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Tuesday 11 January 2011

New Year's resolutions

HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome back everyone!
Have you made any New Year's resolutions, or not yet? If you want to hear again the recording we listened to in class, visit the BBC page here.

Maybe one of your resolutions is to stop smoking, especially after the new anti-smoking law came into force on Jan 2nd.  This is what the BBC says about it. You can also read this article. This video from videojug proposes some techniques or tips to quit the habit.
What's YOUR OPINION? Please leave a comment (and sign it), speak your mind!

Finally, if you want to revise some narrative tenses, go here, here, here, here or here. This page and this one are also good practice. Good luck!

23 comments:

Pedro Henríquez said...

New anti-smoking law is a topic which everyone is talking about lately. Everywhere you go, you can hear different opinions. There are smokers that agree with the law, and even there are no smokers who don’t agree with it.
The law bans smoking in every bars, discos and restaurants. Owners of these types of business say that the law will be bad for their business, but in Canary Islands it may damage tourism too.
I am not a smoker, however from my point of view, the new law is very strict. It is good to go to a bar or disco and leave them without smoke on your clothes neither inside your lungs. But people usually smoke when they are drinking. Why we have to ban that?. In my opinion, the law was well before. If you don’t like smoke but most of people in the bar do, you have to decide to enter or not, as if you don’t like the music in the bar. We can’t ban “raggaeton”, can we?

Anonymous said...

I agree with this law (anti-smoking law).
But, I have a question. If it is so harmful why not ban the use of additives (400) that the cigarettes have.
Answer: Money, money, money.

Siroco

Noel said...

I know that stop smoking is one of the most common resolutions, but this new law is horrible. what will happend with all the smokers and all the tobacco companies?
more unemployed people in a depression country

Baida said...

Baida --> I don't smoke so this law to benefit me. I can breathe clean air in restaurants or in discos but I understand people who suffer from this law.

Anonymous said...

In my opinion, this is a good ban because for many years the non-smoker people has been affected by the smoker's smoke and nobody care it. But, in other hand and according with one of the comments that has been written in the BBC article. There is one rule that I find amusing, is the prohibition of smoking in playgrounds.In theory, that would be OK if it weren't for the fact that adults who won't smoke in the playground so as not to damage their children, will do it at home, and who will supervise that?.
Sara Suárez

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with the new law because in my opinion it has made to improve our health. I know that law is terrible for restaurants but this is about health no hobbies.The following sentence is enough for me '160 Spaniards a day die from smoking-related illnesses, four of them from passive smoking'

Judit Guerra said...

I agree with this law and especially my lungs agree too. I like getting home without give off tobacco smell and with no red eyes.
On the other hand, I disagree with that every day restrictions increase in our country.

Carmen Hidalgo said...

Carmen Hidalgo said...

I agree with this anti-smoking law, because it is correct that exists smoker people very carefull with the children, ills, etc. and they put out their cigarrettes in some moments, but not all are so. However, I think after that bars and restaurants improved their locals by the 2006 anti-smoking law, they been able to choose if their local is by smoking or not-smoking

Verónica Rodríguez said...

On the one hand, I can understand that bars owners can be angry. It's probably they are going to loose a lot of money because smokers will go less to their businesses. And I know that smokers can be angry too.

However, people, who like me, don't smoke it's a good step. From now we have not to swallow somebody's smoke. I don't have to be a passive smoker.

maria said...

I'm a non-smoker and I'm aware of giving up smoking might be very difficult but, what happen with people who likes going to a place and don't go because of smoke? Is it fair?
On the other hand, what about tobacco industry?. I think there are lots of vested interests around this problem.
I agree with this law. Even so, I have to admit that it can be very tough for smoking people.

José Alberto Rivero said...

I absolutely agree, now I am going to restaurants that I had not have gone before with my family. And eating food and not smoke. Perhaps one hundred meters walk away from hospitals and schools is a bit hard.

Anonymous said...

