Stupid laws

The new No Smoking legislation seems like a good idea, but at what cost? See the gallery.

Do I smoke

NO! I do not smoke, never have smoked, and hate smoke. I am looking forward to being able to go to a pub and not end up smelling of smoke at the end of the day.

So what is wrong with the new laws

The general idea is good, but...

• There are some likely minor side effects which are probably unavoidable
• These laws continue a worrying trend of making normal people responsible for policing laws
• The utterly stupid and arbitrary signage requirements

What law?

This site is related to English law, which is not the same as Scottish, Welsh or Northern Ireland law on the subject!

• Health Act 2006 (c. 28)
• The Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007 (No. 923)

News/links

• Pictures taken on 2nd July - shock! Council not displaying required signs?
• BBC article on pub trying to become and embassy
• BBC article on council houses
• By popular demand you can now buy our "no smoking, no stabbing, no breaking any other laws" signs now. See www.engrave.me.uk
• 8th June, David Steeds is refusing to comment any further or explain his previous comments.
• 8th May 2007. David Steeds, head of Environmental Health and Safety, Bracknell Forest Borough Council has stated "the regulations make no allowance for additional messages and alterations to the signs' format" but is to date refusing to explain what he means by this.
• The laws are not even the same throughout the UK!
• BBC article about churches needing signs
• Our gallery of signs

Minor side effects

There are a few obvious side effects of banning smoking:

• Smokers congregating at building entrances rather than using dedicated smoking rooms within buildings, and hence increasing non-smokers exposure to smoke.
• Previously pleasant beer-gardens now full of smokers
• People insisting that you cannot stop them smoking "because it's not illegal outside" in any places not covered by the law (e.g. beer gardens) where previously the management of such places could have no-smoking policies without problem

Unpaid policemen

One upon a time it was simple, the police enforced criminal laws, and normal people did not have to get involved. Obviously people would be good citizens are try and stop people committing crimes, but they were not required to. They could walk away. Unfortunately there is a growing trend to make normal people responsible for policing other people.

The no smoking laws make it a legal requirement for anyone who controls or is concerned in the management of smoke-free premises to cause a person smoking there to stop smoking.

There are severe fines for not stopping people smoke, yet these people are not police and not trained or paid to enforce laws.

There are also serious practical limitations. E.g. if I walked in to a phone box and started smoking and called the operator and said "Hello BT, I am smoking in this phone box", BT have to stop me smoking as they are then aware that I am. If they don't do so they can be fined. How can they do that without stationing a member of staff at every phone box?

Stupid signage requirements

The real problem I have with the new laws is the signage requirements.

• Signs are totally unnecessary - people are expected to know the law. It is illegal to smoke in shops and offices and everyone has to know that. Why have a requirement for a sign to tell people not to break the law. We don't have signs for the thousands of other laws they must not break. There are already way too many signs and each new sign dilutes the others. In some places you would have to spend several minutes reading all of the signs, and so important ones are not read. It does not help having more signs that are not needed. There may be some exceptions where smoking is allowed - but they will be rare - so why not require them to have signs saying you can smoke?
• Mandating signs is totally unnecessary - the management are already responsible for stopping people smoke! One of the main ways management would do that is put up signs. Many shopping centres are, for example, non-smoking, and they have chosen to put up signs already. So making the signage mandatory is not needed as everywhere that a sign would help matters would get a sign anyway so as to make enforcing the new laws easier on the management.
• Why make people put up new signs? Lots of places have signs already - shopping centres, offices, trains, even some pubs! Yet the law requires a specific wording "No smoking. It is against the law to smoke in these premises" which would not have been on any existing signs (as it was not previously against the law). So people have to buy new signs. Even on trains, where the requirement is simply for the no smoking symbol, the symbol has to be 70mm diameter and the ones on south west trains are only 60mm, so they have to have new signs too.
• Why make the signs so big? It is bad enough that we have so many signs already, but the no smoking sign has to be A5 area, yet it would be just as effective, and have a 70mm symbol, if A7 (a quarter of the size).
• What is the point of stating a size anyway - it seems that the sign could be made of a transparent material that is A5 and have artwork on it, so a clear A5 sheet with an A7 symbol and words at one end appears to be allowed yet looks the same as a small sign!

Arbitrary requirements

The law on signage for premises is clearly completely arbitrary, which is very clear in the differences in signage requirements in the UK alone. So much for harmonising laws across the EU.

Vehicles only need a no smoking symbol, 75mm diameter (Wales, Northern Ireland) or 70mm (England). In Scotland there is no size defined for the vehicle symbol but it must say who you should complaint to.

Ideas for signs

One way to cut down signage is to make one sign for several things and include the no smoking symbol and words on it - as long as the sign is A5 this seems to meet the requirements. Note that Bracknell Forest Borough Council are implying that this is not allowed!

The sign does not have to be A5 shape, just area, so it is not hard to make more interesting shapes which make the sign appear smaller.

Print a small sign on a A5 transparent sheet.

See the gallery