Smoking purge: What you think about plans
RADICAL proposals to curb Plymouth’s high smoking rates have provoked mixed reactions from city residents.
The Herald yesterday revealed a wide range of ideas presented in the city’s draft Tobacco Control Strategy — including handing out nicotine patches in schools and restricting smoking at some outdoor public events such as the fireworks championships.
Members of the public have branded some proposals as “ridiculous”, but others welcomed measures which could stop future generations taking up the habit.
Smoker Andy Reece, 39, of Crownhill, said: “Smoking should definitely die out as a thing to do but I think we should be able to make our own decisions as long as it doesn’t harm another person.
“It’s ridiculous to ban it in open spaces. We are not stupid, we know smoking could kill us but I think in the open air, there are a lot worse fumes, such as carcinogens from cars.”
He added that nicotine patches should not be available in schools “for the simple reason that children shouldn’t be able to buy cigarettes”.
“We should be cracking down on whoever is selling the cigarettes to kids, or buying tobacco for them,” he added.
Bob Ditchett, 67, of Whitleigh, said he smoked more than 40 cigarettes a day until he needed a quadruple heart bypass five years ago, mainly due to the habit. He still believes people should be free to smoke where they please.
He said: “I enjoy smoking but I can’t. If my heart was all right, I’d be back on it now, but it’s not worth the risk. I don’t think it’s right to stop people smoking outside. You are not on this planet very long. If you enjoy smoking, you should be allowed to do it.”
Security guard John Bending, aged 48, of Crownhill, was against nicotine therapy being available to schoolchildren but backed widespread bans.
He said: “You see kids in Crownhill village as young as 11 or 12 smoking. The shops should be stopped from selling cigarettes to them.
“I’m trying to give up smoking and I think they should ban smoking altogether to discourage people. People should be able to smoke in their own homes and in the street but nowhere else.”
Plymouth mother-of-two Nikki Lee, 36, said: “I agree with the smoking ban in pubs and inside but definitely not in outside spaces. If they banned smoking at the fireworks competition, I just wouldn’t go.”
Mother-of-ne Natasha Harulow, 34, of Eggbuckland, said: “I don’t think they will be able to stop people smoking outside. How would they control it?”
But Mike Sanders, 66, of Crownhill, said he believed smoking should be deterred in “whatever way possible”.
“I’ve been smoking since I was 14 and agree with the idea of nicotine patches in schools,” he added. “Teenagers should be able to make the same decisions as adults.”
Carly Doke, a youth support worker in Honicknowle, said: “I think it would be really good to get it out there and give more young people access to help. “Children need support to quit as nicotine is just as addictive, if not more, for them than adults. With nicotine patches, they would be getting the nicotine but none of the chemicals that are in cigarettes.”
Plymouth’s Tobacco Control Strategy 2010 to 2020 is in its earliest stages and will be subject to city-wide consultation.
thisisplymouth.co.uk, June 15th, 2010