General Chat

On BBC Telex site this morning One in four smokers will get Chronic obstructive disease including Bronchitis and Emphysemia making it difficult to breathe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- James Green

and what about the passive smokers?

....not to mention the other three who will get cancer, heart disease and circulatory problems and cost the health sevice (and the rest of us!) a fortune. We have a gorvernment who have spent our taxes on a survey to reach this conclusion. They then try to persuade us not to smoke by banning it in various places (quite right too), spend another fortune on health campaigns to teach us all the dangers, but still go on raking in all the money from the tax on tobacco! Then complain about the vast cost to the Health Service of smoking-related diseases. Truly a crazy situation..........

hi Meercat! Asbestos is a big one, I know of 3 people who have lung problems from this. Non were smokers,My husband has chronic lung problems he too worked with asbestos, he also smoked(now given up) asbestos caused the problem, not the smoking, the smoking however didnt help.

Jane,I couldnt agree more:-)) But that will never happen,too much money to be made from it.

what about the people who get these diseases who DONT smoke. it is so easy to blame the smokers . bronchitis is hereditary so is cardiac vascular disease.and that comes from hubbys cardiac and vascular surgeons! susie

Smoking is an addiction, which most ‘addicts’ regret starting. There are many people, who have never smoked, or have managed to quit, who are quick to criticise those people who do smoke. There are also Dr’s who are refusing to treat smokers. Smoking is to be banned in public places. Some people suggest making smoking illegal. If tobacco was not readily available, it would stop smoking related illnesses. The tax charged on cigarettes, goes a long way in paying for our NHS. If this is money is unavailable everyone would have to pay more income tax. As smokers are financing the NHS, perhaps they should demand their own hospitals. If you paid a large rent on a property, you would not expect to be stopped from entering it. Smoking harms the smokers & each year some passive smokers. The harm to passive smokers can & is being dealt with by the new legislation. A far greater risk, in my oppinion, is alcohol. Alcohol abuse is linked to: 65% of suicide attempts 76,000 facial injuries a year 23% of child neglect calls to national helplines 39% of fires 15% of drownings I have never heard of any of these being caused by smokers!! Between 60 and 70% of men who assault their partners do so under the influence of drink. Forty-one per cent of violent crimes, including assaults and muggings, are committed by somebody who has been drinking. John Ryan, spokesman for the British Association of Accident and Emergency Medicine and an accident and emergency specialist at Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, said emergency departments dealt with a huge amount of cases resulting from acute intoxication and chronic alcoholism. He said: 'I cannot underestimate the importance of alcohol in the workload of emergency departments - we would be out of business if it was not for alcohol.' Road accidents where drink is a factor cost £189m, and criminal activity linked with alcohol abuse is responsible for another £68m.

How very true your words are Carol! Gwyn

carol im glad someone else thinks the same as me. yes,i am a smoker,but i know smokers who have died or are ill with various illnesses that apparently only smokers get! my dad had a brain haemmorrage 16 years ago.the first thing the drs asked my mum as he arrived at the hospital was...how much does he smoke and how much does he drink. my mum was astounded.dad is teetotal,never touches alcohol and he never smokes. they are too quick to jump to conclusions. give us smokers a break susie

If the powers that be really wanted us all to give up smoking then all no smoking aids would be available free of charge or at the very least subsidised. Just as many youngsters smoke today as years ago. The health danger is not getting across, when you are young you think that will not happen to you etc. Maybe we should tell kids its like cabbage, very good for you, then they wouldn't want it ! lol No easy answer to keep everybody happy. Personally I have been to the doctors once in the last ten years but payed out thousands in NIC & tax, so I should be in credit. Also where do you draw the line? Sport injuries, wouldn't occur if you didn't play sport. accidents if you didn't drive etc What I don't understand is why the goverment wants us to live longer, they can not afford to help the old aged pensioners as it is! Ang

Ang,I think your on the right track there,tell a teenager somethings bad,what do they want to1 do try it!lol tell them it good,they wouldnt touch it with a barge poll! Your right,I dont think all these anti-smoking adds work, the older smokers are giving up, but there are far more youngsters smoking these days. I went to a function on saturday,I was amazed at how many under 30s were smoking,much more than when I was that age,Im sure. Hi meercat, your right about the miners too, my friends father died from working in the mines, he also smoked,guess what was blamed?? your right Smoking!

I agree with all that Carol says, and would like to add that drug abuse is also a big drain on the NHS. At least the smokers contribute towards the NHS with the tax paid.

Round of applause for Carol Paul

Never heard of cigarettes causing fires?? Bob

I read today that cigarette sales have gone up since smoking ban in Scotland --therefore more passive smoking in homes-therefore increase in asthma etc, some pubs have made less money if they don`t sell food , others have made more. Ros

I posted on this thread this afternoon, before having to make my daily visit to Mum, as I am sick & tired of being informed of statistics about smoking. As a smoker I know the risks to my health. I do not need to be continually told what I already know. A few weeks ago I had to have a medical for insurance purposes, because I am an over weight smoker. Having had a very thorough examination, my Dr. told me that he would love to have my blood pressure (he is a good 20yrs younger than me) & that he could find nothing wrong. The insurance company still charged me extra, because I was honest & admitted on the application form that I smoked.

Have to agree with all Carol said - been my argument for years that alcohol was more dangerous than cigarettes. As for fires started by a cigarette - inevitably one will find that the smoker was drunk as well - happened in our village 18 mths ago - the person concerned was a heavy drinker and smoked in bed.