A ban on cigarettes doesn't go far enough.   Smokers should be shot and killed on sight of them with a cigarette. Who cares if smokers are only hurting themselves. Smokers are stupid and it is the government’s right to kill stupid people to protect them from themselves. Another side benefit would be; people would not walk around with pens or pencils in their mouths, because they could be mistaken for cigarettes. This is a benefit since someone could seriously hurt themselves if they fall face first into the ground with a pen in their mouth.

http://news.smh.com.au/geneva-bans-smoking-in-public-places/20080225-1uiw.html

Geneva, home to the United Nations' European headquarters and scores of banks catering to the very rich, will ban smoking in public places following a referendum on Sunday, the Swiss news agency ATS said.

Some 79 per cent of voters in Switzerland's second-largest city supported the prohibition, which the local government said it would quickly put in place, ATS said.

Switzerland has lagged behind other European countries such as Ireland, Britain and neighbouring France and Italy in barring smoking in restaurants, bars and offices. Smoking has been forbidden on the Swiss public transport network for two years.

Geneva will be the sixth of the Alpine country's 26 cantons to institute a ban on smoking in public places.

The Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on governments worldwide to protect their citizens from tobacco smoke. It estimates that by 2030, more than eight million people will die from tobacco-related causes each year.

Switzerland's devolved political system means citizens frequently vote on issues ranging from immigration policy to public transport costs.

Geneva voters also approved an initiative on Sunday banning dangerous dogs, and requiring owners of dogs weighing more than 25kg to get a permit to walk them in public.

They opted against a proposal to make buses and trams free.

http://news.smh.com.au/nsw-may-ban-smoking-in-cars-with-kids/20080228-1vj3.html

Bans on smoking in cars carrying children and new restrictions on cigarette displays at shop counters are among reforms being considered by the NSW government.

NSW Assistant Health Minister (Cancer) Verity Firth says the reform package includes tougher rules for the registration and licensing of tobacco retailers and a broad review of tobacco marketing and gimmicks.

Ms Firth said the proposals would go out for public comment and a forum would be held for stakeholders to contribute their views.

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LOL.

I recall watching a news coverage on TV about the Washington snipers in the US. The camera panned across to an office building where in the background admist the sparodic shooting were 4 office workers hiding against some columns having a smoke. It was surreal. They're willing to risk their lives for the fag fix.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7355353.stm

A successful attempt to quit smoking may depend on where women are in their monthly cycle, say scientists.

Those trying before ovulation were more likely to reach for a cigarette again than those trying at other times, US scientists claimed.

The researchers looked at a total of 200 women, who were asked to give up smoking either in the "follicular" stage of their cycle - the period leading up to ovulation, when an egg is produced by the ovary, or the "luteal" stage, the roughly two-week stage that completes the cycle.

Each stage is marked by differences in the hormones produced by the body.

After 30 days, 86% of the women who starting trying to give up during their follicular phase had "relapsed", and smoked at least one cigarette.

This compared to 66% of the group who had started in their luteal phase.

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Yes well that's what it's coming down to.  Closet smoking is my only vice (now) and as much as I've tried to stop, haven't been able to.  Judged by society as disgusting, weak, stinky, selfish etc. - some of us were brought up & brainwashed on the B & H ads as teenagers and while we were trying to look sophisticated, became hooked at the same time.

But good news for all those people out there who hate smokers - Rudd has been advised to increase the excise on cigarettes - which by the way is high enough now to cover any medical costs associated with smoking and give the government a healthy profit as well.

As the cost now is almost prohibiive, us tobacco junkies will have to resort to growing our own.