No Smoking on balconies on P & O from April 2014.

[Ray B]

So true Batty

Ray

[Silver_Shiney]

The worry then is how will they stub out their cigarettes? There'll be no ashtrays and throwing over board is a no no.

Gill, no responsible smoker would ever throw a lighted cigarette overboard wherever they were smoking.

What about irresponsible smokers?

[Dark Knight]

SS
they are a myth, just like traditional cruisers and anticipated ambience

[jacksparrow]

In view of the fact that some people had already booked their cruises prior to the announcement of the ban, I do think that it might have been better for P & O to have said that there would be a partial ban between certain hours, or that smoking would only be allowed on balconies at the rear of the ship for those cruises booked between 2014/2015. This would then have given those who do smoke on their balconies the option to choose to move cabins rather than taking the drastic measures already mentioned of cancelling their cruises, which does seem a little extreme. They could then have bought in the total ban on balconies depending on the responses of the moaning few when the brochure was launched from 2015 onwards.....


Perhaps all the smokers out there should suggest this to P & O!!!

[JenniC]

Not going to get into the debate as it is such an emotive subject and as a reformed smoker I can see both sides, although I hate it now Still reading, if not contributing to, FB and seems every other post is on this subject, taking over from the Vantage v Getaway debate. One lady has just posted that she cancelled and got her deposit refunded.. Now that is opening the floodgates and setting a precedent, which PO might live to regret

[Dancing Queen]

The worry then is how will they stub out their cigarettes? There'll be no ashtrays and throwing over board is a no no.

Gill, no responsible smoker would ever throw a lighted cigarette overboard wherever they were smoking.

What about irresponsible smokers?

Alan, the irresponsible ones will throw a lighted cigarette overboard regardless and I don't doubt there are many stopping smoking on balconies is nothing to do with safety issues it is bowing down to a minority that have shouted the loudest

[Dancing Queen]

Not going to get into the debate as it is such an emotive subject and as a reformed smoker I can see both sides, although I hate it now Still reading, if not contributing to, FB and seems every other post is on this subject, taking over from the Vantage v Getaway debate. One lady has just posted that she cancelled and got her deposit refunded.. Now that is opening the floodgates and setting a precedent, which PO might live to regret

Ha Ha Jenni, maybe this is P&O's master plan to take the heat off getaway fares

[Romig1]

... unless P&O install cameras on all balconies ( can anyone see them going to that expense ) people will still smoke

Might see more than they bargained for

I don't know what you mean!

[Kendhni]

Not going to get into the debate as it is such an emotive subject and as a reformed smoker I can see both sides, although I hate it now Still reading, if not contributing to, FB and seems every other post is on this subject, taking over from the Vantage v Getaway debate. One lady has just posted that she cancelled and got her deposit refunded.. Now that is opening the floodgates and setting a precedent, which PO might live to regret

My mate, who cancelled because of this change, has been promised his money back in full ... and he has already selected replacement cruises ... he is going to try different lines and apparently intends to book today with Celebrity, Azamara and Oceania (two next year and one he is slipping in this year as an extra) ... if nothing else it will be interesting to see how he thinks they compare.

[sunseeker16]

I find it quite telling that some people appear to select their holiday on the basis of their ability (or otherwise) to smoke. If I was the preaching type I might suggest they look at themselves and their action and think what it told them about their reliance on the substance. But I'm not, so I won't.

I would say though that these new e-cigarettes seem, on the face of it, to answer everyone's problem, allowing users to get their nicotine at any time within their own cabin and balcony, without any effect whatever on their neighbours, the cleaners or anyone.

[Kendhni]

Sunseeker, agree with you .. I know in the case of my mate that we are forever trying to get him to give up and making cigarette related jokes at his expense but he has an addiction and keeps reciting dubious research about how giving them up at his age could do more harm than good. He used to cruise in inside cabins and only started booking balconies when they stopped smoking in inside cabins ... in fact that was the main reason he stayed loyal to P&O.

