Cyprus-Forum.com

[cyprusgrump]

It is illegal, but so is speeding and parking on the sidewalks. Chances are the cops will do nothing as they normally do. As for whether it's fair or not who cares, but if I'm in a restaurant I really don't want to be sitting next to a smoker. I don't go to the pub so I don't give a rat's a$$ if you smoke there. If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us.

It didn't take long for a rabid anti-smoker to turn up and suggest what - that all smokers should commit suicide...?

[fig head]

It is illegal, but so is speeding and parking on the sidewalks. Chances are the cops will do nothing as they normally do. As for whether it's fair or not who cares, but if I'm in a restaurant I really don't want to be sitting next to a smoker. I don't go to the pub so I don't give a rat's a$$ if you smoke there. If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us.

It didn't take long for a rabid anti-smoker to turn up and suggest what - that all smokers should commit suicide...?

I didnt even bother to comment as i thought it was a bit too much of a non smoker point of view he is right and non smokers on the wrong....

[johbee]

It is illegal, but so is speeding and parking on the sidewalks. Chances are the cops will do nothing as they normally do. As for whether it's fair or not who cares, but if I'm in a restaurant I really don't want to be sitting next to a smoker. I don't go to the pub so I don't give a rat's a$$ if you smoke there. If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us.

It didn't take long for a rabid anti-smoker to turn up and suggest what - that all smokers should commit suicide...?

I'm not suggesting that you commit suicide. You are doing that on your own! I don't care if you smoke or inject heroin into your veins. The reality of the situation is that your rights end where mine begin. If your actions negatively affect my health then you should respectively not carry out those actions if I object. It would seem that consideration and respect for others would be enough, but obviously some need a law to enforce what should be common sense. I honestly don't have a problem with smoking sections in restaurants or even full on smoking bars and pubs. Just keep your butts out of my face.

[cyprusgrump]

It is illegal, but so is speeding and parking on the sidewalks. Chances are the cops will do nothing as they normally do. As for whether it's fair or not who cares, but if I'm in a restaurant I really don't want to be sitting next to a smoker. I don't go to the pub so I don't give a rat's a$$ if you smoke there. If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us.

It didn't take long for a rabid anti-smoker to turn up and suggest what - that all smokers should commit suicide...?

I'm not suggesting that you commit suicide. You are doing that on your own! I don't care if you smoke or inject heroin into your veins. The reality of the situation is that your rights end where mine begin. If your actions negatively affect my health then you should respectively not carry out those actions if I object. It would seem that consideration and respect for others would be enough, but obviously some need a law to enforce what should be common sense. I honestly don't have a problem with smoking sections in restaurants or even full on smoking bars and pubs. Just keep your butts out of my face.

You’ll have to explain the following to me then:-

If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us.

It sounds very much as though you feel smokers should take the ‘faster and easier’ way to kill themselves, thus sparing you the disgusting risk of inhaling some of their smoke at some point.

By the way, I don’t smoke. Various other posters that I’ve met on this board will confirm that. But I respect the rights of others to enjoy a perfectly legal product. The smoking ban (the subject of the original post) is outrageously undemocratic and based on the hatred of smoking by a small group of anti-smoking zealots.

Surely you can see that the acceptance of the smoking ban by people like yourself leaves YOU open to those that would control your lifestyle in other ways – what you drink, what you eat, etc?

I don't care if you smoke or inject heroin into your veins.

This is typical anti-smoking rhetoric to compare smoking (a perfectly legal pastime) to injecting an illegal drug. Pointless and transparent.

The reality of the situation is that your rights end where mine begin. If your actions negatively affect my health then you should respectively not carry out those actions if I object.

So everybody else’s rights end where yours begin? Anything you don’t like or believe harmful to you should be banned? Nobody else has any rights apart from you?

Forgive me, but that seems somewhat selfish?

How about anybody that objects to your lifestyle? Perhaps they don’t like the smell and smoke form your BBQ, or the fumes from your car or even your aftershave? What happens to their rights…?

[johbee]

Okay Grump since you don't seem to be able to understand my writings I will try to clarify them for you:

Point One:

"If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us."

This is just a simply jest. I certainly would not encourage anyone to commit suicide, quite the opposite. Smoking is knowingly so harmful to your health that it will ultimately kill you, but first making you a burden to the health system forcing honest hardworking taxpayers like myself to pay for you medical bills. Essentially slowly committing suicide to any smokers. I encourage any who smoke to give up the nasty habit as I did nearly ten years ago. In fact it seems that you are the one encouraging smokers to continue with their habits and ultimately shortening their lives.

Point Two:

"typical anti-smoking rhetoric to compare smoking (a perfectly legal pastime) to injecting an illegal drug." Just to clarify that smoking inside public building in Cyprus is illegal so actually I am comparing like for like.

Point Three:

"So everybody else’s rights end where yours begin? Anything you don’t like or believe harmful to you should be banned? Nobody else has any rights apart from you? "

Not exactly. If your rights affect me in a way I object to, then yes in a civilised society your rights end. Imagine if I was your neighbor and liked to play really loud music all night. Would you not expect a bit of respect if you asked me not to or would should I demand it as my right?

As for the fumes from my car, my BBQ, and my aftershave are all done legally. You are comparing legal activities to illegal activities, Pointless and transparent.

As the topic of this post indicates smoking inside a public establishment is illegal. What part of that do you not understand?

[cyprusgrump]

Okay Grump since you don't seem to be able to understand my writings I will try to clarify them for you:

Point One:

"If you want to smoke there are faster and easier ways to kill yourself so please take this route and spare the rest of us."

