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This article was published in my local paper a number of years ago when the debate was very topical, now in the UK on 1st July 2007 it will be ilegal to smoke in public places. Much controversy is around whether the British Government should ban smoking in public places like Ireland successfully did last month. The consequences either way are significant. What if smoking is banned? The effects on our businesses especially bars, restaurants and the whole ‘entertainment industry’ claim that if smoking is banned on their premises they could potentially loose up to half of their existing customers. Subsequently jobs could be lost within this and the tobacco industry. Is this a risk society should take? Being fair to the smoker some think they are being “socially outcasted”, after all smoking is part of their night out and life so can’t we just keep designated areas for the smoker & non-smoker as we have at the moment instead of a total ban? If the UK brings legislation into force restricting smoking in public places, smokers could be fined or possibly be imprisoned for lighting up instead of putting out. Is this right? At the moment it’s legal to smoke apart from around petrol stations or where food is being prepared apart from that people are free to smoke without any restrictions. However smoking costs the NHS enormous amounts of money each year, it has been researched that many illnesses such as asthma and lung cancer are developed through passive and general smoking. More alarmingly is that children as young as 13 are obtaining and smoking cigarettes. Sadly this is how many adults started in the first place. We need to send out stronger signals that it’s unacceptable for children to smoke full stop and it can kill them. With this age group there should be no compromise of how strongly society communicates this message to the next generation. Aged 16 is the legal age to buy cigarettes. However smoking is an addiction and too much smoking can often lead to coffin. Is this the destination where God wants you to end up? God gives us life so we can live it to the full. Often we limit this by the choices we make. I pray today that God will help you be more effective at the decisions that face you so that God will be glorified more in all that you do. Whether you stop smoking is between you and God,
Article Source: http://christian-topics.info
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