Up in smoke in the big smoke

Are you a smoker? Trying to give up? Or perhaps you are one of those that detest the smell of smoke when you wander a city and would rather breathe clean air?

Well, if you were thinking about giving up, you might hurry things up when you read this. Smokers and non-smokers alike are sparking up in the smoking debate once again, with the issue hitting headlines in Melbourne and over in New York.

Here at home there has been speculation that Melbourne could be Australia’s first city centre to go completely smoke-free.

A Melbourne City councillor, Richard Foster, has announced that he wants to see the entire CBD of Melbourne become smoke-free, with designated smoking areas the exception rather than the rule.

The Health Minister for Victoria hasn’t backed the idea, however, telling The Age newspaper: “This particular proposal, without having seen the full details, does seem an extraordinary step and probably a step too far.”

Across the pond, smokers in New York must now be 21 years old before they can purchase a packet of cigarettes. The notoriously anti-smoking city – New York has some of the highest tax rates on cigarettes in the whole of the USA – raised the minimum age from 18 six months ago, but the new law only came into effect yesterday. It is designed to try and phase out the proliferation of youths taking up the habit.

Also in the news recently has been talk of the drawbacks of e-cigarettes, with claims that they could be just as bad for your health as normal cigarettes thanks to the vapour helping superbugs like MRSA do their damage. There have been calls for them to be banned in public spaces, too.

Expanding no-smoking zones are a growing concern for smokers all over Australia. There is frequently conflict between those who want smokers to be as far as possible from the non-smoking population, and the smokers themselves, who often feel their rights are being infringed.

If you’re thinking about giving up smoking, however, there are some novel ways you can go about it, not least of which is using the latest product designed to help people quit, the QuitBit lighter. 

This gadget, accompanied by a smartphone app, helps you keep tabs on the number of cigarettes you’re smoking in a day, with a handy LED display on the outside keeping count of the number you’ve smoked as well as the amount of time that’s passed since you last lit up. It’s thought that seeing the totals building up throughout the day might shock some smokers into cutting down and maybe even stopping all together.

Whether you smoke, used to smoke, or have never smoked, it’s a controversial issue that tends to divide people. Where do you stand? Do you think New York’s new law is a good idea? Do you think smokers’ are treated badly by society and authorities? Let us know your feelings in the comments below…