| Should
smoking in public be banned? |
| Posted: December 11th, 2002 |
| By:
Colin Coates |
 |
A report from the British Medical Association
warns that 1,000 people are dying every year as a result of passive
smoking. With more and more countries bringing in legislation to ban
smoking in public places is it about time that the UK government did
so too? |
In many parts of the world the tobacco companies
are losing the battle against anti-smoking organisations. Many would
say that their days of killing off the population are slowly dwindling
away and rightly so but here in the UK we seem to be caught in two
minds about how to best go about solving the problem of ending the
reign of the tobacco companies grip on our nation.
The US leads the way
The issue of smoking in public places is a very contentious one and
many countries have chosen to tackle the problem in many different
ways. Although countries in the European Union are making some progress
we are far behind our cousins on the other side of the pond in the
US who have adopted a no-nonsense approach to eradicating the toxic
fumes produced by cigarettes polluting their citizens. In California
for instance it is an offence to light up in any public place. That
means that smokers can only really light up in private places such
as their home or in their car and many other US states have similar
bans on public smoking.
European Union trails behind
| Facts
About Smoking |
Tobacco smoke is a potent cocktail of over
4,000 toxins 50 of which cause cancer
Other Illness that smoking and passive smoking can cause:
 Lung
disease
Angina
Heart
disease
Strokes
Meningitis
Chest
Infections
Asthma
Premature
Birth
Infertility
|
Our idea of a landmark ruling was what happened
yesterday (Tuesday 10th of December) in the European Court of Justice
where two tobacco companies, British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial
Tobacco lost their fight against the imposition of tough new health
warnings on products in the European Union. The so called tough new
health warnings means that tobacco companies can no longer use the
words "light" and "mild" on their products and health warnings must
cover 30% of the front of cigarette packets and 40% of the back.
Although anti-smoking campaigners welcomed the ruling they do believe
that it is still too little too late in the fight against cigarettes.
The ruling by the European Court of Justice is typical of the softly
softly approach being adopted by countries within the Union. We seem
to believe that small pieces of legislation, selective advertising
bans, massive cigarette tax and public awareness campaigns will some
how solve the problem but many are sceptical that this formula will
make little difference to the deadly serious problems caused by smoking.
To get a clearer picture of what tobacco companies have got away with
for so long consider this; Their product kills around 120,000 people
a year in the UK, but are less controlled than food and drugs.
There is no doubt that the net is closing in on the tobacco companies
and their customers. The message is becoming more and more clear,
'If you want to die for a fag don't bring others down with you.'
Some European countries are stubbing out the ciggies
In the European Union Norway is leading the way. Their Government
has proposed a total ban on smoking inside all public places by 2004.
Norway is already one of the most restrictive societies in Europe
when it comes to smoking, with curbs on smoking in all offices and
public buildings. However, it is still possible to light up in designated
areas in bars, restaurants, cafes and hotels but under the new proposals
people will only be allowed to smoke in their homes or outside.
Other European countries are only just waking up
 In
stark contrast to Norway other European countries are still living
in the past. Denmark for example anyone can buy a pack of fags and
there are no age restrictions whatsoever. Effectively a 6-year-old
could walk into a tobacconist and buy a pack of ciggies and a box
of matches, open them and spark one up in front of the shop keeper
before he or she leaves.
In Greece where smoking is seen as a traditional right they have only
just introduced new laws, which will ban smoking in certain public
places and Europe's most prolific smokers are up in arms about it.
BMA calls for public smoking ban
The British Medical Association has called for an immediate ban on
smoking in public places in the UK. They claim that 1,000 people are
dying every year as a result of passive smoking and it is linked to
many more illnesses including, lung cancer, heart and circulation
problems.
The BMA are also calling for new tax on all tobacco products which
it wants to inject into public awareness campaigns on the health risks
of passive smoking and the development of smoke-free public places.
They are saying that It's about time the tobacco companies picked
up the tab for the harm their products are causing.
Smokers hit back
Smokers believe that smoking is among one of their individual rights
and any attempt to restrict them from their habit is a violation of
those rights. They also believe that if they give in to a no public
smoking law it won't end there and next they will be banned from smoking
in their own homes.
With one in four families living with a smoker their fears are not
unrealistic, as there is little chance that the ban on smoking could
continue to close the net until it is totally eradicated. However,
the 'individual rights' case is a flimsy one and unlikely to dig smokers
out of the mess they find themselves in. |
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