AVOlio
At first, i was confused in which Index to post this topic,
But since we are going to discuss it online,on the internet, so i decided to put it in Internet and networking. xD
So Yaaaa,
As most of you know, they are prohibiting Smoking in almost every public places such as Indoor restaurant, Malls, public parks etc...
For the first time in my life, i really feel proud of living in this country!
As i personally hate people smoking around me, its just intolerable!
My only next wish, is if they also make the taxi (or service as we call it) chauffeurs or the freaking passengers sometimes, make them stop smoking !!
So, i did not open this topic for no reason, its for open discussion.
Who here is with Smoking
Who is for NOT Smoking.
Have a nice debate guys xD
cruel-c0re
Avolio ,don't be so proud (:P), b/c had you watched yesterday's Kalem l Ness you would have had a face palm :P .
the restaurants don't want the law , or they want a modification .(i agree with them ,it give them a lot of money)
I'm not a smoker(it's a trend nowadays for guys my age) ,but i don't care if someone is , i won't go and pull his cigarette from his mouth , i'll just go away .
People in Lebanon are addicted to it and the government approche was wrong .they should have made the law into phases and it musn't end with a total ban .people are used to it ,and like politics, they don't know how to break free.
yesterdays arguments were that the "Arguile" is from the Lebanese culture and it must be with the mezzah , but WTF ,it kills you people. BUt what to do.... take it this way : Yuu educate someone, you tell them what is the cigarette made of , and it's cons, you tell him EVERYTHING , once , twice and three timea , after it it's his choice he could stop or he could continue,it's his f@**** life , you've done your job and it's his health at risk .worry about yours and give me my Non Smoking area..;)
@Khaled and sabra , nice touch :P
Metalloy
@cruel.core, you are missing the point behind the law: it is for the safety and convieniance of the others. I for example am a non-smoker, why should i be enhaling the smoke of other smokers wether it is from cigaretts or Narigila? I cant just go away, i want to have a cup of.coffee, or be inside a university building...
How about the workers in those Cafe? they actually are enhaling more smoke then the actual smoket in the cafe! why shoulf they take that? they cannot quit their job they need the money.
Besides, i watched a documentary years ago, i dont have any reference but i do remember this, the USA goverment discovered after a study, that the money spent on healthcare directly related to smoking, is actually bigger then the profits they make from selling cigaretts, and we all know that USA is one of the biggest cigaretts makers. So applying a smoking ban law has actually some economical sense behind it.
NuclearVision
I hate smoking.
cruel-c0re
Metalloy wrote@cruel.core, you are missing the point behind the law: it is for the safety and convieniance of the others. I for example am a non-smoker, why should i be enhaling the smoke of other smokers wether it is from cigaretts or Narigila? I cant just go away, i want to have a cup of.coffee, or be inside a university building...
How about the workers in those Cafe? they actually are enhaling more smoke then the actual smoket in the cafe! why shoulf they take that? they cannot quit their job they need the money.
Besides, i watched a documentary years ago, i dont have any reference but i do remember this, the USA goverment discovered after a study, that the money spent on healthcare directly related to smoking, is actually bigger then the profits they make from selling cigaretts, and we all know that USA is one of the biggest cigaretts makers. So applying a smoking ban law has actually some economical sense behind it.
Metalboy , i totally agree with you , i know this but the problem is the owners are not agreeing to wait ,cz they are gonna have a downfall but of course people will go out with or without the smoking , you cant stay inside always , even some waiters came and said that they don't care they only want their jobs(=continue smoking) because it gives money.
it's not me you have to explain this too, you must explain this to the Lebanese people ....
and as i said it's the core of our problem like in politics,we don't accept CHANGE. (i don't want to talk about it cz it'll be off topic)
good luck ("Taken" style) ;)
xterm
I'm a heavy smoker.
I'm behind this law 100%.
I simply don't believe this law will be enforced as well as it should be.
This country is terrible, too bad.
mohammadk97
I am definitely 100% against smoking, but the question is: Are they going to obey this law!?
AVOlio
Ok first of all,
Thanks for mocking me @Khaled @m.sabra xD
I was too lazy to realize that there is a forum lobby. :p
Second of all, i agree with what most of you said.
Smoking is the most big part of the income of Most restaurants, and they are protesting this new law.
But still, it would still be too bad if this law were cancelled and everyone starts again to keep smoking in public areas.
I think, that they shouldnt have made this law directly just like this..
Instead they should have raised the cigarette/arguileh prices by a quite amount of money,
like lets say a pack of cigarettes 15 000 LBP Arguileh 50 000LBP (just smoking)
So that you think twice before every time you go to the store to get a pack of cigarettes.
ballad
AVOlio wroteOk first of all,
Thanks for mocking me @Khaled @m.sabra xD
I was too lazy to realize that there is a forum lobby. :p
Second of all, i agree with what most of you said.
Smoking is the most big part of the income of Most restaurants, and they are protesting this new law.
But still, it would still be too bad if this law were cancelled and everyone starts again to keep smoking in public areas.
I think, that they shouldnt have made this law directly just like this..
Instead they should have raised the cigarette/arguileh prices by a quite amount of money,
like lets say a pack of cigarettes 15 000 LBP Arguileh 50 000LBP (just smoking)
So that you think twice before every time you go to the store to get a pack of cigarettes.
narguile for 50,000 is too much but they should imply taxes on cigarettes as all advanced countries do
a pack for 10,000 will be more convenient than 1000LL (cedars :P)
with that government can pay the raise on payrolls (routab w raweteb) without having to increase cellphone bills
cruel-c0re
i totally agree with you guys, the first step had to be increasing the taxes .
m-sabra
back to the subject,am a non smoker,i smoke arguile with my friends sometimes but am not considered as smoker.
