Thankfully we’ve come a long way from the dreaded smoking room
Tell the kids of today there was a time, not in the distant past, when places of work had smoking rooms and they wouldn't believe you. As I recall, the quality of chitchat in these places was pretty low grade. The small talk consisted of grumblings about clueless bosses and pointless musings, such as whether Posh Spice really was that posh. But even though these rooms provided a temporary hiding place from the pressures of work, they were also full of people who wanted to kick their filthy habit.
I don’t think I’ve met a smoker – even the really boring ones who think their habit makes them interesting – who hasn’t tried to pack it in at least once. Why wouldn’t you? Perhaps the most surprising statistic I’ve read in the past week is that there are still seven million smokers in the UK – or 14 per cent of the population – although these numbers have been in steady decline for decades. Although we cannot ask all seven million smokers, it’s a fair bet that, if they were given their time again, most wouldn’t have taken up the habit, now that they know what they know.
Which is why the new idea, in the report of a government-commissioned review, to effectively ban smoking for today’s youngsters by increasing the legal age to buy cigarettes annually is a good one. Research has shown that increases in the age limit for smoking has led to a reduction in those who take up the habit, so preventing future generations from ever legally buying tobacco in this country seems like a natural next step if we are serious about a smoke-free Britain.
I took up smoking relatively late – I was 17 – so bought my first cigs legally at the time but most of my mates started in their early to mid-teens meaning they had to either rely upon older siblings or friends to buy their illicit fix of Benson and Hedges or Marlboro Lights. Like in times gone by, it’s not uncommon to see teenagers in uniform smoking cigarettes to and from school, which means that such a bold plan would only be universally successful if it were properly enforced.
I packed in seven years after I developed a 20-a-day habit and it is an achievement I am proud of, particularly when I see how so many of my friends have struggled to stub out cigarettes for good.
We’ve come a long way since the dreaded smoking room and the next step is to consign cigarettes to history.