Do bans cause heavier smoking?
Back in the bad old days when I had to work for a living, I used to buy my pipe tobacco a pouch or two at a time.
There was a shop in the canteen and I used to buy between five and six packs a week. Since I retired however I am no longer passing by a convenient shop several times a day, so I tend to buy in bulk, a weeks supply at a time.
After a while of this bulk buying I realised that I was building up quite a decent stockpile of tobacco, and wondered what the hell was going on. I started taking note of how many pouches I was getting through a week, and to my surprise, it was down to around three. I had made no conscious effort to cut down on the smoking, so why was I lighting up less?
The solution to my little conundrum was very simple.
In my working days, I worked on a fairly large campus, with a decent brisk walk between buildings. Back in the early 90s most offices went smoke free, including my own. The smoke free status didn’t bother me that much as I had to spend a fair time outdoors anyway, walking between buildings.
What was happening, of course was that any time I had to head outdoors, I was lighting up, as I knew my smoking time was restricted. Whether I wanted to or not, I was lighting up as I never knew exactly when I was going to get another chance.
Now that I am retired, I dictate my own smoking rules. I now live in a compulsory smoking zone, and non-smokers are politely but firmly asked to go outdoors to the to the non-smoking area in the garden. Now there is no pressure on me to light up at any particular time. I smoke precisely when I feel like it and not when some artificial situation dictates.
It just makes me wonder though, how many other people have discovered this quirky side effect of the smoking bans?
Are the bans causing some people to smoke more?
No.
Great! I seem to have fixed that thing that stopped short replies.
Judging by the above, I had better unfix it again…….
Yeah I was also surprised. Am just too tired to argue today.
There would be no smoking or smoking breaks in Montrose now GD. In fact you would’nt even be able to afford the smokes if you were still there with all the cut backs.
Please let me in. It’s cold outside.
Slab – If I were still working in RTE I would have left ages ago. Place has gone to the dogs.
JOSman – A non-smoker huh? Tough fucking shit! It’s lovely and warm in here amongst the smokers. 😈
Banning things is a way to get Irish people to act in the opposite way. So if they banned the speaking of Irish half the population would be trying their cupla focal right away. If they read a Na Caitear Tabac sign – beidh siad go leir ag caitheamh tabac agus ag baint taithneamh mor as!
Keep puffing and may you live to see Enda in a retirement home. Preferably one of those dodgy ones they don’t inspect too stringently.
Ger, that might be a point but, if we had been told there was a ban on paying the property tax, would we have paid it? Don’t think so.
I have to agree with Ger here. The property tax is a brand new thing, and introducing something in order to ban it just won’t work. However the idea of banning something that has been around for generations does seem to fire people up. It is a fact that the numbers smoking in Ireland has seen a significant increase since the ban was introduced.
I definitely smoke more, just so the fascists don’t win!