This is just a simply jest. I certainly would not encourage anyone to commit suicide, quite the opposite. Smoking is knowingly so harmful to your health that it will ultimately kill you, but first making you a burden to the health system forcing honest hardworking taxpayers like myself to pay for you medical bills. Essentially slowly committing suicide to any smokers. I encourage any who smoke to give up the nasty habit as I did nearly ten years ago. In fact it seems that you are the one encouraging smokers to continue with their habits and ultimately shortening their lives.

Point Two:

"typical anti-smoking rhetoric to compare smoking (a perfectly legal pastime) to injecting an illegal drug." Just to clarify that smoking inside public building in Cyprus is illegal so actually I am comparing like for like.

Point Three:

"So everybody else’s rights end where yours begin? Anything you don’t like or believe harmful to you should be banned? Nobody else has any rights apart from you? "

Not exactly. If your rights affect me in a way I object to, then yes in a civilised society your rights end. Imagine if I was your neighbor and liked to play really loud music all night. Would you not expect a bit of respect if you asked me not to or would should I demand it as my right?

As for the fumes from my car, my BBQ, and my aftershave are all done legally. You are comparing legal activities to illegal activities, Pointless and transparent.

As the topic of this post indicates smoking inside a public establishment is illegal. What part of that do you not understand?

Oh dear… Do you buy a copy of the Daily Mail every day or read it on-line?

Smoking is knowingly so harmful to your health that it will ultimately kill you, but first making you a burden to the health system forcing honest hardworking taxpayers like myself to pay for you medical bills.

Smoking doesn’t kill you – life kills you. Everybody dies. Saying ‘smoking kills you’ implies that you’d live forever if you didn’t smoke. You see that healthy lung in the picture next to the diseased, smoker’s lung? Guess what, the ‘healthy’ lung owner is dead too!

Smoking may shorten your life but that is a lifestyle choice that smokers should be free to take without harassment or limitations on their freedom to do so.

As for smokers being a ‘burden to the health system’, not according to the vast majority of economic studies of the subject, it doesn't. Unless by ‘burden to the health system’ you mean saving money in pensions, benefits and healthcare costs. The table linked here shows the net lifetime healthcare costs of smokers, the obese and the 'healthy-living'. The smokers cost 220,000 €uros, the obese cost 250,000 €uros and the 'healthy-living' cohort cost 281,000 €uros.

So if I am ‘encouraging smokers to continue with their habits’ I will actually save you money!

Just to clarify that smoking inside public building in Cyprus is illegal so actually I am comparing like for like.

How is that like-for-like?

You are trying to compare the consumption of a perfectly legal substance that has been demonised and banned in public places in the most outrageous and undemocratic way with a drug that is illegal to own or consume anywhere?

I wonder if you will think the comparison as valid when your right to have a drink, a burger or put salt on your food is restricted.

If your rights affect me in a way I object to, then yes in a civilised society your rights end.

You repeat your earlier statement that your rights trump all other rights?

Don’t you realise that smoking used to be legal in pubs and restaurants until people with exactly that attitude decided they objected and got it banned? Even though there were non-smoking pubs, bars and restaurants where they could go smoking had to be banned everywhere…

Now it is illegal to have a smoking pub or club even if the manager and all the staff smoke.

Even though you may legally use your car, BBQ and aftershave, what if you affect somebody else’s ‘rights’ not to breathe the fumes from them?

It is just that attitude that ends up here: -

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax in North America has taken it several steps further than Detroit and has banned the wearing of any fragrance in most indoor public places, including; libraries, schools, courtrooms, hospitals and buses. Described as the Halifax Hysteria, even strongly scented mouthwash is banned from one workplace. The ban was encouraged by environmentalists and sufferers of a condition called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, in which even the slightest hint of fragrance can cause migraines, vomiting and seizures. Although many scientists and medical professionals have not recognized MCS as a genuine illness, they do admit that some people suffer severely from exposure to fragrances.

A limited number of people decided your rights affected them in a way they objected to.

Linky

[SSBubbles]

I don't smoke and my biggest gripe is entering a smoke filled restaurant and then be expected to stay there and enjoy my food! What???

I don't have a problem with smokers but there really should be divided sections in pubs/clubs/restaurants and by this I don't just mean a pane of glass where the smoke filters through (pun intended) but a separate room where smokers can enjoy their cigarettes/cigars etc in peace - and more importantly out of my wine/food!

As it is illegal the police should enfore this policy but as you can see I am with at the thought!

[cyprusgrump]

I don't smoke and my biggest gripe is entering a smoke filled restaurant and then be expected to stay there and enjoy my food! What???

I don't have a problem with smokers but there really should be divided sections in pubs/clubs/restaurants and by this I don't just mean a pane of glass where the smoke filters through (pun intended) but a separate room where smokers can enjoy their cigarettes/cigars etc in peace - and more importantly out of my wine/food!

As it is illegal the police should enfore this policy but as you can see I am with at the thought!

Nobody argues that you shouldn't be able to eat in a smoke-free environment.

There has never been a law restricting smoke-free pubs, clubs or restaurants.... you could have opened one and banned smoking in it.

The new law specifically prohibits smokers from just about any establishment, 'work vehicles' and some open spaces. Soon from smoking in their cars and followed by attempts to ban smoking in their own home. Smokers cannot open a smoking club where the management, staff and customers all wish to smoke.

It is completely unfair and undemocratic.

As such, it is no surprise that some smokers will attempt to flout the law.

The law needs to be revised to allow properly ventilated smoking areas in establishments or the right to have smoking and non-smoking establishments. You could then choose if you wanted to go to a smoky pub with your mates or sit in a smoke-free environment.