And yes, I am a smoker.

I found this blog that helped me figure out which brand of e-cigarette I should buy. If you’re considering switching over, I hope this page helps you like it helped me:

greensmokes.blogspot.com

And here are some videos with information about how e-cigs work:

youtube.com/healthysmokes

I would agree that the fairer thing would be for a comprimise.

As for a comprimise, been in the Cricketers in Rainham lately? Nice to have a meal, but also rather nice for a night out, I am told.

As for your first point, I don’t think it will wipe it out entirely, but it will reduce the useage considerably.

Incidentally Alan, are you a smoker?

The fact is the taking of drugs, of whatever class, is a criminal offence, whether carried out in public or in private. Does this stop people from taking drugs? Or does this criminalise some people who would otherwise be law-abiding citizens?

Whilst it’s true that there are some people in the idyllic family who are just looking for a meal and a drink in a clean and pleasant environment, there are still those who just want to go out, have a few drinks, have a few fags and socialise with their mates in the warmth and comfort of a pub.

The smoking ban has made the latter impossible and it is finding a happy medium that my suggestion tries to address.

Different people want different things in a pub. Before the smoking ban, one group of people pushed to the side. Since the smoking ban, the scales have been completely tipped the other way and now smokers feel marginalised.

Since the smoking ban pubs have been closing at an unprecedented rate. I’m not saying it is the only reason, but as I said many publicans consider it to have played a large part in their closure – even the Man of Kent’s former landlord.

My suggestion would allow some pubs to permit smoking inside and boost their sales, in tandem with the Conservatives’ campaign calls, whilst allowing others to retain the friendly family atmosphere other patrons crave.

The key for pubs is to look nice and offer food.

People don’t want dingy dives anymore, people want a place they can take the kids, have a meal and have a drink.

Take in Rainham, the Man Of Kent closed down, but a few hundred yards down the road, The Rose is doing a storming trade, because it offers (I have to say, excellent) meals.

However, that might be because it’s not a free house.

Personally, we should stick with the total smoking ban, and also stop smoking in public places such as benches etc. Soon it will become such a difficult activity that people won’t do it. Then the discussion will be irrelevant.

Publicans have themselves, on numerous occasions, cited the smoking ban as a major contributing factor to their demise and have long opposed it. And many of the publicans – and even bar staff – that I know are smokers themselves.

It would be for the publicans themselves to choose whether or not to apply for a licence and with a cap there would be the availability of smoking and non-smoking pubs for patrons to choose from.

How would you go about forcing supermarkets to stop selling cheap alcohol?

Why should publicans be suffered to passive smoking yet office workers not?

Bad idea, I think.

All you need to do is stop supermarkets selling cheap booze.

And anyway, even when the Government comes up with awful ideas (and just ideas, not policies or anything else) they can canned for it. It’s a lose – lose situation.