, kids, poor training, etc. - not waiting outside bars and getting their quota by breathalyseing people as soon as they put their keys in the car.

[chedda]

I agree 100% i misinterpreted your idea. More active policing and more respect for the law is needed. Just how this can be repaired is beyond me.The damage is already done i'm afraid. This applies to the smoking ban and the flouting of the law. Society needs to be told in no un certain terms there will be ZERO TOLERANCE. If by a by product of this state coffers are replenished then so be it , i believe they are trying to make a shortfall as we speak.Why not fine the criminal and let the innocent continue un scathed ?