I’m not a smoker
and I’m by no means supporting smoking as I know people who have died painful deaths because of it. It’s fair enough to ban smoking inside work places and
perhaps stretch it to outside the work building if it irritates other people,
but to ban it altogether? I’d call that discrimination. One reason for the ban
is that ”no customer or citizen should be exposed to people smoking or smelling
of smoke during work hours”. What’s next? Will garlic be banned as well? And
what if someone gets exposed to a member of staff chewing gum or sucking on a
cough sweet? Isn’t it your own responsibility if you want to ruin your lungs or
teeth?
When I asked my
host what she would not miss about Sweden if she lived abroad she said ”It
can be a bit too moralising sometimes, but it’s not only bad, it depends on how
much I agree”. She’s right. I think the smoking ban in pubs that came into
force in Sweden in 2005 and in England in 2007 is great, but I don’t mind if
someone wants to smoke outside - whether it’s during work or party hours doesn’t
matter.