As far as ecigs are concerned I see no reason why they should not be allowed anywhere ... the main reason they are banned in many places though is to avoid confrontation where someone is too stupid to realise the difference.

[sunseeker16]

.. or to prevent normalising the sight of 'smoking/pseudo-smoking' in the eyes of the young and the impressionable? That would be a more telling reason for me

[Kendhni]

.. or to prevent normalising the sight of 'smoking/pseudo-smoking' in the eyes of the young and the impressionable? That would be a more telling reason for me

Whether or not that is the reason I don't consider it as valid since there is nothing particularly wrong with putting things in your mouth - some people chew pens (smokers and non smokers alike). Also a new generation, if so inclined, would be more likely to go for a high tech customisable designer device both because of its 'cool' value and because the health problems of traditional tobacco products are now well understood.

It has to be accepted that more than 1-in-5 in this country do smoke and it would be better to get them ALL onto ecigs rather than traditional tobacco ... one of doing that is to allow much wider use of ecigs in social situations. That however presumes that the claims of safety and emissions is correct.

[davecttr]

Sunseeker, agree with you .. I know in the case of my mate that we are forever trying to get him to give up and making cigarette related jokes at his expense but he has an addiction and keeps reciting dubious research about how giving them up at his age could do more harm than good. He used to cruise in inside cabins and only started booking balconies when they stopped smoking in inside cabins ... in fact that was the main reason he stayed loyal to P&O.

As far as ecigs are concerned I see no reason why they should not be allowed anywhere ... the main reason they are banned in many places though is to avoid confrontation where someone is too stupid to realise the difference.

It is not just the people not realising the difference it is the hassle the crew go through in trying to calm the confrontation. Imagine the scenario. someone puffing on an e-cig and a furious passenger comes up and dashes the cig from their mouth. That is assault. They retaliate etc etc. the poor crew have to sort out this mess.

i think i read elswhere that cunard are banning e-cigs on balconies too?

[The Monocled Mutineer]

Ken:

Notwithstanding your logic around smokers switching from lit fires at their hands and mouth, otherwise known as cigarettes, cigars and pipes, to e-cigs, is not nicotene, presumably absorbed via the medium of e-cigs (as well as nicotene gum and patches) in itself absorbing a carcinogen for which it is adviseable to either eliminate or reduce in quantity? It is my understanding that the aforementioned smoking substitutes are 'healthier' than cigarettes and have no physiological impact on non-smokers near them (well certainly not gum and patches).

[Mo2013]

Derek, it is not for any of us to advise on the level of nicotine an individual wishes to ingest, although people ceasing to smoke altogether would save the NHS money because it would not have to deal with smoking related illness.

[The Monocled Mutineer]

Mo:

Agreed. But are there not conditions associated with nicotene absorption by any means (likewise, alcohol, processed meat, burnt meat (aka known as barbecued meat and over-well done), I concede)?

As there is no nutritional value in nicotene would it not be better to just suggest gum, patches and e-cigs as aids to get off cigarettes rather than long-term lifestyle choices?

[Mo2013]

Derek - I take your point, and of course anyone can suggest these things but given that we all have free will, people will continue to do all the things you cite regardless of the consequences. The ultimate price is that a person with a self-inflicted illness due to smoking or obesity because of an unhealthy saturated fat diet or any of the things you mention would be refused an operation in favour of those who had maintained a healthy lifestyle. It would never happen though.

