Every time this issue raises it's head it's the same old story, all the high and mighty non smokers just can't wait to vent their fury and self rightious attitudes and bash those dirty, filthy, skanky, people who deserve in their opinion to be tarred and feathered. I'm sure if they could get those inflicted with this henious habit thrown into prison or publicly humiliated in the stocks, they would go home really happy with themselves.
Now in this case, though I'm a smoker and would fight tooth and nail for reasonable rights and for not having to accept being the only social group in Europe who it seems can be publicly abused and victimised, having their rights infringed and reduced year after year, but I must say that the individual concerned here, if English, an adult and not suffering from any mental incapacity, can have little grounds for feeling anything but responsibility for his own stupidity and the resulting actions.
The smoking bans in this country also apply in all other EEC nations along with many others including places like Turkey, so unless this guy is from tibet or borneo I find it hard to believe he was unaware of the rules, regulations and laws of the land.
What his actions and ignorant behaviour does do however, is increase the chance of an all round ban, and stricter actions of enforcement, which are to a certain degree eased, to some extent, and in my mind rightly in the case of the spirals.
I don't think there are any people other than those extremists I mentioned in the first paragraph, who have any problem with those of us who specifically make our way, away from others who do not want to be infected/affected by our habit, to well ventilated areas, such as the spirals, and this slight inconvenience to us, is well worth our trouble so we can top up our nicotine levels during half time.
There are other rules which the club show some lenience with ie standing in the all seater environment, which within reason is found generally acceptable, though again, to the letter of the law, unlawfull.
I wish those responsible for trying to spoil it for evryone, by either smoking in the toilets or in any other clearly unsuitable ares would consider not just the non smokers, but also the smokers, who generally feel it's fair enough to make the short jaunt to the nearest spiral, to enjoy a tab and not end up gagging for a fag at the frinal whistle.
