To be honest I don’t really have a massive problem with people who smoke however it is a habit I certainly don’t condone (unfortunately my wife and eldest son are slaves to the demon weed). I’ve never tried a cigarette and glad I didn’t when I was a teenager – it seems to be this is around the time when most folks get hooked.
The laws introduced in the UK that banned smoking inside pubs, bars, restaurants, enclosed work places and other public buildings were a god send to us non-smokers. In Ireland there was a lot of talk from pub owners about huge drops in trade but I very much doubt that was the case.
Recently there was a lot of talk over the subject of plain packaging on cigarettes and the issue of how much smokers cost the NHS raised it head a number of times. As always there are two sides to every story but what seemed clear was the tax raised on the sale of cigarettes was significantly more than what it costs the NHS to treat smokers and smoking related illnesses.
I’m not sure what the truth is but this is an interesting article on the BBC website regarding smoking and the cost to the NHS.