Oxford life. Thirtysomething challenges. Music leanings. Anything really.

I wrote this last week while on a train. The topic's a little cold now, but I thought I'd still post it:

Smoking is disgusting. Seeing a smoker desperately light a cigarette, and then rabidly drag on one to get their fix is gruesome.

As a non-smoker, I don’t know what it’s like to be gripped by the addiction.

A smoking ban would surely be a great thing. Now the government’s voted to ban fags in pubs and clubs, I’m pretty sure I should be celebrating. No more dry eyes, no more smelly clothes.

The Guardian today covers the arguments really well. Simon Jenkins writes a piece that panders completely to the part of me that thinks the ban isn’t a good thing. I can’t summarise the points, he makes them more eloquently than me. And the paper’s leader then lists the reasons why the ban is right. (can't find the link, though)

Me? Well, what I no longer look forward to is the desperate times when you go out, say, for a meal with a bunch of friends, half of whom smoke. You order the meal, the smokers go outside for a fag. The starter arrives and is eaten; the smokers leave again for a fag. The main course arrives and is eaten; the smokers leave for a fag. The bill is called for and paid as quickly as possible so the smokers can get out of the restaurant and walk down the street smoking a fag.

I think I’d rather have them smoking than endure that disjointed unrelaxed eating experience.

And just how many pubs/clubs do I actually notice the smoke problem in these days? Not too many.