Health service wants ban on smoking at beach

It might be simpler to require all who smoke to provide their own health insurance. It would relieve the burden on other tax payers who value their health enough to aviod some significant health risks. Alcohol might be harder to include in a health insurance risk assessment but perhaps possible evertheless. Let's put a little personal responsibility in there.

well you may as well bury me now...what ever happened to freedom of choice...this bloody government has to much to say... might run for prime-minister next time around...and go to bat for us..the normal average joe bloggs that just wants a fair deal...

The worst thing is people hanging around the entrances to buildings that are smoke free - you have towalk through a blue haze to get in many buildings and then you smell of smoke, and then the smokers return to work, leaving a scattering of butts behind, - try breathing in a lift when a group of them all come back in together! just stop selling tobacco - make the no smoking sones a whole lot easier!

Only idiots abide by idiot laws.

Alcohol causes more problems than tobacco, but alcohol will never be banned cause nearly all MP's drink and only a few smoke. Figures published recently suggest that smoking reated diseases cost the country $1.5b a year. In the early 1990's it was $320m, and 3 years ago Harawira said it was $250m (Campbell live - March 07) There seems to be a lot of creative accountants out there who can increase the health cost 6-fold in 3 years. No mention is made of the over $1b collected by the Govt (2006) If this revenue were stopped, it would cost every person in NZ in excess of $250 each per year. To be fair, alcohol should be taxed at the same rate as tobacco, and be banned from public places. Arnold Nordmeyer had the guts to increase tax on both these substances in the late 50's, so let's have a level playing field and tax everything off the market. The savings from less hospitalisation could be spent on increasing police numbers to cope with the increased armed hold-ups and burglaries of premises selling these substances. Before anyone accuses me of being a non-smoking teetotaller, let me say that I both smoke and drink. Let's start by dealing with illegal substances first. If smoking in public places is banned, who is going to police it? The authorities would be better employed stamping out substances that cause greater harm (drugs), and increasing the penalties (eg confiscation of property) to recoup some of the cost of enforcement. The banning of smoking in public places will only encourage resentment, and possible retalliation on those who 'nark' on smokers. This I believe would increase the number of prople occupying hospital beds. Or maybe these'narks' will be paid for each case that results in a prosecution. Either way there would be a cost to the taxpayer. It may be of interest, but it is quite legal to grow tobacco for your own use, and to brew your own beer, and distill your own alcohol. Tobacco seeds are readily available, as are home-brew kits, and stills

Rick, tell that to the families of the road toll, not counting the medical problems from the use of fossil fuels, bad food or any materials which cause harm, even used this day in our building materials, for instance, but in most manufactured items.
Any statistic can be interpreted to suit a particular opinion, and that can lead to taking away people's choice.
Alcohol kills many people as well, not only from liver failure themsleves but others through violence and road fatalities. Are you going to ban that too, and may be even first? Yes, it is possible for a smoker to cause a road accident but more likely someone intoxicated or on other drugs.
I prefer it if people do not smoke - I also prefer it if people do not drink (alcohol) but I would not like to see a Government ban. But I would ask them to be responsible and not drink and drive, not drink and cause violence to others, or blow smoke in other people's faces or direction.

If people want to smoke themselves to death, that's their business. I don't smoke, never have, and never will, and that's purely my choice. Stop creating victimless crimes, so that the justice system can deal to society's most incorrigible reprobates.

I notice in amongst the smoking issues the Govt and the health system don't seem to target P and alcohol the way they hound smokers. I would have thought given the statistics of deaths, violence, robberies, child abuse, road accidents, health problems, victim impact etc of P and booze, these would be of bigger concern. As for smoking is bad for Maoris, what I think is even worse for Maoris is the children that they kill, sorry if this offends but statistics show a little trend in this direction. Maybe the politicians and the powers that be need to stop holidaying long enough to get their heads out of their clouds!!

Cynical- I never said that trucks or cars aren't bad. There are other bad things to. But the difference with cars and trucks are they are incredibly helpful in modern society. As are other things. Cigarettes, on the other hand, do nothing but harm.

Why wait 10 years to ban tobaco ! Do it now and save 50,000 lives , should John Key be alowed to keep on killing the heart out of our country????