View Full Version : When smoking in the workplace was the norm
I started this thread after reading Nora B's comment in one of the Covid threads about Benson & Hedges being the cigarette brand of choice amongst her fellow colleagues at a pottery (she referred to as a 'pot bank') some years back, and was immediately taken aback to as late as the 90s and even still in a few cases, the mid-2000s, where and when people smoked in pretty much all manner of workplaces and hardly anyone ever seemed to give it as much of a second thought, not even the non-smokers, who basically had no alternative at the time to 'put up and shut up' as the health risks concerning second-hand smoke (aka passive smoking) were just shrugged off as a myth, even as late as the 90s.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't intended as a smoker-bashing thread, but it does make me wonder how a lot of us non-smokers managed to tolerate being in the thick of it all for so long, generally through no choice of our own.
I started this thread after reading Nora B's comment in one of the Covid threads about Benson & Hedges being the cigarette brand of choice amongst her fellow colleagues at a pottery (she referred to as a 'pot bank') some years back
To be fair, B&H was all there ever was in the vending machine. :D
Don't get me wrong, this isn't intended as a smoker-bashing thread, but it does make me wonder how a lot of us non-smokers managed to tolerate being in the thick of it all for so long, generally through no choice of our own.
I grew up with both parents smoking, and I've smoked myself. I've done most things that are unhealthy in my time tbh but these days my vices are Dairy Milk and topless pics of Tom Hardy. :dribble:
To be fair, B&H was all there ever was in the vending machine. :D
I grew up with both parents smoking, and I've smoked myself. I've done most things that are unhealthy in my time tbh but these days my vices are Dairy Milk and topless pics of Tom Hardy. :dribble:
I guess you're not the type who boasts about your parents smoking around you constantly as a child and it never doing you no harm, like many serial pro-smoking 'deniers' still continue to do today, who are generally a dying breed (no pun intended).
But of course you grew up during a less informed time when the health hazards pertaining to smoking were less well known or even acknowledged, and for many it often seemed to be de-rigueur to start smoking simply to fit in, which I guess might very well have been amongst your reasons for smoking yourself when you were younger.
And apart from the more minute risks of obesity and diabetes, Dairy Milk is virtually nothing compared to ciggies, but obviously still best eaten in moderation, if possible.
I guess you're not the type who boasts about your parents smoking around you constantly as a child and it never doing you no harm, like many serial pro-smoking 'deniers' still continue to do today, who are generally a dying breed (no pun intended).
My parents were of a generation who were encouraged to smoke. My ex FIL was told, by his doctor, to start smoking when he was 26 because he was so nervous. Things changed with my generation, and I reckon you'd have to be daft to start smoking in this day and age (also, minted) but I take responsibility for my own actions and if they come back to bite me on the arse - I will deal with it.
I never smoked to fit in. I smoked because it calmed me down a bit. My anxiety was orbital when I was a teenager. Then I self-medicated with alcohol and abused food- as I say - I've done a lot of unhealthy things in my time! The one thing I haven't done is drugs - aside a sniff on some amyl nitrate - which didn't agree with me.
And apart from the more minute risks of obesity and diabetes, Dairy Milk is virtually nothing compared to ciggies, but obviously still best eaten in moderation, if possible.
Sod moderation Len. My body has pretty much rejected all other vices and most medications. I need my daily chocolate fix. It's a mental heath deal because I can't medicate. Don't make me quit the choccy-wocky-doodah or you'll be reading about me in the papers...:scared15:
Yet another pointless thread .... 'them and us' that will surely have no outcome but divide members possibly causing animosity. Especially during a lockdown.
What do you expect to gain with this exactly?
Yet another pointless thread .... 'them and us' that will surely have no outcome but divide members possibly causing animosity. Especially during a lockdown.
What do you expect to gain with this exactly?
Well I didn't intend to cause offence nor cause animosity/division.
I also stated that it's not intended as a bash at smokers in general, especially present-day ones, and it's more about 'historical' practices.
And please remember no one is forced to view threads they might happen to find objectionable in any way.
