University Hospital of North Staffordshire ditches ban on smoking

“@ suffolkpunch

I addressed your claims -which you seemed to think relevant; but which I pointed out were not only irrelevant but invalid.”

“camband. I didn't say that you counted the cost of your smoking, but you did calculate the number of fags you smoked.”

“by suffolkpunch
"Camband. Have you calculated the cost of everything you do?

-My Answer; 'I didn't calculate the cost of the fags I smoked; the money's on your mind not mine'. I was focusing on the health issues in retrospect. Your question implies that you can put an old head on young shoulders -YOU CAN'T.... neither does it take into consideration the addictive qualities that 'ensnare immature young people'. -As a 17 year old I was one such young person. Try to be realistic before putting such questions and get into the real world.

You then went on to make a number of completely unrelated claims; but I'll address them anyway -as they may be of interest to other readers.

2. 'If you calculated the cost of marriage you would never get married'. unquote.

Maybe, maybe not. But for most people, where marriage is concerned, although money can sometimes be a factor where a decision to marry someone or not is concerned, in the vast majority of cases it is that little word 'love' that is what makes people take the plunge. Unable to face a life without the other person to share a roof, a bed with. So, again- irrelevant.

3. If you calculated the cost of children you would never have children. Unquote.

Again, maybe, maybe not. I do think that applies to some people. After all, there are many married couples who agree to get married on the basis that neither of them want children. But then again, even the latter sometimes finish up with them and are overjoyed by the 'unexpected turn of events' -cost is cost -but when there's a mouth to feed -a body to clothe, a child to educate -you just get on with it.... and more than happy to do so -it's called PARENTHOOD.

4. If you calculated the cost of running a car you would never have a car'. Unquote.

Now this is the daftest of them all. Everyone, with the exception of Lottery winners, calculates the cost of running a car before going out to buy the bloody thing -they're a drain on the pocket -full stop. But knowing that doesn't stop them from buying one. What it does do though, is to stop them buying a car that they couldn't afford to run -too heavy on fuel -too heavy on Insurance etc etc. Some people like me simply cannot afford to buy an run the cheapest set up -so we make do with the old bus pass.... no problem, it just takes longer to get from A to B.... and usually involves more walking -but they tell us that that's not such a bad thing anyway....
Cheer up.”

“Camband. Have you calculated the cost of everything you do?
If you calculated the cost of marriage you would never get married.
If you calculated the cost of children you would never have children.
If you calculated the cost of running a car you would never have a car.”

“@ Junican, Cyzane, johnndavidson, davrosFTM, MichaelJMcF et al;

With regards to your whereabouts and why it should be of importance, I suppose that to your particular macro opinions, your location does not matter one jot. However, if you are not local, then you might not be fully aware of how your particular point of view will effect the people that are.

For example, if you are not a resident of North Staffordshire, you may not realise just how austere the times are in this area. Likewise, you may not appreciate that the money to fund these shelters will be hard to come by, and will ultimately be taken from an already wafer thin budget, which will then eventually have a direct impact on the medical attention that someone receives.

And if you are not a resident of the UK, then you may not appreciate just how the NHS works, how it is funded, how endangered it is, and what it means to the people of this country. Asking for designated smoking areas to be budgeted for in hospitals in certain countries might be realistic, but in this country at this time there is neither the money available, nor the will to make it happen.

Finally, and staying with the subject of 'designated areas', there is one argument against having them that can never be disputed; human nature. If the law was changed and 'designated areas' were introduced in to hospitals, they still wouldn't be enough for some people, and the hazardous 'hidden smoking' that has been mentioned would still go on and still be a significant danger.

But I digress. I have no doubt that some of you 'flying pickets' will see the installation of these shelters as a triumph, whilst others will see it as nothing more than a step in the right direction. But as you celebrate your albeit pyrrhic victory, please spare a thought for the people of North Staffordshire who – unlike yourselves – have to deal with the consequences of policy changes like this on a day-to day basis.

The circle keeps on turning….”

“I recently visited the maternity building and was amazed to see a number of pregnant women smoking directly outside the doors. The hospital should save the money on smoking shelters and install a huge hand over the doors. As soon as a pregnant women lights up the hand should come down and give them good slapping!!”

“The NHS is not their to Nanny us and like any other employer who has workers and visitors, it should abide by the law.
That law doesn't allow the disciplining of workers for smoking in designated smoking shelters.”

“@ DJofTNE
Fissionchump ONLY comments on cannabis stories, he has no interest in drugs that kill people,”

“@ Cyzane
Be careful my friend, I am a Born and bred native of Stoke on Trent (59 years old) I moved away only 4 years ago, just under 200 hundred miles up the motorway, or 3 hours drive away, and I am quite often told that I "have no right to comment" on stories from my home town, despite having family there as well as friends, and my parents and grandparents being buried there,
Sadly Stoke, like anywhere else, has it's share of closed minds, people who spend their entire lives never venturing 'out of the village'

As for this debate, Well as someone who used to be a non-smoker until the age of 27, and who then smoked (both tobacco and cannabis) until quite recently, quitting cannabis late last year and tobacco early this year, Here are some of my personal observations,

This whole debate is a fantastic example of how the media and government control and manipulate the public's opinion/s,
Back in the 70's people were well aware that smoking wasn't exactly good for one's health, and yet, smokers and non-smokers were quite happy to work alongside each other, sit next to each other in pubs or on public transport etc,
I can't ever remember anyone looking with utter disgust at a person for smoking, let alone reeling out a string of abuse while flapping their arms about as though they were in a a cloud of poisonous gas,

This only really 'took off' after this 'passive smoking' garbage, instructed the hard of thinking as to what their opinion should now be,
These VERY same sheeple probably drive fossil fuelled vehicle's, vehicle's which pump filthy gasses out at push chair hight on their way to drop the kids off to school,

ONE school run, JUST ONE, pumps more filth into the atmosphere than a 20 a day smoker will in 50 years of smoking.
Not to mention the volume of pollutants and cancer causing chemicals vomited into the atmosphere by the various factories involved in manufacturing their car,
and then there's the filth pumped into the atmosphere by the various factories involved in manufacturing almost everything we use in modern life including the clothes on your back and the computer you are reading this on,

Get some perspective people, and STOP letting others spoon feed you your opinions,”

“Camband,
Good for you if you are happy with your decision but it's too bad you have so many regrets about your lack of determination to stop or at least control your consumption sooner when millions of people have managed to stop successfully when they were resolved to do it.

Please don't imagine that others could learn from your excesses and your personal experience. Humans are not clones of each other and smoking is a term used very loosely. While you smoked over 350,000 cigarettes in your lifetime others might have smoked a lot less or a lot more. ''Smoking harms health'' doesn't mean a thing unless one quantifies how much one smoked and for how long.

But the issue here is not about what smoking did to your health, but how rabid anti-smoking has managed to cause dysfunction to people making them believe they will get cancer just by going through what they call a ''cloud'' of smoke in the entrances of a hospital. Most of these same people will have no qualms crossing an underground garage, sitting around a campfire for hours, or choosing to live by a busy road or highway.

Nevertheless, I repeat, enclosed designated smoking areas inside the hospital, will solve everyone's problems, including those who are so far brainwashed that never give a second thought why they get offended by the site of a person smoking by the maternity ward yet have no problem with a pregnant woman walking through busy streets or parking her car in an underground garage.”