The Singapore Forum

Must say, even as a non-smoker, I tend not to be too much of a Nazi when it comes to smoking. Several of my friends do, and I grew up around smokers both at home and many of my school mates did as well. It's surprising that I never started myself.

However, I do believe this is some decent results from the smoking in public places ban in the UK in 2007: Childhood asthma 'admissions down' after smoking ban.

I used to smoke and certainly dont begrudge smokers unless I need to walk through a wall of smoke when I leave an office. It is amazing how smoking is attacked as such a vice and yet drinking is embraced as though its a healthy life style choice. Yes every cigarette does do you damage however at the end of a pack of smokes, there isn't domestic violence, there isn't crime, car accidents, or dead people. The logic of course is that a glass of wine isn't bad but one cigarette is so we can totally demonize smoking and smokers and have massive markets purely dedicated to alcohol. In Australia, everyday our newspapers are full of adverts for these supermarkets of the poison we use to lubricate our social selves. We are so invested in this industry and this lifestyle regardless of the true cost of the equation - tobacco is just easier now to demonize and a lot easier to remove ourselves from.

I do enjoy single malt by the way, and beer, and wine... not a teetotaler as the above may suggest

Don't agree with you there at all. I'm sure that alcohol is demonised just as smoking is. However, as you point out, drinking in moderation is not bad for you and even has some benefits, whereas there are few if any benefits of smoking in moderation. And I think the demonisation is based on those levels.

I do wonder how much time Children spent in pubs and restaurants for it to affect their health and cause asthma. Seriously how long do child hang out in pubs and restaurants to be affected by the smoke?

Did people smoke in shops? Have a fag in M&S while they buy thier knickers? Schools? Did teachers spark one up in math class?

Not that i am saying bring back smoking indoors, although i am. I am so sick of walking down the street ina fog of ciggie smoke. It is a little less here because people can still smoke somewhere else. But in the UK, walking down the street is gross.... I would think more people are affected by second hand smoke now... You could have avoided them in the past, now they are outside roaming free and stinking up the area outside every shop and piband restaurant, roaming freely wafting camel farts everywhere.

Put em back in a box i say!... then again it is nice to have a beer and not choke on a fog of ciggie smoke too. Such a dilemma.....
I know, have smoking only pubs and restaurants, that puts them back indoors and the rest of us can avoid them inside and out... But wait.... Wouldn't that mean people would have a choice? On no govt would never go for that....

And if we killed the industry the sporting world would suffer, what would car races do? Horse jumping?

18 months without smoking. I'm not sure why it took me so long to quit.

I reckon if smokers could smell what they smell like then a lot more would quit pretty quickly, especially the female smokers.

baloo wrote:18 months without smoking. I'm not sure why it took me so long to quit.

I reckon if smokers could smell what they smell like then a lot more would quit pretty quickly, especially the female smokers.

What''s wrong with smellin like humphrey bogart? Yea ok so he's been dead a long time, but still.....

I would support a public beheading of all cigarette executives.

...as I suffer yet another nicotene fit. I've been quit (again) for 22 days

Lili Von Shtupp wrote:I would support a public beheading of all cigarette executives.

...as I suffer yet another nicotene fit. I've been quit (again) for 22 days

Hang in there, one day freedom will reign....

I have been free of the smoke beast since 2005

So Canuck, as an ex-smoker, you are over sensitised to the smoke where ever you go? How can the world change in order to fit around your requirements then?

Oh, it's not about you, it's about people in general.

And must say, not really noticed a smog of cigarette smoke when I've been walking around, except for smoking corners in some buildings.

canuck wrote:I do wonder how much time Children spent in pubs and restaurants for it to affect their health and cause asthma. Seriously how long do child hang out in pubs and restaurants to be affected by the smoke?

Did people smoke in shops? Have a fag in M&S while they buy thier knickers? Schools? Did teachers spark one up in math class?

yes, yes and yes to all of those. in fact, when i was in first grade (back in 1963) our very progressive, female teacher would smoke a pipe every now and again and other teachers would smoke in class too. another teacher had a habit of bringing her dog to class, a nasty mongrel which bit me once.