My parents were of a generation who were encouraged to smoke. My ex FIL was told, by his doctor, to start smoking when he was 26 because he was so nervous. Things changed with my generation, and I reckon you'd have to a mug to start smoking in this day and age (also, minted) but I take responsibility for my own actions and if they come back to bite me on the arse - I will deal with it.
I never smoked to fit in. I smoked because it calmed me down a bit. My anxiety was orbital when I was a teenager. Then I self-medicated with alcohol and abused food- as I say - I've done a lot of unhealthy things in my time! The one thing I haven't done is drugs - aside a sniff on some amyl nitrate - which didn't agree with me.
Sod moderation Len. My body has pretty much rejected all other vices and most medications. I need my daily chocolate fix. It's a mental heath deal because I can't medicate. Don't make me quit the choccy-wocky-doodah or you'll be reading about me in the papers...:scared15:
I really do apologise, Nora. I fully own up to crossing the line there with the Dairy Milk in moderation thing. I totally understand now you've explained.
Fair enough Lencoboy, but please remember a lot of people smoke to relieve their anxiety and to cope with their mental conditions as Nora has already pointed out.
If the smokers start getting a bashing on this thread they will feel like they are being attacked for smoking when that's all they have to get through the day. Especially if they can not take medication as Nora pointed out also.
Like any addiction, smoking, alcohol, drugs, even chocolate, are a delicate subject to some and life would seem unbearable without them.
Seeing as NMP is a Site for people to turn to who are struggling, you have to take responsibility for your posts and readers and I'm afraid I do worry that the thread will result in unnecessary word bashing directed at smokers.
I really do apologise, Nora. I fully own up to crossing the line there with the Dairy Milk in moderation thing. I totally understand now you've explained.
When I say a bar of Dairy Milk a day - it's from a multipack and there are only about 5 pieces. Have I snaffled an entire family size bar in my time? Yes I have and on numerous occasions. I went three years when I couldn't tolerate chocolate without my heart going nuts - I'm making up for lost time lol :winks:
What do you expect to gain with this exactly?
I will step in and defend Len here, Carnation because I know what it's like to feel very strongly about something and that get me into trouble. It's an autism thing with me, so maybe it is with Len? I've done it with NAVS, Greenpeace - loads of things. I get very passionate about what I believe in, or don't. I once called my family murderers during a Christmas Eve meal because I was vegetarian and I took massive offence to them eating meat. I tried to sabotage the turkey and even gave it a funeral. I didn't hold back from describing inhumane methods used to kill animals. I was packed off to bed and couldn't, for the life of me, understand what I'd done wrong! :shrug:
I personally don't think Len's intention was to divide or cause offence with this thread, but unfortunately the subject matter will rub some folk up the wrong way..
I hear you Nora, but Lencoboy's topic is something that is now well into the past. I can't see any point bringing it to the forefront. It's only going to cause an unnecessary argument and offence in my opinion.
With the world in its current situation I think people are more concerned about the virus, their jobs, businesses, finances, economy, family and friends and their wellbeing as opposed to whether smoking inside places bothered them 20 years ago.
Sorry Lencoboy, I don't often step to someone else's thread and voice myself like this, but I felt the need to do this on this occasion.
Sorry to you too Nora, but people are hanging on by thread in this lockdown and to ask people whether they think smoking was an issue for 20 years ago when people are locked up and starved of freedom and life, well there's no comparison.
Only yesterday I spoke to a neighbour who lives on their own, (smoker, I might add), who was struggling to cope and was obviously struggling with depression.
Subject matter is delicate at the moment and for someone people a fag is all they have to keep going!
Just to reiterate, I am not intentionally bashing smokers and I do acknowledge many do smoke to help relieve their anxieties, and of course it's a free country where smokers certainly reserve the right to indulge in their habits, but of course at the right times and in the right places.
I have now decided to disown this thread and not post any more on it, as it already seems to be provoking angst and perceived as a smoker-bashing thread, which it wasn't originally intended to be, and more about how things have changed over the last 30+ years or so, but I shall still leave this thread intact for others to view and discuss at their will, and even get deleted if things get too heated.
