The Town Which Wants to Ban Smoking - Outside!
Duncan Barkes makes a plea to Stony Stratford Town Council. Abandon your plans to ban smoking in the open air!
14 Jul 2011, 01:00
Banned outside?
The proposal, put together by an Independent councillor, would see smoking banned in parks, streets and any public space. If caught, a smoker would be issued with a fixed penalty notice by a Police Community Support Officer. There will be no more 'popping out for a smoke'.
The proposal will be debated by the town council and if they agree, Milton Keynes Council will be asked to use its powers to introduce a law.
It has come about as a result of the Localism Bill. Such legislation should be a positive development; however, this specific proposal in Stony Stratford has quite sinister undertones.
For centuries this country has been built on tolerance and compromise. We have laws in place to protect us from harm, but we also cherish the right of people to go about their business and take responsibility for their actions.
I understand the frustration that some feel with smokers in the street. When my daughter was still in her pushchair I used to want to punch those puffers who would walk along the pavement waving their cigarette at her eye level. But these are the minority, not the majority.
Banning smoking in all public places sets a dangerous precedent. If the argument is to protect people’s health then one can extend the same logic to guzzling doughnuts, riding a motorbike, using a pogo stick or selling alcohol. If the argument is litter, then place a fast food tax on such outlets.
If this ban gets through then it will open the floodgates to all those who seem hell bent on telling us how we should live our lives. And it takes us a step closer towards being told what we can and cannot do in our homes. My hope is that the British sense of fairness will prevail, but there are no guarantees as we continue to live in a country where those that shout the loudest invariably get what they want.
The Localism Bill should be a good thing, but perhaps its introduction needed to go hand in hand with local referendums. If a council wants to introduce a new law then it should let the people decide if it wants it.
I do not smoke cigarettes, but I do enjoy a decent Cuban cigar and believe that smokers should be allowed to puff outdoors as they go about their business. If the councillors in Stony Stratford vote in favour of this proposal then the zealots will have won and it will be a very sad day for Britain.
Comments (9)
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I am tired of do-gooders chipping away at our civil liberties and trying to make a name for themselves. The current smoking legislation is sufficient and as you quite rightly point out, there are other pressing health matters which are posing a much bigger threat to health and wellbeing. I'm a non-smoker but happy for those who indulge out in the open to enjoy a fag, providing it's done with consideration. If this is passed, I dread to think of the consequences for our freedom of choice. They need to get a grip.
14/07/2011 06:46I just stopped smoking two weeks ago, I live near Stony Stratford and I would just like to say that this is bloody ridiculous.
14/07/2011 08:18I am a non-smoker, but I am sick of the demonisation of the people who pay for the NHS through cigarette taxes (and make both the NHS and state pensions cheaper by not sticking around in high-maintenance old age).
I shall be taking part in this Saturday's protest against the ban organised by blogger Dick Puddlecote. Why not come along?
http://on.fb.me/qf3qCw
14/07/2011 08:40I have no idea how anyone can afford to smoke these days, short of under the counter smokes.
£7 a pack, you must be off your head to smoke...
14/07/2011 10:22When smokers pay £7 a pack for their cigarettes Sres you must remember that about £6 of that goes towards the NHS. Without the tax on tobacco, everyone would have to pay more taxes, and there would be no free NHS.
14/07/2011 11:15Totally ridiculous idea, I don't smoke but I believe it should be up to the individual to make a choice for themselves, it should not be up to some busybody with nothing better to do.
14/07/2011 11:58Slippery slope, if they implement this next it will be alcohol, fatty foods, etc.
The outside smoking ban seems to have touched a raw nerve with most of the population, including non smokers and for good reason.
The Royal College of Physicians wrote in 2008:
"The ‘passive effects' of alcohol misuse are catastrophic - rape, sexual assault, domestic and other violence, drunk driving and street disorder - alcohol affects thousands more innocent victims than passive smoking."
This really is the slippery slope to an overbearing, nanny state. Taxpayer funded fake charities try to justify their existence by ever more lurid and inaccurate claims to maintain or increase their funding, while we all are made to suffer.
I hope these silly ideas get squashed immediately.
14/07/2011 12:21Thanks for all of the comments so far. The hunt is clearly on for someone, anyone who actually supports this proposal...
14/07/2011 17:45Sres ... are you crazy? 7 quid a packet? try 2 quid from Bulgaria, Poland etc. All part of the EU mon ami. Bring in as much as you like.
15/07/2011 13:46