Next destination: Germany??
Well, well look what i found on BBC. Apparently, the Prime Minister of France has announced that the France Government are about to ban smoking in all public places (that includes restaurants, bars, cafes, night clubs, etc) from next February. Report says that those found in the breach of the ban would be fined around 75 Euros for individuals and 150 euros for the premises where the offence occurred.Furthermore, the PM claimed that smoking kills more than 13 people a day in France and calling it an "unacceptable reality".
"We started on the basis of a simple observation - two figures: 60,000 deaths a year in our country linked directly to tobacco consumption and 5,000 deaths linked to passive smoking." Opinion polls in France - often considered a nation of smokers - suggest 70% of the people support the ban, says the BBC's Valerie Jones in Paris.
So, here are the questions of the day: what do you think of the ban? do you think the ban should be introduced in Germany? do you think the German government dare and have the guts to stand up for the rich tobacco companies and care for the public health instead (of their budget)?
Anyway, I'm not going to be judgemental whatsoever therefore I will leave the floor open for healthy (and maybe intercultural) discussions...
Ragil
posted by ICEUS at 8:12 PM
8 Comments:
I love discussions! :-)
I think it's great! Finally non-smokers are not forced anymore to throw away a few years of their lifetime just because there are some persons too weak to be honest to themselves and willing to end up in sickness and suffer an awful and slow death!
But when it comes to Germany... as long as the CDU is in the lead I guess the tobacco companies will have the last word.
Cheers,
-Marie-
10:50 PM
Fiddlesticks!!! Nonsense!!! Boring!!! On the same BBC you have to search for the Cuban centarians, and see the answer to why they lived so long.
Some of the French politicians are just thinking of their own image in the run for the next French presidency and this is the only reason for it(Sarkozy is a mere "diletant, polikant, populant and demahog"). I am SURE with those fines introduced French budget will largely profit. Or WHY NOT to make it a normal tax? Like the ones for emissions and ecology :D =))
(Though, I have to admit at least one thing. The French do not sell cigarettes in the machines, which is good because children wont be able to buy it. But it is not due to the todays government.)
4:28 PM
Financial incentives for the government may have played a role in Britain at least, although not for your reason Firdavs, more due to the fact that the National Health Service spends billions of pounds and uses a ridiculous amount of its resources saving smokers (and passive smokers) from dying from self-inflicted illnesses, or at least trying to fight the lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, etc. etc. If I was PM, I would charge all smokers to get treatment for illnesses from smoking.
Good point about not having cigarette machines being good for children. Although, not sure it makes much difference if whenever they go into cafes or restaurants with their parents they have to breathe in second-hand smoke anyway. That is why I am very much in favour of the ban. If smokers want to kill themselves then fine, but they should do it in private, so they don't take other people down with them.
4:49 PM
You will find examples of the extreme reactions to tabacco smoke in all populations. Everyone has heard of the old lady living to 105 and have a pack a day etc. But then on the other extreme where a person had one cigerette when they were 15 and developed cancer because they were exposed to the carcinigen.
If we were to use statistics, peoplewho do smoke are 12 times more likely to contract a smoke related illness - heart disease, lung cancer, emphasema, voice box, tongue, teeth, gums, eyes and skin problems, and so on then people who do not smoke. There are so many health effects!
For years the cigerette companies have been arguing that smoking cannot be directly attributed to these things, but, smoking actually changes something in the gene. This means that there is a biomarker that proves the cause and effect of smoking even just one cigerette.
Stop piss farting around. Smoking is harmful to you and the people in your environment.
Smoking related illness is not just causing the harm in the health sense. People who do not smoke have to pay for the illnesses that people self inflict on themselves and to other people. This is a disgusting habit and should be gotten rid of completely.
On the bright side - for people who are smokers, if you quit, your body is a magnificent organism and can heal all the damage you inflicted on yourself. Your lungs regenerate, and your chances for heart disease decrease and can eventuall become as low as that of a non-smoker.
So when you heading down the non-smoker road, adn you find you have had a day or two with out a smoke, and your lungs start filling up with phlegm, this your body healing itself. It is how it is ridding itself of the crap inside your lungs. You want to get rid of this stuff. So don't be tempted to dry it out with noch ein ciggie!!!
Long live the non-smoker!!!!!
12:47 PM
I knew a peace-loving man, a non-smoker, and he was run over by a car driven by a drunk guy. Squash and Smash! Just like that! Hmm, I would say it is more efficient to ban alcohol too. It will save so many lives and families. I am sure thay are more dangerous than cigarettes. Why not to start with the core of all problems, Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy?
FYI, I tend to smoke mostly when I drink beer.
5:36 PM
The key difference between alcohol and cigarettes is that you can happily drink a pint or two without having negative effects on those around you (this does not include drinking to excess or drink driving of course, but the point is it only takes one cigarette, or half a cigarette to damage the health of others). Alcohol has its own problems of course, but I believe that is a different debate and if some people cannot enjoy a pint without lighting up a cigarette, then perhaps those people should take responsibility for their actions and not drink. There are lots of people who drink regularly and see absolutely no need to smoke. It is a matter of habit and habits are essentially based on choices people make. Sorry mate, but blaming beer for smoking is a fairly weak argument...
10:08 AM
There is a big difference, at small amounts alcohol is actually good for you. Unfortunatly, the amount we drink is by far more then then the good amount. Too much alcohol is detrimental to people.
On the other hand, no amount of cigerette smoke is good for you.
12:34 PM
hehehehe.... cool! never seen so many comments in a post!
it's not that i want to wash my hand and leave all these comments without proper follow-up, but i have to keep myself obejctive to some extent. so, i'll stay still from the distance.. =)
btw, where's andrea? I'd like to hear something from her.. yuuhuuu.. andreaaaa.. where are ya?!! hehehe..
Oh btw, Bec!!! really looking forward to seeing you in December!!
ragil
3:26 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home