[ItsmeAnnC]

I think it will be easier to argue the point about e-cigarettes once they are licenced and controlled. At the moment the quality/purity of the nicotine they contain is uncontrolled and variable and some studies say that SOME e-cigarettes are worse than the real thing.
And to throw another fly in the ointment, not all these "help-you-stop-smoking" products are suitable for people with certain medical conditions.
30 years ago my husband had treatment for helicobacter pylori - the bacteria that causes peptic ulcers, before which he was having treatment every nine months or so for duodenal ulcer, which runs in his family. He had no recurrence for twenty years+ until he saw his GP for help to give up smoking, who advised him to use patches and/or gum, notwithstanding the warning on the packet which was - talk to your doctor before using these if you have a history of ulcers. I think you can guess the outcome. He has tried hypnotherapy and the therapist told him she couldn't help him. He has tried several times to give up on willpower alone, but without going into details, the GP advised him that it was better for his health to continue.
So, please, if you are a non-smoker, don't be condescending to those who do smoke. You don't know the full story. And if you ever meet my husband, I doubt you will know he is a smoker. He doesn't tell anyone, just nips out to where it is permitted and returns. But believe me, his clothes will smell far worse if he is in a crowd of smokers, than having one alone on his balcony where he leans over the side to allow the smoke to drift over the side out of anyone's way.

[Mo2013]

Ann, your husband is obviously a considerate smoker I do know that smoking is an addiction and a habit which is very hard to break. Can you imagine this - one day I was diagnosed with TB and the very next day admitted to hospital and had to stop smoking there and then. Cold turkey! I hope I have not been condescending but in my experience a lot of smokers I have come across have been rather uncaring and very cavalier about their habit and the effect it has on other people and have reacted violently because they are now having to be told where they can and cannot smoke. Before, they didn't care one jot.

[ItsmeAnnC]

MO2013 - I have every sympathy with your situation. My post is not directed at anyone in particular. I just feel that SOME non (or ex) smokers also come across as uncaring and cavalier as the SOME of people they are discussing. There are both sides in every camp. Tolerance for all is the only way forward. But in the case of smokers, I do feel that they are all tarred with the same brush. I should add that I have never smoked, and my husband does not smoke in the house, so yes, he is a considerate smoker, though you'd never think such a person existed to hear the opinions on here and elsewhere.

[lioness]

I stopped cold turkey. I had smoked for 20 years since the age of 15. One night on a long flight home, I counted the number of cigs I had smoked that night and that was it. I stopped when I got home and never had another one. That was 30 years ago

[Mo2013]

MO2013 - I have every sympathy with your situation. My post is not directed at anyone in particular. I just feel that SOME non (or ex) smokers also come across as uncaring and cavalier as the SOME of people they are discussing. There are both sides in every camp. Tolerance for all is the only way forward. But in the case of smokers, I do feel that they are all tarred with the same brush. I should add that I have never smoked, and my husband does not smoke in the house, so yes, he is a considerate smoker, though you'd never think such a person existed to hear the opinions on here and elsewhere.

Ann, it is nice to have a reasoned discussion. For my own part, I can only comment on my personal experience of people who've smoked but of course I acknowledge that there are considerate smokers. I said in an earlier post that I felt some smokers were taking things too personally as if some higher power was meanly stopping them from enjoying themselves. Of course, these rules are not simply getting at an individual smoker but rather acknowledging the real dangers of passive smoking, and the wishes of non-smokers who (I believe are in the majority) not to be subjected to it.

[Mo2013]

I stopped cold turkey. I had smoked for 20 years since the age of 15. One night on a long flight home, I counted the number of cigs I had smoked that night and that was it. I stopped when I got home and never had another one. That was 30 years ago

I had no choice in the matter when I stopped smoking - which made it easier - and I applaud and admire your decision to stop by yourself.

[Ray Scully]

Well!! it appears that this topic is running its course, for the moment, and thanks to the forumeeas and moderators has kept within the bounds off acceptability. We have had post varying from those vehemently against smoking in any location; some with the audacity to say the smoker should not cancel their cruise. Then we have had the reasoned and balanced case for the smoker posted by itsmeAnne. So what next? well it will all kick off again when the policy is introduced; non compliance, just look at the Princess CC board.
The next really big topic will be the withdrawal of the facility to bring aboard alcohol. No doubt some of those applauding P&O's smoking policy, will then be castigating them.

Ray