The British Medical Association (BMA) which represents all UK doctors appeared on several News programs yesterday calling for a ban on smoking inside all vehicles. The current smoking ban covers commercial vehicles and it is this law that the BMA wish to extend.
The argument put forward was not based on the harm smoking may cause non-smokers nor was it based on grounds that the driver might be distracted. It was made clear that the proposal was aimed at improving the health of smokers by further limiting the places they can enjoy their perfectly legal pass time. If such a change to the law was allowed to go through it would set a clear precedent that the government is entitled to limit smoking because it may damage a smokers health. In short, it is a step towards an outright ban on smoking in the UK.
Whilst I support measures aimed at giving non-smokers the right not to have to breath in my smoke, I also believe that I should have the right to smoke in my own private environment. I was so outraged by the News that I wrote to my Member of Parliament (MP). The MPs we vote for only know what concerns their voters have if we tell them. I would therefore urge ALL UK smokers to contact their own MP to express their concerns about this BMA proposal. You can get in touch with your MP using email. If you already know their name, their email address will be
firstname.secondname.mp@parliament.uk
If you are unsure who you need to contact you can find out here - http://www.writetothem.com/ simply enter your postcode.
You may think it is a waste of time, but I have already had a reply from my MP. He states that currently the BMA are trying to get support for the idea and have not issued any proposal to the Department of Health.
Remember - by taking the time to contact your MP you show you are the sort of person that takes action and as every MP needs to keep their voters happy to win re-election, they will be more likely to pay attention to your concerns. They reason that, if you are prepared to take action on this issue, you may take action to support then or otherwise at the next election.
If you would like to respond to this thread please keep it on topic as this is simply a thread about our right to smoke in private and not a political debate!
Thank you.
The argument put forward was not based on the harm smoking may cause non-smokers nor was it based on grounds that the driver might be distracted. It was made clear that the proposal was aimed at improving the health of smokers by further limiting the places they can enjoy their perfectly legal pass time. If such a change to the law was allowed to go through it would set a clear precedent that the government is entitled to limit smoking because it may damage a smokers health. In short, it is a step towards an outright ban on smoking in the UK.
Whilst I support measures aimed at giving non-smokers the right not to have to breath in my smoke, I also believe that I should have the right to smoke in my own private environment. I was so outraged by the News that I wrote to my Member of Parliament (MP). The MPs we vote for only know what concerns their voters have if we tell them. I would therefore urge ALL UK smokers to contact their own MP to express their concerns about this BMA proposal. You can get in touch with your MP using email. If you already know their name, their email address will be
firstname.secondname.mp@parliament.uk
If you are unsure who you need to contact you can find out here - http://www.writetothem.com/ simply enter your postcode.
You may think it is a waste of time, but I have already had a reply from my MP. He states that currently the BMA are trying to get support for the idea and have not issued any proposal to the Department of Health.
Remember - by taking the time to contact your MP you show you are the sort of person that takes action and as every MP needs to keep their voters happy to win re-election, they will be more likely to pay attention to your concerns. They reason that, if you are prepared to take action on this issue, you may take action to support then or otherwise at the next election.
If you would like to respond to this thread please keep it on topic as this is simply a thread about our right to smoke in private and not a political debate!
Thank you.