Do whatever you can to get through the day, Carnation. Whatever you enjoy, stick with it.
I've got really bad with stockpiling "safe" foods but so what in the great scheme of things?..If smoking helped I'd do it. xx
I appreciate your last post Lencoboy, thank you.
Pulisa, thank you for replying.
January sure is hard this year.
And since starting a mental health help forum for my village I have 28 members so far. We try to help each other but there are some people that are completely on their own with no human contact at all.
Of course smoking, drinking alcohol, comfort eating, and medication increases are all responsible for this current situation. And of course stockpiling is all about feeling safe and not getting panicky.
Any debate risen at the moment will not be a true account of normal times. People are scared for the future and debating about the past is pretty pointless IMO.
I'm off to have a fag. :winks:
Every little helps if it whiles away a small bit of the day? xx
Have you noticed how it is the athletic types who appear to be suffering from more cases of "Long Covid"? I often look at the runners who are out in all weathers pounding the streets obsessively and feel sorry for them. I've always been warned off running and know I'd have been joining them if I hadn't paid heed.
The food I stockpile isn't popular anyway so i don't feel as if I'm depriving anyone. I just feel more able to cope with the demands of my life which I know is a safety behaviour but I could have worse vices:) I know I'll not be able to stop doing it for a long while "After Covid" but that's my Confession For the Day":).
Maybe this thread should change tack to a" Coping Confessions" slant?
I didn't know that about the athletes Pulisa.
But I wonder why my local shopkeepers have managed to avoid catching the virus when coming into contact with hoards of people inside their premises and a few of the local fisherman who barely sees a soul on the freezing cold shores of the North Sea caught the virus. :shrug:
I find the whole situation difficult to understand if I'm honest.
I think everyone has done a little stockpiling of especially as you say, their safe foods without being greedy.
For me, having a smoke calms my anxiety although I know it is not recommended and I wouldn't encourage anyone to do so if they have never smoked. It's my habit that gets me through the day and I'm not hurting anyone else.
Coping confessions sounds interesting Pulisa. c
I was told by a psychologist once that the actual act of smoking- inhaling and exhaling- regulates breathing so has a calming effect. Better than breathing into a brown paper bag, I suppose? It's your choice and you're not harming anyone else as you say.
WiredIncorrectly
15-01-21, 14:08
Sainsbury's had a smoking box in the cafe area for us workers who smoked. It was like the dying box :roflmao:
I'm with what @Carnation said.
I remember my dad smoking in the house and car when me and my brothers were nippers. It's amazing how it wasn't thought about back then. My dad started smoking when he was in the RAF and I remember him telling me about how everyone did and the billets being smoke filled.
It wasn't all that long ago that most of the sports teams and events were sponsored by the tobacco companies.
I'm a smoker and always had a jobs that I could smoke at work, even after the smoking ban came in.
Smoking definitely calms my anxiety which I find strange as it's a stimulant.
It's the inhaling and exhaling which slows breathing down,Matt so you feel calmer.
MyNameIsTerry
16-01-21, 01:45
One of my earlier jobs there was a smoking room. My first thought was how stupid to have all these comfy fluffy settees near fire.
Otherwise smoking was always an outside thing anywhere I worked. It was a fire hazard so smokers always had an area outside to indulge.
Only yesterday I spoke to a neighbour who lives on their own, (smoker, I might add), who was struggling to cope and was obviously struggling with depression.
Subject matter is delicate at the moment and for someone people a fag is all they have to keep going!
If my mother was alive today, she'd probably be chaining her Silk Cuts! This was the woman who told her surgeon where to 'stick his effing crutches' when he told her she'd be on them for 6 weeks! The old girl would have gone tonto under these lockdowns and restrictions. :scared15:
I'm off to have a fag. :winks:
I'm an ex smoker so you'll get no judgement from me C.
I'd be sinking the single malts if my body would allow me to, but I'll have to make do with my Dairy Milk and woe betide anybody who tries to take it away from me. :scared15:
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