Should smoking be banned from public areas?

[Stef]

Link: http://www.ashaust.org.au/SF'03/releases/051121.htm

Barworker’s passive cancer case win
highlights smokefree urgency

How many more will suffer and die from delays and loopholes?

Health and employee groups have urged governments to end delays and loopholes in smokefree pub and club laws – after a former bar worker won a landmark passive cancer case against a workplace insurer.
Bar and gaming room worker Phil Edge, 29, a non-smoker, fought a three-year battle with tongue cancer after working in a smoky Adelaide pub. He pursued and won his case despite opposition from South Australia’s WorkCover Corporation, after rejecting a lump sum payout to buy his confidentiality.

Mr Edge has won compensation including medical expenses and lost wages. He endured radical surgery to remove half his tongue and cancerous lymph nodes, followed by extensive radiotherapy.
The SmokeFree Australia coalition, representing leading health groups and hospitality employees,* has warned all bar workers, entertainers and gaming technicians to pursue their rights under Occupational Health and Safety laws by refusing to work in any area where smoking is allowed.
Says coalition spokesperson Anne Jones of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Australia: “This is not the first case of a worker contracting cancer from a smoky workplace.

“Research has established that secondhand smoke kills. It causes not only cancers in non-smokers but also a wide range of heart, vascular and respiratory diseases, sexual and reproductive harm, and more.
“Keeping the lid on this harm with confidentiality payouts is not in the public interest.

“All pubs, clubs and gaming rooms which currently allow smoking need to be clear that whatever delays or loopholes exist in other laws, they have a duty of care under OH&S law to maintain a safe workplace – that means sending smoking outside, where it can’t harm others.

“How many more will suffer and die before the delays and looholes end? The present mishmash of laws has ‘total’ indoor bans still almost two years off in some states, and some have mostly-enclosed smoky rooms set to continue indefinitely, causing more deaths and disease.

“We urge all governments to act now to prevent further secondhand smoke injuries - by tightening laws to ensure that all indoor and serviced areas of licensed venues are smokefree. Legislation adopted in Queensland provides a good working model of how this can be done.
“Further delays and loopholes will cause preventable deaths and disease – resulting in more legal actions and payouts.”

[Stef]

Should smoking be banned from public areas? (ie. pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc)

Do you think it will work if this was to apply to Malaysian public? I think it will be difficult to be implementing this especially in Miri. What do you reckon?

[tsyen75]

Don't think so it will work......Sometime although you can see the "NON-SMOKING" sign being displayed, yet you can still see people smoking.....Sometimes wonder whether this people are "blind" to the sign....

[Vixious™]

Should smoking be banned from public areas? (ie. pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc)

Do you think it will work if this was to apply to Malaysian public? I think it will be difficult to be implementing this especially in Miri. What do you reckon?

Restaurant... yes...

Pub and Clubs?? Come on... do you really think so?

Malaysia spent hell lots of money for the "Tak Nak" campaign... and it's all crap sh*t... nothing ever change...

Raise the price of ciggies?? I bet those tabacco tychoons are laughing themselves to the bank each day...

[spartan]

yeah.....raise the price of ciggies to the same as Singapore.......over RM 20 per pack

[baham]

Banning smoking in public places will not stop the smokers from smoking in general. Why not totally ban the production of cigarettes/cigars. anyway the tabacco has other uses e.g in medicines etc. I Know the govt. loses a chunk of tax out of it, but try to look the other side of the coin, at the same time the govt. is spending huge amount of money on tabacco health related illnesses of the people. to state differently, tax will be lost as part of a govt income, but on the other hand the govt expenses on health problem of its citizens will be substantially reduced. It goes to show that the govt. is not indeed sincere to address the problem but dwelling in the world of pretension and hypocracy, just to show that it cares about the health of its citezens by apparently regulating the places on where one can smoke. That is a futile exercise of a state police power reaping uncommendable, vague and insignigicant result.

have a good day miricom

thanks

[isoundstream]

Should smoking be banned from public areas? (ie. pubs, clubs, restaurants, etc)

Do you think it will work if this was to apply to Malaysian public? I think it will be difficult to be implementing this especially in Miri. What do you reckon?

