Bono will have to quit smoking!

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zoney!

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The end is near for smoky Irish pubs

Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press
Published February 19, 2004


DUBLIN, IRELAND -- Francie O'Connor has been venturing into smoke-filled Dublin pubs for as long as he can remember, once at his father's side, now at his son's. For him, a pint and a cigarette go hand in hand.

No longer. Inspired by similar restrictions in California and New York City, the Irish government announced Wednesday that as of March 29, smoking will be forbidden in all enclosed workplaces -- including the country's 10,000 pubs.

Thirty percent of Irish adults smoke, but opinion polls indicate the plan has widespread support. To hard-core smokers and traditionalists like O'Connor, however, it's something close to sacrilege.

"A man comes to a pub for a bit of happiness in his life. It can be more of a home than your own home," the 59-year-old handyman said between drags on a cigarette, his son Daithi adopting an identical pose on the bench beside him. "If the goal is to live longer and less happily, well, we're on the right road."

Pub owners have threatened to challenge the government in court to delay or water down the ban. They argue that it will drive away up to half of their customers -- not just the smokers, but the smokers' friends.

But Health Minister Micheal Martin, a nonsmoker who rarely ventures into a pub, has dismissed proposals to create separate smoking sections with modernized ventilation systems. He says such measures don't lessen the damage done to the bar staff obliged to work among smokers.

He stressed Wednesday that nothing could protect people from secondhand smoke but a ban. He dismissed the pub owners' predictions and noted he has the support of the unions representing bar staff.

"I am confident that people will adjust, just as they did when cinemas, theaters, hairdressing salons, airplanes and numerous other settings went smoke-free," he said.

Some upscale pubs have embraced the plans as an opportunity to redesign, creating terraces with gas heaters to encourage smokers to sit outdoors, beyond the ban's reach.

But in a blue-collar pub, with no such options, John Owens, 27, said: "I suppose we'll end up smoking outside. We'll all die of the cold and that will be that -- no more problem."
 
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:ohmy:

Man that sucks!!!! Everytime we went to a pub I think almost everybody was smoking even us. They have that law here in Maryland in one of the counties and it's driven people who want to go to a bar out of that county. The bar owners are really pissed because they have no customers and some are having to shut down
 
they've had this law in effect here in new york for about a year now... it's had no effect on the big major bars/clubs, etc. that draw people from all over the place... the effect has been on the smaller bars that have more of a local crowd.

it's also had an adverse effect on neighborhoods that surround bars. more people are outside as opposed to inside, making it louder and dirtier... smokers tend to toss their butts out on the street.

for me, a person who only smokes when he's incrediably smashed and it all of a sudden seems like a good idea... smoking in bars never really bothered me, 'cause it was expected. the smell of 1 person at work who just came back from smoking outside would bother me more than a bar full of smokers. overall... these laws are dumb. if a bar wants to be non smoking, it should be the choice of the establishment it's self.
 
The problem with smoking is that EVERYONE suffers. I've never minded smoking in bars, b/c yeah it's pretty much assumed, but what about family restaurants? Take Applebees for example, they have a bar that people smoke at, but it's mostly a sit-down family place. The smoking and non-smoking sections are just designated tables, there's no wall or seperate room. Usually when I ask for non, I get a table higher up so more smoke drifts up there than the actual smoking section. I've seen what smoking can do to people - my grandpa quit after four heartattacks and my dad has had two tumors removed and pneumonia twice (he's not even 50). Second hand smoke is more than an annoyance, it's dangerous and unfair. I think banning smoking in public buildings is the best idea b/c how would they draw the line between restaurants and pubs/bars? It's better to have an absolute law that is clear to everyone whether they like it or not.
 
there is a smoking ban here in dallas for restaurants and other public places. i don't think it applies to pubs or night clubs tho as long as it's not a restaurant also. my favorite irish pub also serves food, so there's no smoking allowed there. in some ways i like the atmosphere of going to a smoke filled club, the smoke never really bothers me (but i know the dangers of second hand smoke). it is nice tho to be able to go to my favorite irish pub, have dinner, and not have to worry about coming home smelling like smoke, when i don't even smoke.
 
