I have up to now been a smoker who had no objections to the smoking ban. I can see the appeal for you non-smokers of being able to eat and drink somewhere without me blowing my smoke in your direction (which i did on purpose by the way!). I don't agree with the argument that it somehow infringes on someones human rights to ban them from smoking in enclosed spaces, the same could be said for a lot of things that aren't allowed in public but we don't hear those complaints. I for one am a huge fan of public masterbation but you don't see me waving a placard saying "Its against my human rights not to let me wank in public!" (although if anyone does want to start a march for this, i'm all over that!).
However, the other night on the way home from a gig, i got into a heated argument with a cleaner on a platform at Vauxhall station when i was halfway through my cigarette and she very angrily approached me shouting that i couldn't smoke there. I asked "why?" to which she replied that smoking has been banned on train platforms to coincide with the national ban.
This seems strange to me for a couple of reasons:
1. There was no legal obligation for train companies to enforce the ban on station platforms, they are outdoor areas not covered by the smoking legislation. It seems therefore that the train companies are just jumping on the bandwagon and if there is one thing I'm firmly against, it's bandwagon jumping. Especially when its a big controversial bandwagon like the smoking ban.
2. I fail to see why me smoking on a train platform is any worse than me smoking on the street?? I tend to stand as far away from other people as i can in both situations already. I don't get to train platforms, spark up a cigarette and then think "i'm gonna go stand next to those commuters just to make their journey even more shit!".
Now, i wouldn't have had as much of a problem had she politely approached me and explained that there was now a ban of smoking on platforms. I would have probably apologised, extinguished my cigarette and gone on my way but the fact she actually got angry with me for making an honest mistake was the main issue i had with her. I could understand her annoyance if i was doing it as some sort of misguided political statement. Standing there with a placard, loudspeaker and a t-shirt on saying "Yeah i'm smoking. Are you gonna stop me you c*nt!" but i simply didn't see the sign.
She then said the line "Can you not read? (at this point she pointed a sign on the platform showing details of the ban and continued) Are you some sort of idiot?". Now I'm not a snobbish person but i challenge anyone not to take offence when someone cleaning a train platform calls you an idiot and then challenges your reading capabilities!
I'd like to say i responded with a tirade of abuse the likes of which South West Train employees had never seen before but unfortunately my train pulled in at this very moment so all i had time to do was throw my cigarette at the area she was cleaning while shouting "Fine i'll put it out then.........but you're bloody cleaning it up!" then i jumped on the train and rolled off home! It wasn't my best insult ever but I still feel I ended up on coming out on top!
I've had discussions/debates with a lot of different people about the smoking ban but somehow this exchange with the cleaner has made clear to me the only genuine problem I have with it. That is that it has caused too many people to over-react. Anti-smokers have become too anti-smoking and pro-smokers too pro-smoking. I preferred the old days when most people just didn't give a shit!
If everyone just lightened up and realised its not that big a thing there would be far less useless arguments about it. And maybe i wouldn't find myself on a train platform throwing a cigarette at a non-smoker in a fit of rage!