A smoking gun
Here’s some good news from the UK. Last year England joined the growing number of european countries banning smoking in public places, especially in restaurants and bars.
The ban corresponded, according to this survey, with over 150,000 people quitting smoking. If you want to have a positive impact on the health of your people and environment this is obviously the way to go.
A look at the smoking statistics from Ash reveal that around 12 million adults smoke in the UK. Smoking causes around 90% of deaths from lung cancer and around one third of all cancer deaths. It contributes to nearly 20% of all deaths from heart disease. Cigarette smoking damages every cell in your body and is estimated to cause approximately 114,000 premature deaths in England every year.
What stands smoking apart is that it is a habit that not only harms the user but also the unfortunate folks who happen to be near by or even in the same building. Especially vulnerable are children whose bodies are still developing.
Cigarette butts litter our parks, wash into water ways and kill birds and fish who mistakenly eat them. This drug which kills more people than heroin, cocaine all other illegal drugs should not only be banned in public places, It should be banned outright. The only people benefitting are tobacco companies and your government. 80% of the price of a packet of cigarettes in the UK is tax. No doubt needed to pay for soaring DISEASE CARE costs.
Paul Harper
Filed under: environment, carbon footprint, cancer, smoking, drugs, heart disease, children, tobacco companies, restaurants, bars on February 4th, 2008
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