Restaurant... yes...

Pub and Clubs?? Come on... do you really think so?

Malaysia spent hell lots of money for the "Tak Nak" campaign... and it's all crap sh*t... nothing ever change...

Raise the price of ciggies?? I bet those tabacco tychoons are laughing themselves to the bank each day...

the Gamen announced before the TAK NAK campaign is a big failure...

if u wanna increase the price of ciggie to rm20 per pack, this will make more smuggler become millionaire...trust me...malaysia is big...it's not like singapore....some more a lot of kastam ppl already kenyang drink the kopi o peng kaw...

[Stef]

Link: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/minis ... pyn088.htm

Smoke ban in cars with kids needs to be widened

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Christopher Pyne, is optimistic about the response from other states and territories in considering banning smoking in cars while children are passengers. Speaking after the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy meeting held on 15 December, Mr Pyne said while he was disappointed that some still seemed reluctant to consider a ban, he remained hopeful that they would review their positions.

[Stef]

More and more smoking issues are being raised in many countries and some countries are taking action to ban it from public spaces and now even in the car. (ie. Australia and England)

I think it is a good idea for non-smokers but whether it will work, I am not sure about that.

[Stef]

In some countries, they have even changed their graphics on the cigarette pack to try to alarm the smokers the consequences as a result of smoking. Please see pictures at link: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/ ... acks-A.htm

I think this will help in some way, but I do see some smoker ditch the pack and put it in their fashion-look cigarette steel cases. Hmm…

Yeah, if the ciggie is banned in Malaysia (or any other asian countries) surely they will smuggle in more. It is like drugs!

I know in Australia they are making this ban permissible by setting no smoking legislation and they have banned smoking from pubs, clubs in most states in Australia.

[antujelu]

the more rules government makes, the more people will hesitate..........it's HUMAN behavior

[spartan]

if u wanna increase the price of ciggie to rm20 per pack, this will make more smuggler become millionaire...trust me...malaysia is big...it's not like singapore....some more a lot of kastam ppl already kenyang drink the kopi o peng kaw...

Australia is much much bigger than Malaysia, no way you could find any smuggled goods there.....cigarettes cost over AUS 13 per pack..

[ian]

It worked for England. People quit (or attempt to quit) in droves.

[isoundstream]

if u wanna increase the price of ciggie to rm20 per pack, this will make more smuggler become millionaire...trust me...malaysia is big...it's not like singapore....some more a lot of kastam ppl already kenyang drink the kopi o peng kaw...

Australia is much much bigger than Malaysia, no way you could find any smuggled goods there.....cigarettes cost over AUS 13 per pack..

then the issue here will be kastam liaw lor.. :p

[berngo]

too me its MORE THAN IMPOSSIBLE.
The restaurant, pub, cafe or anywhere punya tauke will not seem to care bout this. As long as u sit a down and use my service and i got untung anything also can. They dont seems to care.
Non-smoking zone IS JUST A SIGN.

[dougie]

smoking ban in public places has been Very succesful in UK,
& is being actively followed up by all of Europe.

Pubs/ bars are now reporting higher turn-over due to families frequenting more often,
as dining in these places has always beeen part of the European culture.
Most outlets provide 'beer-garden' or outside tables for those needing a quick puff.

for it to happen successfully in Malaysia, will take a few more years,
as currently there is no social consience amongst ppl's here,
in consideration of their fellow compatriots.

is best surmised, as what you may wish for the children of the future.
the smokey environment, w lots of peer pressure, amongst youth,
has effectivelly been eradicated in the UK, & tremendously plses me.
mayb in the future here, when ppl are not so timid to speak out,
or not so arrogant as to be inconsiderate, will hopefully b clean environment.