I'm an ex-Brit who now lives in Spain, and many of the Spaniards I know ask me what effect banning smoking had in my country of origin (they're going to ban it here too, soon enough). Being the research-monkey, and also an EX-smoker, I decided to check the statistics and see whether the ban has had any effect on the number of smokers in the UK. It seems that there's a burn-hole in the statistics! You can find all the statistics on the net that you want about the number of smokers in the UK before 2007 (the ban took effect in July 2007 (7-7!)). Then suddenly, and for no apparent reason, all the statistics switch. They're no longer mapping the number of smokers - instead they show such pointless info as the number of people who have quit in the last 4 weeks! Personally, I had about 4 failed attempts to quit smoking before I actually succeeded.
The only concrete figure I could find was this one: Official figures show just 21 per cent of adults now light up cigarettes, down from 22 per cent the year before, while a record 59 per cent have now never taken up the habit. In 1974, 45 per cent of adults smoked cigarettes.
So, basically, the number of smokers has been on a slow but steady decline FOR DECADES!!! The smoking ban, just like taxes - doesn't have ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER!!!!! on the number of smokers. But I would suggest that in a country like Britain, where the winter temperatures can easily drop below zero, that making people stand shivering outside is having a more direct effect on the health of smokers!
This is another case where a long established pattern can be zoomed in and the statistics manipulated to impress the masses.
Please note: I've included plenty of links in this article. If anyone finds any actual information, please leave comments below.
The only concrete figure I could find was this one: Official figures show just 21 per cent of adults now light up cigarettes, down from 22 per cent the year before, while a record 59 per cent have now never taken up the habit. In 1974, 45 per cent of adults smoked cigarettes.
So, basically, the number of smokers has been on a slow but steady decline FOR DECADES!!! The smoking ban, just like taxes - doesn't have ANY EFFECT WHATSOEVER!!!!! on the number of smokers. But I would suggest that in a country like Britain, where the winter temperatures can easily drop below zero, that making people stand shivering outside is having a more direct effect on the health of smokers!
This is another case where a long established pattern can be zoomed in and the statistics manipulated to impress the masses.
Please note: I've included plenty of links in this article. If anyone finds any actual information, please leave comments below.
3 comments:
I don't know about the effect of the smoking ban on the numbers of people smoking, I suppose people probably smoke less, in winter at any rate. There are certainly some other consequences of the ban besides any health benefits.
In at least reasonable (i.e. not pissing it down, not freezing) weather pubs which have any outside areas (e.g. the so-called 'beer garden' - one of the worst descriptions going, as most of them are heavily concreted wastelands littered with ancient rotting wooden picnic tables) are virtually empty inside. For instance, my band played a show at a pub in a busy town centre recently. The pub was supposedly a popular live music venue and it was a Saturday night. Shortly before we played at about 9.30pm there were four people playing pool, three assorted regulars propping up the bar, about ten people in the live music room (including three band members, a promoter and his partner and a sound man). Outside the pub, around the ubiquitous picnic tables had gathered seventy or more revellers (including the other bands on the bill!). Not very many of them were smoking (maybe one or two out of ten at any one time)! Now I'm not trying to suggest that so few people saw us play because they were all outside smoking, but what chance do people have to 'accidentally' hear a live musical act (formerly a way to 'get into' a band), if they are sitting outside the building, rather than within hearing range? Which brings me to two points. The smoking ban is effectively killing live music (here is an interesting view on a similar situation), and is probably having a significant impact on pubs more generally (apologies to the link to sky news).
Certainly smoking is harmful, the smoking ban probably will have some benefits, if not for those 'passively' smoking then for those that either quit as a result, or simply smoke less as a result. Unfortunately there will be an inevitable detrimental effect on the culture of Britain, and I'm not talking about the culture of drinking fifteen pints of strong lager in a short space of time, starting a fight in a kebab shop and collapsing in a heap in the gutter before pissing oneself - that if anything will get worse as a result.
I don't want to overstate the impact of the ban on Britain's culture; there are plenty of other things affecting it. Inevitably, cultures change, but such a blunt tool as an overall ban brought in with in the least gradual way possible (i.e. completely and totally overnight, without any exceptions or caveats) - something unthinkable ten years ago, has a very large effect, very quickly. Unfortunately this is not necessarily a change for the better.
Thankyou, Brain, for a very interesting perspective on this story. I know that another major influence on live music was the change in law to 'close the loophole' of pubs not needing a music license for bands/singers of 2 or less. I know that lots of pubs that used to have solo-singers performing can no longer do so.
As for your specific case, maybe you could try playing outside! or at least get a PA/speaker out there so that the chimneys can hear you too!
The smoking police are a front for an attack on civil rights/liberties
and culture. You can have my cigs when you pry them from my cold dead hands. And even then I will still want them back when I get sent back here. The goal for them is smoke and alcohol free pubs with no-one in them. Lets all live to be 120 and fucking miserable.
You will have to work till you're 100 to pay off the national debt.
Fuck that. And thats swearing.
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