Am with this law idea,but it's kinda harsh on some people since lots of restaurants live from arguile,and for the people who are saying they had 1.5 year to make smokers areas,let's face it who was talking about this law in 2010 ?
they should have considered banning smoking in taxi cabs,or start by banning cigarettes then moving to arguile since most restaurants sell arguile but don't sell cigarettes,that would have given them more time to make an open space,but at the end our beloved government will probably (surely) have difficulties applying this law.
And for all the people that said we have more important things to address i agree on this,but since they couldn't do anything about more important subjects,they sought a small victory by banning the smoking,a subject that will get overrated by the media (which is happening) and if they succeeded,this law will be considered as a victory for the government and i could picture some politicans saying "ne7na li wa2afna lted5in" before the elections or in some tv debates,it's a cheap trick to add achievements to some people profiles before the elections more than it is a law for the citizens health.
Edit:and about smoke prices,i believe a cigarettes pack should be 20,000 L.L instead of 2,000 LL arguile should be 25,000~30,000 instead of 6,000~10,000.
rolf
xterm wroteI'm a heavy smoker.
I'm behind this law 100%.
I simply don't believe this law will be enforced as well as it should be.
This country is terrible, too bad.
That is surprizing.
Anyway, I'm a non smoker :) and I am for banning smoking in public spaces. At least I appreciate it. Not that I am afraid for my health, but the effects are noticeable:
- Discourages smoking
- It just smells and looks cleaner when you walk in public spaces
- Less problems with the AC, electronic equipments, etc... due to the smoke sticking on them
- Healthy, or so they say
- ...
But I am against the "all-or-nothing" attitude. I don't know if that the right word, but I think they should have, for example left a possiblity to have "smoking spots", like they have in some airports, for example. I also think arguileh places should have the possibility to get a license, for example.
I think the law is too extreme and simple, especially considering that Lebanon has a high rate of smokers! I think that - just outright banning smoking everywhere - is a major factor that would contribute to it not being applied properly and everywhere, should that happen in the future.
rtp
well am against smoking in closed places but $90 is a little extreme. $10 sounds reasonable and some people will break the law and then little by little get used to it.
The-MMMs
Don't really have faith in any Lebanese Laws after all the things that's happened to me whilst im here regarding "rule enforcing"
And i'll leave it at that.
To answer the question, i guess i'll consider going to hard rock again after this. So yeah im with this law.
Kassem
I am 100% with this law. I've always hated going to places where people can smoke. Whenever my friends go out to some restaurant/cafe, I end up left behind because I simply cannot take the smell of smoke around me. In fact, my dad smokes arguile at home almost every day, so I end up spending the evening alone in the salon, while my dad and the rest of the family sit in the living room - I know I sounded like a miserable lonely person, but I'm not :). So anyway, now that this law is *supposedly* going to be enforced, I could finally enjoy going out with friends more often, without having to suffer through the terrible smell of smoke all over the place.
And yes, I totally agree that the prices of tobacco products should be increased at least 10 times. Would be a great source of income for the government, would prevent those 13-16 years old kids from smoking, and would probably force those with low income to quit smoking as well.
rtwo2008
1- The cigarette ban on smoking in public areas is totally justified on health issues. Even in restaurants, as someone can simply go outside, smoke, then come back in
2- The ban is not just for the sake of the lebanese, as many tourists especially the older ones, are not used to the fog that smoking creates inside 99% of the restaurants.
3- The ban on smoking arguileh needs some thought, as one can't simply take his arguileh with him outside. However, any restaurant that isn't profitable without arguileh either has a bad business plan, or shouldn't have opened in the first place.
4- Dramatically Increasing the price of cigarettes and arguileh will cause a rebellion :p, and it's not possible due to the power and influence the tobacco conglomerate has in Lebanon. Moreover, don't think that taxes go fully to the treasury, alot of zeroes get lost along the way.
5- Even if all Lebanese all smokers, or the ones that are not smokers don't mind the smoking (even if pregnant women and cancer patients don't mind the smoking); there's a remaining group that is being hurt more than everyone else and has no opinion about it. It's the children, their voice isn't heard and they are never asked if they agree with trading health for smoke. The government has a duty in providing a safe environment for the children.
6- If something harmful is part of the culture, that doesn't mean it must be allowed in public places.
This whole argument reminds me of the whole controversy when the law against bird hunting came out. With all the apologetic people singing the same tune "these birds attack the crops, the turks poison them by the millions, so we are actually helping the farmers" ... And look how well that law is enforced ...
EDIT: I have a feeling that the restaurants (after they wake up from the shock) will soon (still in summer) start refusing non-smokers to sit outside. Especially because the indoors areas have barely any people, outdoors fully booked and many of those non-smokers denying the restaurant of the high income from arguileh. "You are not going to order arguileh? Please sit inside" lol.
PatrickSaad
You are not going to order arguileh? Please sit inside
Very plausible.
nuclearcat
I am very happy from this law. I mentioned once, i was at Citymall, doing order at Starbucks, some ass*ole with cigar in mouth, generating very terrible smoke came close, and i just started to inhale this awful cowshit fumes instead of air. If it was my home country, he will be beaten there directly.
Thanks god all this freaks will go away. And in worst case i will have reason to call police and they will be fined.
Smokers are addicts, if they can't handle their addiction, they should be isolated from society, same as drug addicts.
cruel-c0re
nuclearcat wroteSmokers are addicts, if they can't handle their addiction, they should be isolated from society, same as drug addicts.
can we isolate most Lebanese ??
rtp
yeah! lets kill the drug addicts and smokers!
add to that the people addicted to alcohol, gaming, programming , news , politics , sex , drama ...
Wait a minute!
