No Smoking

I must first confess that I am an ex-smoker, albeit of almost 20 years or should that be I am smoker but don’t want one now thanks, I am still taking one day at a time. I don’t want to preach like an ex smoker but here goes.

There have been all sorts of arguments about the new no smoking laws in Spain. Many bars and restaurants are saying that it will ruin their business as the clients will no longer come to their venues and they don’t want to stand outside and smoke. This is probably true but there is also the argument that people who would not normally frequent these establishments will now do so, as they can breathe easier, will not have smoke puffed over their expensive meal out and will not have their clothes reeking of smoke at the end of the evening. Yes, I am now firmly in the second category but really only since the law has been introduced and made me think more seriously about the issues. This petty argument will go on forever and there will never be a conclusive solution while it is thought of at this level. Surely the concerns are far greater than that.

Yes I can hear many of you say what about our freedom to choose. But most smokers have already lost that freedom by their addiction. They are unable to stop smoking no matter how much they say “I don’t need it” or “I can give up tomorrow”, they are kidding themselves not anybody else. I know this, as for at least 10 years I said the same.

Isn’t it time we all woke up and realised that this is another drug that would never be allowed to be introduced in the 21^st century. Can you imagine Peter Stuyvesant walking up to the WHO and saying I’ve got this great product that will help employment all around the world through farming and production plants in underdeveloped countries, plus it is a pleasurable pastime that helps social bonding in pubs and restaurants. The only side effect is that you smell a bit afterwards. I don’t think so. It has been proven time and again that the costs to society as a whole are far greater than will ever be recovered by the taxes that are received from packets of cigarettes. Below are listed some facts form the WHO* web site based on the UK alone, what cost then to society in countries where the taxes aren’t so great on cigarettes. It is clear if we looked at it from this point the non-smokers are contributing to the smokers’ tax liabilities.

But surely the real concerns are bigger than that? Let’s get back to the no smoking laws that are creeping in like a North sea fog across the world, shouldn’t we all consider the real issues? Smoking kills and we all know it. Smoking damages your health and we all know it. Cigarette companies can try to convince us otherwise until they are blue in the face but without a doubt it is something that is not good for you. Yes there will be short term losses for bars and restaurants but if in the long run people live a bit longer isn’t that better? Our children grow up with one less killing temptation put under their noses, isn’t that better? Our environment improves, isn’t that better? And yes, taxes get reduced, isn’t that better?

It’s about time we all thought of the long term implications rather than the current short term problems. Would it not be far better for future generations to grow up in a smoke free world? I think so.

*From the World Health Organisation web site: The United Kingdom provides examples of the burdensome cost of smoking to society. Treating smoking-related illnesses in England is estimated to have cost the National Health Service (NHS) £2.7 billion per year in 2006–2007: more than £50 million each week. In 2009, smoking accounted for 5% of all hospital admissions of adults aged 35 and over in England (462 000). Illnesses among children from exposure to second-hand smoke cause an estimated 300 000 visits to general practitioners and about 9500 hospital admissions in the United Kingdom each year.

While the taxation of tobacco in the United Kingdom contributes around £10 billion annually, the overall economic costs of tobacco use to society have been estimated to be £13.74 billion. These societal costs comprise not only treatment of smoking-related illness but also the loss in productivity from smoking breaks and increased absenteeism, the costs of cleaning up cigarette butts and fighting smoking-related house fires, and the loss of economic output from people who die from diseases related to smoking or exposure to second-hand smoke.