I don't know that I agree with passing laws saying that *all* pubs/bars/restaurants must be non-smoking, but personally I really wish there were more non-smoking establishments. I get really sick of having to practically overdose on my asthma medication just so I can spend an evening in a restaurant without having an asthma attack due to all the smoke. :down:
 
:applaud: I really can't stand cigarette smoke. I'm going to Dublin for work in June and part of the "work" will be to schmooze in the pubs with my colleagues and board members. I was thinking recently how spoiled I am not to have to deal with the smoke issue where I live and was wondering how I'd handle it in Dublin. I sort of feel bad for smokers because it's just so hard to quit, yet I feel that second hand smoke is a definite health issue and I don't want it anywhere near me. I find it to be a really disgusting habit and I will actually move if someone sits beside me at the movies smelling of cigarette smoke (or perfume, or laundry detergent or anything for that matter!). It truly offends me at the same time that I recognize it's hard to quit and I do empathize with people who want to and can't. It doesn't help that nearly all of my friends are smokers!!
 
I've tried to eliminate second hand smoke in my life...I just took up smoking.:wink:

Seriously, I think Dallas has the best solution they've banned all smoking in facilities where food is more than 50% of their business, so basically pubs, nightclubs, etc you can still smoke.
 
BonoVoxSupastar said:
I've tried to eliminate second hand smoke in my life...I just took up smoking.:wink:

:lol: Been there, tried that.

I actually got persuaded to quit by one of my friends. We were queuing to get into a concert and I had to empty my pockets to show I wasn't carrying a camera etc.

Contents of my pockets: one lighter, one packet of cigarettes and an asthma inhaler. :uhoh:

Friend: That's kind of ironic isn't it?

Me: *looks innocent*

Friend: *looks mad* ISN'T IT?

Me: It's not good, is it?

Friend: You're quitting.

Me: :rolleyes:
 
zoney! said:
The end is near for smoky Irish pubs

"A man comes to a pub for a bit of happiness in his life. It can be more of a home than your own home," the 59-year-old handyman said between drags on a cigarette, his son Daithi adopting an identical pose on the bench beside him. "If the goal is to live longer and less happily, well, we're on the right road."

I am a non smoker.

When my mother was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer the Doctors told her she had 3 to 6 months to live - 53 days later she was dead. She started smoking when she was 18 and smoked for 40 years. She found the strength and courage to quit, it was difficult and she admitted missing have a smoke when having a scotch. If my mother hadn't quit smoking when she did she probably would have died sooner and missed things like meeting her grandchildren.

Everyone deserves more than 53 days.
 
I hate the smell of smoke. It makes me nauseous. I remember being a little girl, and somebody would smoke in the car and I would throw up every time.

Don't need it, don't want it, love the Ontario law here. You wanna smoke? Go outside in -45 degree weather and do it. No skin off my back.
 
Smoking should never be permitted where food is being served/eaten. That's just gross.

I really think alcohol should also be banned in pubs and clubs too. Beer causes horrendous problems for people's livers. Plus it kills people on the roads and breaks up families.
 
Angela Harlem said:
Smoking should never be permitted where food is being served/eaten. That's just gross.
i know! when you're allergic to smoke, as i am, it makes it really hard. i don't mind people smoking in nightclubs or bars, as it's to be expected. however, i don't go to any of those places. when i'm in a restaurant, sitting down to eat, i don't want smoke to engulf my table too. my favourite restaurants don't even have a non-smoking section so you can smoke anywhere. i hate to say it but i keep my fingers crossed that something similar will be passed here.
 
I love the law here that bans smoking in bars... I can go out for a nice night and not come home invariably smelling like ass; and if I smell like ass, it's my fault and my lungs aren't far worse off as a result.
 
Re: Re: Bono will have to quit smoking!

fah said:
I am a non smoker.

When my mother was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer the Doctors told her she had 3 to 6 months to live - 53 days later she was dead. She started smoking when she was 18 and smoked for 40 years. She found the strength and courage to quit, it was difficult and she admitted missing have a smoke when having a scotch. If my mother hadn't quit smoking when she did she probably would have died sooner and missed things like meeting her grandchildren.

Everyone deserves more than 53 days.

I have a similar story, Fah.

My mother's Breast cancer crossed over to the lungs, helped on by heavy smoking. She lived until she was 43. This was 14 years ago this past Monday. She, unfortunately, did not live long enough to even see me (the oldest of two children) graduate high school, little alone grandchildren or other joys of late adulthood.

I am a nonsmoker.
 
A few months ago, I was against these new laws (they're trying to bring them in in the UK as well) - I believed that it was up to individual pub owners.

