A licence to smoke?

Dymetrie · 20-02-2008, 10:43

Michael in the office just mentioned that he read about this in the paper, so I had a quick look on BBC and found this:

WTF!!!??

Now I don't want to get into the whole smoking/non-smoking debate again, but just pose the question.

"Is it just me or this a load of ********?"

And where does it stop?

What's next, a licence to drink? a licence to have sex? a licence to breath?

*wanders off shaking his head in despair*

Tak · 20-02-2008, 10:56

Quote:

Smokers could be forced to pay £10 for a permit to buy tobacco

So what about non smokers who buy tobacco? I buy cigarettes for a resident in the home - he has no way of being able to get to the shops. Yeah, ok, I could probably get work to pay for this "permit" but then that involves my name/photo/details/whatever being recorded as being a "smoker". And what if I'm off sick/on holiday? Also I would have thought, it should be the smoker (the resident) who pays.

Quote:

He added that the people most affected by the proposals would be "the elderly and people on low incomes".

The current weekly "allowance" from a pension is £20.45 - this is what the government say a person can use for "luxuries" (this includes things like toiletries, hairdressing, chiropody as well as cigarettes etc), all the rest is generally claimed back by social services to pay for residential or nursing care costs. My resident smokes 100 mayfair a week which is around £22 - it doesn't take a mathematician to see there is already a problem.

Smoking is not a good thing - someone very close to me is currently dying of lung cancer, but I do think this idea hasn't actually been thought through properly.

BBx · 20-02-2008, 11:40

The only thing I agree with is licences for having children.

Some of the stories recently in the news shout out for it.

BB x

Tak · 20-02-2008, 11:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBelle

The only thing I agree with is licences for having children.

Agreed lots

Dymetrie · 20-02-2008, 11:59

Some further linkage supplied by my sister

The Guardian

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charlie Brooker

Good news for smokers: Le Grand reckons said licence should cost only 10. Bad news: he wants to make the application process as deliberately complex as possible. You'd have to fill out a lengthy form, attaching a photograph, proof of age and a fee, and send it all to a central Smoker's Permit processing centre and wait for your licence to come back, by which point, let's face it, you would have probably died. Oh, and the licence expires after a year, so you have to apply all over again each time it runs out.

Why leave it there? Why not make it expire every 24 hours, so you have to reapply each morning? Or include a Sudoku on the application form? Or force the tobacco companies to sell cigarettes inside complicated Japanese puzzle boxes? Or change the name of the brands each week, without publicising the change, while simultaneously making it illegal for a shop to sell you anything you haven't asked for by name, so you have to stand at the counter fishing for codewords for an hour?

Or here's a good one, Julian: make it a requirement for smokers to walk around with a broomhandle stuck through their sleeves, running behind the neck, so their arms are permanently splayed out, like a scarecrow's. To spark up under those conditions, they'd have to work together in pairs, flailing around in the outdoor smoking area like something out of It's a Knockout.

*giggles*

BBx · 20-02-2008, 12:17

I read that article yesterday as I was sorting out PR for us.

Weird.

BB x

Stan_Lite · 20-02-2008, 12:59

This is just utterly ridiculous, as if the smoking ban wasn't bad enough. The smoking ban had the potential to be a good idea but failed to deliver a rational and sensible solution to the issue of smoking in public places due to the nanny government introducing an unnecessarily draconian blanket ban.

If they give serious thought to this idea, they will find that there will be hell to pay. I grudgingly accepted the ban as I could see the reasoning behind it, even if I did disagree with the way in which it was done. With this however, I will not accept it as I can see no practical reason why this would work better than other ways to cut down the number of people smoking. I will fight this one and join any protest activities I can to show my disgust. This is another money making scheme for the government. Claims that the money will go to the NHS are laughable, all of the money raised will go towards policing the stupid scheme.

On the subject of policing, how will they go about it? Tak has already pointed out one flaw - Here's another; I buy all of my tobacco from Amsterdam airport, how will they police this? Will they try to get agreement from every country in the world to check the licences of every British holidaymaker or businessman/woman who travels through their country or will they have HMRC officers stopping everybody and checking for cigarettes and asking for the licence of anybody who is carrying any?

