This newsitem struck me last weekend.
In about a year you won’t be able to smoke anymore in Dutch bars, club and restaurants. Finally, after years and years of delays, the government finally decided to push this through! I’ve been a heavy smoker for years, and even when I still lit my 25 Camels a day, I though it was a good idea to ban smoking from public places and from bars and restaurants.
Somehow, however it never got this far. If I recall correctly, a couple of years ago, the government came to an agreement with the smoking lobby and an organization representing bars and restaurants. In this agreement, there were certain deadlines bars, restaurants and clubs had to meet with respect to smoking-free sections in those places.
When somewhere in the beginning of this year a new coalition came to power, they immediately started to investigate if a full smoking ban would be possible, based on the fact that the deadline previously agreed upon wasn’t met (it wasn’t even close).
In what the smoking lobby calls a unilateral ending of a previous agreement, the government has decided to ban all smoking in restaurants, bars and clubs as of the 1st of July next year. Immediately of course, the smoking lobby starts to viciously complain. They claim to have gotten 15.000 signatures of people that don’t want this public smoking ban to go in effect. Of course–I can find those too, but the question is, is in inevitable anyway?? Of course it is, so why bother.
It’s unbelievable, the Netherlands really is one of the last places in North-Western Europe that still allows smoking in public places, bars and restaurants. I think it’s pathetic the smoking lobby still tries to prevent this from happening. The effects on health have been proven, so why resist!!. Oh, and research even shows that business doesn’t suffer all that much anyway…
Thanks to Allen Cavanagh from Ireland for the nice comic. He runs the website Caricatures Ireland.com, for all your wedding and corporate entertainment.
Alef,
Welcome to the friendly nation of the Netherlands. The country of tolerance, sociability and cosiness. But also of making money, trade and merchandise.
Are you really surprised? The trade of slaves within England was made illegal in 1802 has been forbidden. The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed by the British Parliament on 1807 March 25.
And in the Netherlands? Official in the year 1863, including all colonies, but kept using ‘Recruits’ from Africa until 1940.
Nice country we have…
I didn’t know we waited soooo long to pass an act to abolish slavery, but other than that, no of course I’m not surprised. I’ve lost my ignorance a long time ago (and that I really regret
.
It’s still very annoying and frustrating though that we never seem to be able to just move on and get things done.
I think I’ve just gone from the state of denial to the state of disbelieve
.
See you soon Harm!
Hi there, if you’re going to use my cartoon how about a link back to my site?
Allan, sure, no problem there. Sorry for not doing so from the start.
regards,
Alef
Many thanks!
Quit smoking is worth for you first of all. I was a heavy smoker and I quit, but sometimes like yesterday, that I was in a house party drinking, is very hard to not smoking and see your friends chatting with their cigarettes, But this morning when I woke up I was very proud of me and I pleased myself. Smoking is very dangerous and when I want to cool dawn my will I see some of the shocking video on the net….
I would like to use this image for a PSA in my high school film class. i need written permision to use please send me an e mail. the picture is blog.arendsen.net/…/2007/07/smoking2.jpg
Douglas Deinert
FWHS
Tucson, AZ
hello, my name is noorhan , im a student in qatar studying a subject in I.T. i would like to use the image on your website aa a non profit situation but as a project in school.
smoking is rilly gay
Alllllrighty, lets look at smoking this way. If you buy a pack of cigs without taxes, its cheap, dirt cheap. WIth taxes however it is SO expensive. SO dont you find it funny how much the government makes on smokes, compared to the amount of money they spend on anti-smoking stuff? To me the whole oredeal is stupid.
Our government aims to protect us—to save us from society’s evils. However, in an attempt to protect the public from the effects of second hand smoke the feds have failed to protect a vital part of the economic population: business owners. The ulitame issue here is choice,when the government starts telling restaurant owners what their customers can and cannot do, the government is overstepping its boundaries.
hello,my name is Tamara and im a student doing ICT and asking for your permission to use an image off your site which would be usd in a project that im working on. thank you
very good idea
I think that smoking is an bad thing for people to do ……..
I think that black m poeple should not smoke anything b ecause it s very bad for them so stop selling crack and other things that will kill you ……. But think you for letting me talk to you but i will be back…………..
hey that’s really cool! My whole family smokes so I try to put them of by saying really bad stuff, but it doesn’t work so I just say jokes and this is funny, and I’ll be showing them.
Hey that’s so funny. My whole family smokes so I try to put them off by saying bad stuff, but it never works so I say jokes and they get really annoyed. So I’ll be showing them this one. Lol.
Ooh dang i just typed a big comment and when i hit post it came up blank! Please tell me it worked right? I dont want to sumit it again if i dont have to! Either the blog bugged out or i am just stuipd, the second option doesnt surprise me lol.
Good Morning just figured i would let you know i had a problem with your blog coming up blank also. Might be gremlins in the system.
smoking is da worst thing i hav seeeeeeeeen.i want some information for school project
U fucking pussies. u are all gay and suck s
I LOVE SMOKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
its the best thing i ever got my self addicted to apart from alcohol. but i love it. i smoke 50 a day and have done for 15 years and ive never had a problem
There’s a wealth of information here. Thanks! I’ll be back for more
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