OMG! What the hell is happening here today? Loads of people giving their oponion together! hehehehehe Good idea Pili: There's nothing like the homework to obtain a lot of people writing in the blog ;)
The new anti-smoking law? I completely agree with the new regulations. If you are old enough you´ll be able to remember when it was allowed to smoke almost everywhere... It was awful. I'm sorry about the smokers but in my opinion, most of them have been a little selfish and if they could continue smoking everywhere, I'm sure they'd do it again. Thanks to the law, we can enjoy a bar without smoke.
The article says: The bar owners have complained that the new legislation will lead to a massive loss of business... What do they mean? Are the people going to stay at home all the time because it's not allowed to smoke in a bar? So: the people aren't going to eat out any more... They must be joking. The article itself says: Spain has a strong cafe culture. I think finally pople will return to the bars.
BTW Pedro, I disagree with you when you say: If you don’t like smoke but most of people in the bar do, you have to decide to enter or not, as if you don’t like the music in the bar. It would be great in a perfect world. In a perfect world there would be more no smoking bars because there are more nonsmokers.
I could choose a bar where I didn't have to listen to music which I didn't like, but I couldn't choose a bar where the people didn't smoke: THERE WERE NO BARS WHERE IT WASN'T ALLOWED TO SMOKE. We live in a country where there are more nonsmokers than smokers, but it was really difficult to find a no smoking bar, wasn't it?
Alf

Cry1ng3v1l said...

Obviously there are two points of view about this topic.

I think that this is good for people that don't like smoking, because they don't have to deal with unpleasant situations like breathing the smoke from cigarrettes. Forbidding smoking is also healthy for most of the people.

But I also think about the people that actually like smoking. What about their freedom to do the things they like? And what about all the money that people invest in the tobacco industry?

There are many things to think about this topic and its consecuences...

Anabella said...

I agree with the law because before it, I couldn't choose between smoking or not smoking bars, because of in most bars smoke was allowed. However, I understand it annoys smokers but I like breathing in a bar while I have a drink. On the other hand, I don't think it leads to loss bar owner. In my opinion, it will suppose a change in the people habits. Although it will take time.

Anonymous said...

I completely agree with the new anti-smoking law.
There are smokers that don´t take children into consideration while they are smoking. because a few of them don´t want to change their behavior, I wish never and ever change this law.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely agree with the anti-smoking law. I believe that it was necessary not only to be unhealthy but also for the inconveniences that smokers cause to people who had decided not smoke. On the other hand, I can understand the situation for Bar and cafe owners, and their thoughts and feelings to fear because this law will adversely affect their businesses. furthermore, there are a lot of people who like smoking and they want to continue smoking... I ask myself, if they think that smoking is really bad for people, why do they allow to sell tobacco? Maybe be, they need the money that they earn with taxes... In my opinion, the goverment should allow to fit out smoking zones if they allow to sell of tobacco or prohibit to sell too...
Sorry for delay and mistakes (if I had :)...!!

Raquel

Miriam Ortega Alonso said...

I don’t smoke, so I am completely agree with this new anti-smoking law because when you go out to restaurants or even discos you breathe all this air produced by the cigarettes and you don’t have the fault, but it is like that. I say this because all the smokers don’t realize of this situation. However, I understand a little the anger of most of the owners of restaurants or bars because last year a lot of them divided their local into a smoking-room and a non smoking- room, so they spent a lot of money doing that. But, I corroborate that I am completely happy with this new law and it is the best law for now that the politicians have done.

Sorry for my mistakes!!

Pili said...

No smokers in the group who are agaist this law?
Personally, I was looking forward to this law, but if I were a smoker myself, I don't think I'd be happy, especially because it's one of the most restritive laws in Europe. I would have been happy enough if they had just banned smoking in enclosed public spaces.
I feel sorry for some smokers, above all those who live in mainland Spain, where it's rather cold at the moment.

Anonymous said...

Anti-smoking rule.

I am Spanish and I am non smoker. I agree with the new anti-smoking rules. I think it is a good law, because I am a passive smoker since I was a child. I don't forget when my teacher used to smoke into the class or doctors at hospital. Besides I don't like eating in restaurants and pubs with smokers near to me. On the other hand, most of people didn't know that to smoke was very dangerous and unhealthy.

Carmen Tomé

Anonymous said...

I think smoker people won´t be able to accept the Law because it is very unfear on them. Now, they seem delinquents. In my opinion, this new Law is extremely closed and it will have negative consequences in lots of business that waisted their money doing changes because the last Law allowed it.

Lidia Rodríguez

María Pilar Domínguez said...

I agree wiht new antitabac law because I don't smoke. I like going to the restaurant o coffee without smoke.However, I think this law is too much restrictive. The coffee's owner would chosen if they allow to smoke o not.

Arminda. said...

I don´t smoke and I really feel better when I go out and I´m in a disco and my clothes and hair doesn´t smell like a ashtray. However, is true that this law is very strict. Maybe the solution was more easy, for example only banned smoking in enclosed places.

Arminda Castellano.

Tania said...

I hate smoking and because of this I think that anti-smoking law is a good option to get that many people leave tobacco. Smokers have to realize that their health is very important and they shouldn´t harm others. With this law we can breathe clean air in close spaces.

Tania Yánez