I sincerely hope the government aren't stupid enough to give this tinpot scheme any credence

/Rant over.

Wossi · 22-02-2008, 11:45

Considering I buy most of my cigarette's from abroad, I can't see how they are going to make me pay for a licence. Since we have an apartment in Bulgaria I'll just make sure that anyone who is going over brings me back a few hundred each time and I'll make sure that I bring back as many as I can fit in my suitcase. Well done whose idea this is, you've just lost out on a ton of money from me.

Lomster · 22-02-2008, 12:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dymetrie

What's next, a licence to drink?

(Tis Faysh)

Listening to the news on the radio yesterday this would be a very good idea.

They are starting a crackdown on the binge drinking culture we have in the UK. To "help" they are talking of stopping happy hours, drinks promotions and cheap deals on booze and increasing the tax on booze. Not only in pubs clubs and bars but in supermarkets too. Tesco have already stopped cheap deals apparently.

So because of the actions of a halfwitted drunken minority who don't know how to control themselves, sensible drinkers with more than half a brain cell like us get punished.

Lana · 10-05-2008, 11:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBelle

The only thing I agree with is licences for having children.

AMEN to that. It's odd that one of the most important and challenging jobs out there is one of the least regulated. Granted, its a bit hard to enforce....but the idea is cool.

20-02-2008, 10:43	#1
Dymetrie A large glass of Merlot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Letchworth with a Lightsaber Posts: 5,819	A licence to smoke? Michael in the office just mentioned that he read about this in the paper, so I had a quick look on BBC and found this: WTF!!!?? Now I don't want to get into the whole smoking/non-smoking debate again, but just pose the question. "Is it just me or this a load of *******?" And where does it stop? What's next, a licence to drink? a licence to have sex? a licence to breath? wanders off shaking his head in despair* __________________ Khef, Ka and Ka-Tet....

20-02-2008, 12:59	#7
Stan_Lite Stan, Stan the FLASHER MAN! Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: In bed with your sister Posts: 5,483	This is just utterly ridiculous, as if the smoking ban wasn't bad enough. The smoking ban had the potential to be a good idea but failed to deliver a rational and sensible solution to the issue of smoking in public places due to the nanny government introducing an unnecessarily draconian blanket ban. If they give serious thought to this idea, they will find that there will be hell to pay. I grudgingly accepted the ban as I could see the reasoning behind it, even if I did disagree with the way in which it was done. With this however, I will not accept it as I can see no practical reason why this would work better than other ways to cut down the number of people smoking. I will fight this one and join any protest activities I can to show my disgust. This is another money making scheme for the government. Claims that the money will go to the NHS are laughable, all of the money raised will go towards policing the stupid scheme. On the subject of policing, how will they go about it? Tak has already pointed out one flaw - Here's another; I buy all of my tobacco from Amsterdam airport, how will they police this? Will they try to get agreement from every country in the world to check the licences of every British holidaymaker or businessman/woman who travels through their country or will they have HMRC officers stopping everybody and checking for cigarettes and asking for the licence of anybody who is carrying any? I sincerely hope the government aren't stupid enough to give this tinpot scheme any credence /Rant over. __________________ Just because I have a short attention span doesn't mean I...

20-02-2008, 11:40	#3
BBx Reverse SuBo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: London Posts: 8,673	The only thing I agree with is licences for having children. Some of the stories recently in the news shout out for it. BB x

20-02-2008, 12:17	#6
BBx Reverse SuBo Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: London Posts: 8,673	I read that article yesterday as I was sorting out PR for us. Weird. BB x

22-02-2008, 11:45	#8
Wossi Absinthe Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: In the middle Posts: 1,385	Considering I buy most of my cigarette's from abroad, I can't see how they are going to make me pay for a licence. Since we have an apartment in Bulgaria I'll just make sure that anyone who is going over brings me back a few hundred each time and I'll make sure that I bring back as many as I can fit in my suitcase. Well done whose idea this is, you've just lost out on a ton of money from me.