Where there's smoke, there's... Children??
I'm really angry.
I am irrationally angry about some woman in the park earlier, smoking whilst pushing her young child on the baby swing.
I was pushing The Kid, when I thought I could smell cigarette smoke. I dismissed it out of hand - I was in a children's play park after all, no one smokes in children's play parks, do they?
I smelt it again, only a lot stronger, then saw that the woman on the swing right next to me was actually holding a dirty, smelly fag in one hand and pushing a girl of about two with the other.
It was horrible! It was blowing right at me and The Kid - I wanted to ask her to put it out, or move away, or ask her if she had realised that there were kids everywhere - but we were outside. She wasn't actually doing anything illegal, so I didn't feel I could challenge her about it. In the end, I just moved away.
I'm still really annoyed about it - I mean, what a grotty thing to do! Who does that?! Not even I smoke anymore and I practically used to be a cigarette - and even in my 20 a day years I don't remember sparking up in front of a load of kids, or in air-sharing distance of babies.
I've heard smokers demand the right to smoke where they want, but who would think they've a right to smoke around a load of children? What possible argument could there be for this?
Pure selfishness.
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Laura Yates - Brummie mum Laura Yates is a 27 year old mother of two from Kings Heath. She gives her take on family life in the city.
The thing about smokers is they don't care where their smoke goes.
Banning smoking from enclosed public spaces was the best thing the government ever did.
Now if they can just make smoking completely illegal, or make it a class A drug or something like that, that'd be brilliant.
I was walking round a market, with Josh in a pushchair, and this woman practically flicked her ash in the pushchair. Her cigarette was idly burning away in her hand, by her hip, and as she walked past the pushchair, did an unconscious ash-flick with her hand.
Anyway. "I agree" is what I wanted to type.
Here here! I was at a park again today, saw a chap standing outside the fenced area smoking while his son dangled precariously from the branch of a tree. It was all very well shouting "careful son!" but surely it might have been better to actually put the fag out and go help? Cigarettes and kids don't mix!
ALSO.. Have you seen the 'hard-hitting' images printed on fag packets? Not sure how much good they'll do. Most people already want to quit, the fact that it kills you and costs a small fortune is already a big incentive. The pics don't actually help people kick the habbit.
My Dad's motto was "You should fight fire with fire".
But that was maybe why he got sacked from the fire brigade.
I agree I cant stand my son anywhere near cigarette smoke , I am a smoker myself ( well 2 or 3 a day) and only smoke outside when he is in bed , i would never ever let him see me smoke and definetly not breath it in , its so annoying when people smoke right next to you and force you kids to breath it in , yes smokers have the right to smoke where they like but , don't our children have the right to not breathe it in??? It would be great for it to be a illegal substance as said above but unfortunatly the goverment now rely so much on the tax made from it , this will never happen which is a shame , because I think that would definetly make me quit once and for all !
The first step is wanting to give them up, and it sounds like you really want to kick the habbit.
You are acting responsibly by not smoking anywhere near your little boy, and I'm sure you'll give up when you're ready... I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that it's sooner rather than later.
I've been there, and know how difficult it is, but I got there in the end. I didn't smoke round The Boy, but was so guilty because of all the other effects on him; the fact he had a mummy that was sometimes grumpy when she hadn't had her nicotine fix, spending money on fags when it could have gone on more productive things.. all the usual things that smokers feel guilty about!
I, like you though still can't believe there are people around who don't even think about the immediate effects their habbits have on others. It's a disgrace.
I am actually writing this regarding Daniels comment i am a smoker an agree that there are places that you just don't smoke, but to come out with a comment like they should ban smoking or make it a class a drug is ridiculous what i chose to do in my own home an in places where there is no children is my choice. The problem is there is to many do gooders in this world. It is an addiction an not as easy as everybody thinks to quit, there are plenty of other addictions like drugs but they get FREE help and people bend over backwards to help them, i don't see people treating them like lepers, the reason for them getting free help is because there is no TAX to be taken on drugs, but plenty on tobacco an cigarettes. I Pay for everything i have an put plenty into this government, plenty of drug abusers don't and are on the dole an by them getting free help means there only taking more out the system. Just because you go to work does not mean you can afford to pay for the treatment to help stop your addiction. A heroin addict gets FREE methadone, what does a cigarette smoker get that they don't have to pay for.
Hi Emma. Thanks for the feedback.
There's the NHS Stop Smoking line, on 0800 022 4 332, and I do believe you can actually get nicotine replacement patches and therapy from your GP, or from Boots, for free, in some if not all areas (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/230386.stm).
There's also more help on the NHS Stop Smoking website, http://gosmokefree.nhs.uk/
I don't think anybody has a problem with what you do in your own home, or in your own car, or even walking along the street - Laura's blog is basically about thoughtlessness on the part of the people that smoke. The fact that some people think nothing of (potentially) passing on their addiction to the kids.
The "in your own home" argument doesn't work if you've got someone else there that doesn't smoke. I visit people's houses sometimes, as part of my job, and I would leave a customer's house if they smoked to the level that it upset/affected me.
The "in your own car" argument doesn't work if you've got kids in the back, as I've seen before. Windows up, mother with a cig hanging out her mouth in the front, three kids in the back.
However, thanks for all your hard work on propping up the gov's "coffers" (no pun intended). You're right - probably the only reason why such an unhealthy hobby is still legal is because of the amount of money it brings back into the country.
Someone's gotta pay for all the guilding on the stairs in the houses of parliament, eh?
Regards,
Daniel
I admit that i have small children an have smoked round them but no i wouldn't smoke in the car with the window shut an the kids in the back, so yes i agree with what your saying, and whilst i agree with most of what you said i just didn't agree with you when you said it should be made illegal or a class A drug, whilst i agree it is a drug, there is no way you can put it in the same category as heroin or other class A drugs.