However, I gave up smoking in the new year, and for once have actually managed to stay stopped for more than a fortnight. Now, I can finally understand why people agree with banning smoking in public places. Absolutely everywhere I go seems to stink of cigarettes. Plus it makes the temptation a hell of a lot less for me to smoke when I'm having a drink and smoking is not allowed. And I need as much help as possible to stay away from temptation - I smoked for nearly thirteen years - from the age of 14 :down:

Fingers crossed I'll be able to stay quit - I'm a chronic asthmatic so I really don't know why I started smoking in the first place, never mind turn it into a 13 year habit :ohmy:
 
Re: Re: Re: Bono will have to quit smoking!

zoney! said:


I have a similar story, Fah.

My mother's Breast cancer crossed over to the lungs, helped on by heavy smoking. She lived until she was 43. This was 14 years ago this past Monday. She, unfortunately, did not live long enough to even see me (the oldest of two children) graduate high school, little alone grandchildren or other joys of late adulthood.

I am a nonsmoker.

:hug:
 
anitram said:


Don't need it, don't want it, love the Ontario law here. You wanna smoke? Go outside in -45 degree weather and do it. No skin off my back.

What the heck are you talking about? Smoking is still allowed in bars/pubs/clubs in Toronto. I know that a few other places (Barrie, Orangeville, etc) have banned smoking, but it is still allowed here.
 
Re: Re: Bono will have to quit smoking!

fah said:


I am a non smoker.

When my mother was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer the Doctors told her she had 3 to 6 months to live - 53 days later she was dead. .

Ditto here. My best friend was given 6 months to a year when diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago. Thirty days later, he left us. He was 42. They said it was a rare kind of lung cancer that wasn't smoking related, but the fact that he did smoke (for about 10 years) probably triggered it and sped it up.
 
Re: Re: Re: Bono will have to quit smoking!

joyfulgirl said:


Ditto here. My best friend was given 6 months to a year when diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago. Thirty days later, he left us. He was 42. They said it was a rare kind of lung cancer that wasn't smoking related, but the fact that he did smoke (for about 10 years) probably triggered it and sped it up.

:hug:
 
I am surpised a place like Ireland would do this, smoking is pretty prevalent there.

I think the establishment owners should be able to decide rather than the government mandating it. If the owner felt it was to his advantage to prohibit smoking or he dislikes it, he could do so. Just my opinion. I am a non-smoker, by the way.

I think stinky people should be banned from public places, too. :wink:
 
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My heart goes out to all who have lost friends and family :hug:

My mother is a smoker. She managed to quit once with the nicotine patch and stopped smoking for almost 2 years. Unfortunately, that was several years ago and didn't last :(
I know from watching her how difficult it is to quit - which is one of the reasons why I never started.


:applaud: to bammo2 for your decision to stop, I'm sure your famliy is very thankful that you did :hug:
 
Re: Re: Re: Bono will have to quit smoking!

zoney! said:


I have a similar story, Fah.

My mother's Breast cancer crossed over to the lungs, helped on by heavy smoking. She lived until she was 43. This was 14 years ago this past Monday. She, unfortunately, did not live long enough to even see me (the oldest of two children) graduate high school, little alone grandchildren or other joys of late adulthood.

I am a nonsmoker.


We've shared mutual losses in this regard; cancer is the Devil.
 
Lemon Meringue said:
I think the establishment owners should be able to decide rather than the government mandating it. If the owner felt it was to his advantage to prohibit smoking or he dislikes it, he could do so. Just my opinion. I am a non-smoker, by the way.

Another non-smoker who agrees. I think smoking is absolutely disgusting, therefore, I merely try and avoid any places in which people are allowed to smoke. Restaurant owners have every right to decide whether or not they want to allow smoking.

Originally posted by Angela Harlem
I really think alcohol should also be banned in pubs and clubs too. Beer causes horrendous problems for people's livers. Plus it kills people on the roads and breaks up families.

Disagree here as well. For one thing, that's the whole point of the designated drivers-anytime somebody gets too drunk to drive, they have the cab service take the people home, or friends or family who weren't drinking drive.

For another, anything can endanger people's lives. People can die in car accidents where alcohol wasn't a factor, too-the sun can blind them, or they can be driving while tired, or whatever. To try and get rid of alcohol in pubs and clubs because a few people abuse it and are stupid enough to drink and drive is rather unfair, I think.

Angela
 
Sorry Angela, I was being a smartarse. Pubs and clubs are the one place I dont agree with it's banning. It goes hand in hand with alcohol for a lot of people, and to use health risks is an oxymoron in my view....Considering many people are plying themselves up in pubs anyway.
 
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