1963? That was the dark ages wasn't it?

Was asthma more prominent in the 60s? Or 70s?


FB: i keep forgetting you're a sheep and believe everything the gvt and press tell you.. Baaaaaaah, you're right

canuck wrote:Was asthma more prominent in the 60s? Or 70s?

no, not at all. in fact, kids with allergies were a rarity when i grew up. the allergy madness got going during the late 80's, early 90's, i think. might be a reaction to the general levels of global pollution from the 60's, 70's and 80's rather than just the smoking. i recall that somewhere in the 70's they did a test where they used Rhine water collected near Rotterdam port to develop photographs to show the high level of toxic chemicals in the water. they would ban us from swimming in the sea when the tide would move the river water close to shore...

and when we were little everyone, and i mean everyone, smoked. in houses, restaurants, planes, trains and automobiles.

I remember people smoking on planes. I remember people smoking in movie theaters.

I remember smoking on a Merpati flight from Melbourne to Jakarta... great experience, spent the 7 hours smoking and drinking beer talking with the cute hostess. Damn I am getting old.

I would like to publicly apologize to all the people who were on a certain flight from New York to Phoenix with me in 1984, when I was so anxious about my cross country move that I chain smoked nearly the whole flight. Can you imagine that now?

Lili Von Shtupp wrote:I would like to publicly apologize to all the people who were on a certain flight from New York to Phoenix with me in 1984, when I was so anxious about my cross country move that I chain smoked nearly the whole flight. Can you imagine that now?

I am sure you were in the smoking section and that curtain between smoking and non smoking would have kept the non smokers safe and comfortable

Joseph27 wrote:I remember smoking on a Merpati flight from Melbourne to Jakarta... great experience, spent the 7 hours smoking and drinking beer talking with the cute hostess. Damn I am getting old.

or a fourandahalfhour flight from Holland to Spain in a DC 7 full of smokers back in 1964. of course, i didn't get any beer back then...

I've never smoked.

The other day I was somewhere (Shanghai, Jakarta, not sure?) where one can still smoke in bars. Somebody lit a cigarette 2 barstools down. I had to move, it really bothered me.

I wondered - how in the hell did I put up with this for all these years?

I formerly thought it would have been cool to have a drink in 1950's Havana or 1930's Shanghai or other historical fun eras. But I realize I would hate it! Everyone would be smoking all the time, everywhere.

I would see Hemingway at La Floridita and want to go sit next to him but then there would be 5 dudes smoking big cigars there. It would fail.

T2K wrote:The other day I was somewhere (Shanghai, Jakarta, not sure?) where one can still smoke in bars. Somebody lit a cigarette 2 barstools down. I had to move, it really bothered me.

I wondered - how in the hell did I put up with this for all these years?

I formerly thought it would have been cool to have a drink in 1950's Havana or 1930's Shanghai or other historical fun eras. But I realize I would hate it! Everyone would be smoking all the time, everywhere.

i worked in a bar during the late 70's early 80's, sometimes you could hardly see the people in front of you ordering their drinks there was so much smoke. weird how we all seemed to take that in stride. even though i smoked at the time.

canuck wrote:I do wonder how much time Children spent in pubs and restaurants for it to affect their health and cause asthma. Seriously how long do child hang out in pubs and restaurants to be affected by the smoke?

?

I dont know about children and asthma but it affects me directly after a few moments when i get my sinuitis triggered and end up sneezing/ with a runny nose all day till i take some medication .

Actually, i find second hand smoke worse in Singapore than UK. People are always smoking at bus stops, outside shopping centres etc and it is annoying when I haven't got much space to move to to avoid it for some reason or toher (eg waiting for traffic light ot cross the road). So far, I've not encountered the level of second hand smoke here as I do in singapore. Maybe I've been lucky so far.... Anyway, I imagine it might be the same.

See....there's one good thing about the UK! Rejoice!

In the early 80s I worked in a small office where 4 out of 5 of us were smokers. 2 chain smokers. Not a pleasant work environment but back then it was the norm.

I've never had so much as a drag and hate it (both parents and the ex-husband smoked).