Lol no way! Ahh I had a good time there
Nah, just the reference to S... ;p
Poor sod, I am the one who gave him a smoke again - he was going so well too
Registered User
Lol no way! Ahh I had a good time there
Poor sod, I am the one who gave him a smoke again - he was going so well too
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
It just seems so backwards... When the community is finally getting back some space with smoke free pubs and clubs and hospital grounds... This school is going the other way and creating a smoking space in a place that is usually smoke free.
Just seems ludacris! So much money spent on education against smoking and quit programs and then a school goes ahead and makes it easier, not harder!
Smoking is anti-social behavior with proven health and financial costs to the individual and the community. It should be shamed upon and those that do it forced to do it far away from public places. Its not cool, its a dirty, disgusting and expensive habit.
I have friends who quit after the clubs and pubs ban cos they were sick of having to go outside in the gutter and leave their mates, just to have a smoke. Plus the expense with the high taxes!
I think making smoking areas inconvenient does encourage quitting as I have seen it work for friends.
And if smoking addiction is so bad it affects your school work, then you need help to quit, cos not a lot of work places in the real world are going to put up with an employer that addicted either!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
Registered User
All I've noticed in Brisbane really, is that now there are people lighting up at pedestrian crossings, concentrated rows of people 4m from shopping centre entrances, building entrances and train stations, or at the taxi rank, it is ludicrous, as is the state of the English language on the internet!! ;-)
Registered User
Wow, i'm a non smoker for the record but i'm pretty sure "shaming" someone isn't going to achieve anything
ETA I'm pretty sure Onyx isn't saying smoking parents should be able to smoke IN the playground...
BellyBelly Member
Then I'm not sure what she means???
Registered User
Well I assumed she was talking about third hand smoke...as in saying parents that smoke should still be able to take their kids to the park??
BBB - thats great that your friends quit, and to be honest I dont believe that people can be made to feel ashamed of anything they aren't already slightly ashamed of...but shaming and judging...just not my style I guess
ETA - I never responded to the OP...it's a tough one I think...harder because over here you stay in school till you're older.
In the UK when I went to college we had a designated smoking room (inside ugh) BUT the minimum age there was 16 which is the legal age to smoke in UK. So although I don't see a problem for 16+ I don't think it's great to do it in schools...I think Glamourcides idea of a smoking pass on the other hand is a fantasic idea
Last edited by C~Q; February 24th, 2011 at 05:14 PM.
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
If it was just a personal addiction that didnt affect others, then whatever - i wouldnt feel the need to judge... but when it affects others around you who don't want the smell or the smoke ... let alone all the taxes that get spent on smoking related illnesses ... I feel the need to take a stand !BBB - thats great that your friends quit, and to be honest I dont believe that people can be made to feel ashamed of anything they aren't already slightly ashamed of...but shaming and judging...just not my style I guess
Right now I am trying to relax on the balcony of my holiday unit, but someone has lit up nearby ... gross
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
Well its achieved 4 of my friends to quit, so I beg to differWow, i'm a non smoker for the record but i'm pretty sure "shaming" someone isn't going to achieve anything
Registered User
...What's that saying about 'with friends like these'?Well its achieved 4 of my friends to quit, so I beg to differWow, i'm a non smoker for the record but i'm pretty sure "shaming" someone isn't going to achieve anything
In all seriousness though, I don't care what sort of behaviour, habit or thought process we're talking about - anyone who tries to 'shame' their *friends* into stopping something, is no friend at all. Let's just go around 'shaming' overweight people into not eating so much junk food and call ourselves their 'mates', shall we? All other discussions aside, I really think this group-think labelling of smokers/smoking as 'filthy', 'anti-social' etc is just PATHETIC. You know what's funny, is being so overly concerned about the potential for teenagers to take up an 'anti-social' habit because it's the social thing to do. LOL! Doesn't that just defeat the whole 'smoking is anti-social' argument? I would argue that tobacco is indeed one of the most 'social' drugs out there...
BellyBelly Life Subscriber
I care enough about my friends to not turn a blind eye when they are lighting up cancer sticks. I don't give a flying duck if it shames them, I don't want to be burying them early because of a smoking related illness.
Registered User
I wasn't going to say anything about this topic but .....
I smoked at school, we had areas that were the "smoking" areas, not official areas as smoking wasn't allowed, but areas where everybody knew where to go to smoke, you rarely got non-smokers in there, but if they were they knew the risks.
Yeh I drank at school too, amongst other things. I drank at home, when I wanted to, I didn't have to go out at night and hide the fact that I wanted a drink.
If students are going to smoke, then I'd prefer they were somewhere safe to do so. Offer the students the opportunity to quit if they want to, with the proper support, but they need to decide to stop, they shouldn't be shamed into doing something.
I like the idea that Glam's school had, that you had to have a pass to go to smoke. It makes you accountable and visible.
I don't smoke around children, I don't smoke where children are, if I want a smoke then I will have one, which is usually only when I drink now and I'm cutting down, because I want to, not because a "friend" has shamed me into doing it.
Registered User
My DP smokes, and his sister and her husband do as well. Once people have smoked for a couple of decades they are already ashamed so that doesn't work. Repeated attempts to quit might do though.
Registered User
Interesting thread. Not entirely sure where what I think about it. I'm not sure it's the best thing for every school but, in saying that, my younger brothers school did have a smoker area and it worked well. They also had quit programs and education on the danger of smoking. My little brother is the only one that went to this school and out of the four of us sibling, is the only one that hasn't been a smoker. Interesting.
I am a smoker *hide*and can tell you that it's the forbidden factor that gets you started. I can also tell you that shaming a smoker has the complete opposite affect. It makes a smoker want to smoke more, not less.to successfully quit a smoker has to do it for themselves and no amount of rules or shaming is going to change that. I'm in the process of quitting with champix and it's taken me a long time to take that step.
Registered User
Had meeting this morning and it is confirmed that there is a designated smoking area. It was put forward at School Council and approved. Students attendance has improved so is working for both students and school. I can see both sides to this, I guess it's just hard as a mum to understand.
Regards,
Dianne
Registered User
maybe i'm turning into an old fuddy duddy these days but i would not be happy with a smoking area at my children's school.
smoking directly causes cancer. schools are for education. you want to smoke? go somewhere else.
Registered User
I think this is the issue. Kids are going somewhere else, and missing their lessons as a result. Although I don't like the idea of a smoking area at a school, if there is that much of an issue with non attendance then anything that will encourage the kids to continue their education could be a good thing.
Registered User
sorry but i just don't agree. what they do on their own time is up to them, but they should not be smoking at school.
i have been a high school teacher for 5 years and i do not believe that something as dangerous as smoking should be allowed under any circumstance. we have a duty of care to students, and this includes looking after their health and well being.
eta- if a student can't get through a school day without smoking, then i would suggest that student needs to look into doing something about their addiction, not expecting the school to cater to their needs.
Last edited by Ginger; February 26th, 2011 at 02:11 PM.
Registered User
You see though, kids are going to smoke at school regardless. Except without a designated area, it's going to be at the back of the oval or in the toilets that every other student has to use. You are never going to stop the kids from smoking at school, if attendance is up, if smoking is only designated to one spot so as to reduce passive smoking then, I actually think this could be a good thing.
If you can't stop it ( and you can't) then something needs happen, doesn't it?
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks