Smoking in Scotland

Scotsman


I have been following the smoking ban in certain places in Scotland. What are the view and concerns of people in Scotland, and England about this?

I am a sometimes smoker that doesn't smoke in public because of the secondhand smoke issue.

Do you think this will have any effect on the pubs?

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Originally Posted by Everose

Scotsman


I have been following the smoking ban in certain places in Scotland. What are the view and concerns of people in Scotland, and England about this?

I am a sometimes smoker that doesn't smoke in public because of the secondhand smoke issue.

Do you think this will have any effect on the pubs?

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As someone who has given up smoking I am fairly content with the proposals. My local actually has two rooms, one of which is non-smoking. Unforunately the TVs to watch the Rugby and Football are in the other. :dry:

There may be some drop off in drinking, but then given the alcohol consumption in Scotland this might not be an entirely bad thing.

I really don't like people lighting up in restaurants as most are not large enough to effectively segregate. Most other public places, offices, galleries, shops etc., are already non-smoking so it shouldn't make much difference.

I think if pubs could effectively segregate and have two rooms - a smokers bar and a non-smokers bar then that should suffice. The bill is in an early stage and is not clear where it will go - but the Irish example looks like being the template and that appears to have had little impact on the bar trade.

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Originally Posted by Biggles

As someone who has given up smoking I am fairly content with the proposals. My local actually has two rooms, one of which is non-smoking. Unforunately the TVs to watch the Rugby and Football are in the other. :dry:

There may be some drop off in drinking, but then given the alcohol consumption in Scotland this might not be an entirely bad thing.

I really don't like people lighting up in restaurants as most are not large enough to effectively segregate. Most other public places, offices, galleries, shops etc., are already non-smoking so it shouldn't make much difference.

I think if pubs could effectively segregate and have two rooms - a smokers bar and a non-smokers bar then that should suffice. The bill is in an early stage and is not clear where it will go - but the Irish example looks like being the template and that appears to have had little impact on the bar trade.

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I would think it would be financially hard for the pubs to have two sections, but that is the way a lot of restaurants are here. Some of the restaurants in my state ban smoking until after the dinner is served and families have left and then allow it. Others have one big room, which has a smoking section in it. I don't think this usually protects non smokers as much as they like to think. You would have to install a big exhaust fan over the smokers for it not to. ;)

What about the price of a pack of cigarettes in Scotland? $2.60 to almost $4.00 here. And the state is planning to tax them even further......with tax being used to help finance state health plans.

I think a packet of 20 costs about £4.00 these days - which is about $7.25

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Originally Posted by Biggles

I think a packet of 20 costs about £4.00 these days - which is about $7.25

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:ohmy: Wow. Is there a heavy tax on them?

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Originally Posted by Everose

I would think it would be financially hard for the pubs to have two sections,

What about the price of a pack of cigarettes in Scotland? $2.60 to almost $4.00 here. And the state is planning to tax them even further......with tax being used to help finance state health plans.

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Many British pubs have 2 bars already, one for the "lads" and one for the "gentlemen".... this i noticed is changing with modernisation... so the cost of seperate bars would be not too significant.

the price i am not sure of being a non smoker but i believe it is close to $10 at todays exchange rate for a pack of 20..wg=hen we have friends over from the uk they can't believe how cheap it is to smoke here

i support the ban in public places fully because it isn't a personal habit of the smoker alone.

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Originally Posted by Everose

:ohmy: Wow. Is there a heavy tax on them?

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Absolutely enormous.

It is of course purely in the interests of encouraging the smokers to give up (the fact that demand for an addictive product is inelastic has not even been noticed at the Treasury :whistling )

Edit: saw Vidcc's post and checked. I am out of date, the average is about $8.50 rising to about $10.00 for the more expensive brands.


Likewise, we pay a large tax on petrol to encourage ust to use more economical cars - currently about $7.00 a gallon (although our gallons are slightly larger). This works to some extent - I am very fond of my 42 miles to the gallon car :)

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Originally Posted by vidcc

Many British pubs have 2 bars already, one for the "lads" and one for the "gentlemen".... this i noticed is changing with modernisation... so the cost of seperate bars would be not too significant.

the price i am not sure of being a non smoker but i believe it is close to $10 at todays exchange rate for a pack of 20

i support the ban in public places fully because it isn't a personal habit of the smoker alone.

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I agree with you Vidcc. I am a smoker myself, but don't go into smoking sections because it is too smokey in there. I think it ruins the meals of people who don't smoke. Mostly I smoke on my own porch or deck because I really don't like much of it in my house.

Don't like it in my own lungs, either.....I hope to toss them soon. ;)

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Originally Posted by Biggles

Absolutely enormous.

It is of course purely in the interests of encouraging the smokers to give up (the fact that demand for an addictive product is inelastic has not even been noticed at the Treasury :whistling )


Likewise, we pay a large tax on petrol to encourage ust to use more economical cars - currently about $7.00 a gallon (although our gallons are slightly larger). This works to some extent - I am very fond of my 42 miles to the gallon car :)

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And people are complaining here because our petrol is $1.90 a gallon, with a lot of road tax thrown in. My little car gets 54 miles to the gallon. In my city we have an alcohol plant which produces ethanol with outdated crop seed, such as corn, milo, wheat.....really any kind of grain. They do a lot of business, and are enlarging every day. I would like to see more of this done.

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Originally Posted by Mr JP Fugley

Good idea Everose. It is time to toss the fags, you know it makes sense.

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:shifty:

Not quite sure how that translates having crossed teh pond.

:lol: