Not specifically a Swiss problem but something that gets on my nerves nonetheless.
I take my 1 year old to the local park and of course he is learning to walk and likes to pick things up. It is a real nightmare when people leave cigarette butts all over the place - especially near the swings and the other children's play areas. Should there be a smoking ban in public parks I wonder?
And the other one is when people waiting for a tram cast their half smoked fag into the gutter when the tram arrives - and of course exhale their last puff of smoke while inside the tram.
Should stiffer penalties for such transgressions be introduced?
i once saw someone jaywalk in front of a lady and her son (maybe 5 years old) and he was promptly lectured about how he was setting a bad example for her son. now, besides looking out for cars, i look out for young people (and moms!), before jaywalking.
when in Rome, do what the romans do? i do mean telling people what not...nicely, and in the absence of sharp objects...
between a society that self-regulates and a policed society, i'd pick the former.
At the moment there is no ban as far as i know of in public parks, all i can say is when i used to smoke (that ones for you peachy ) and take my kiddies to the park i NEVER smoked near the children on the park, and NEVER left my cigarette ends on the floor, i always put them out, and put them back in my cigarette packet so no child could pick them up.
How about just better enforcement of anti-littering laws? Switzerland is not as litter free as, say, Singapore. (Cig butts are litter, but I don't know why folk think it's 'OK' to throw them on the road, gutter, beach or sidewalk.)
Have you been to England lately? Outside every pub & restaurant there are always groups of people puffing away and of course there are hundreds of cigarette butts left. It is so horrid and yes,I have seen toddlers try to pick them up.
[quote=smackerjack;251058]Have you been to England lately? Outside every pub & restaurant there are always groups of people puffing away and of course there are hundreds of cigarette butts left. It is so horrid and yes,I have seen toddlers try to pick them up. [/quote,
What as a pub got to do with a playground please, the op as a child, and is not taking her child to a pub, but a playground
Oh, I am deliriously happy that there is finally a smoking thread where I can discuss my angst. Oh wait, there are about 17 more.
Switzerland is the most pristine country, with the highest level of cleanliness I have seen. I am also under the impression that smoking in parks is legal in most countries?
I do like that you think that Switzerland needs to introduce more fines and rules, as clearly it is not stiff enough already.
Actually, whilst we are there, I have a gripe.
There are times when I am wanting some quiet time, so I take my book to a park and the lake. And there are children everywhere.
Should stiffer penalties for transgressions such as excessive crying of children be introduced?
Playgrounds and the street outside pubs are public areas where children may be. Since the smoking ban, the areas outside many pubs in England have become disgusting with hundreds of dumped cigarette ends on the pavements. Sometimes they may be stubbed out in plant pots or left in a bucket on the pavement.
You don't have to be going into the pub to experience this, just walking along the street.
Smoking should definately be banned in the area around childrens play areas in public parks, that's just common sense. There should be an 80 chf fine for people not taking cigarette butts with them in parks and ski resorts.
I think it should be banned in tram stops too, larger stops and open train platforms should have a desgnated smoking area, not enclosed but just a section of the platform where it is understood people will smoke. Everybody gains from this, and makes the cleanup easier. There should be an 80chf fine for throwing cigarette butts on the railway line.
The parks are normally cleaned early morning btw, the thing that scares me are the amount of needles left in the bushes, that is seriously horrid.
Natasha, I'm with you to a degree on the kids thing, what do you proprose as a compromise?
The bins are a good, but unworkable idea. How far apart would they be spaced? A much better idea I think is to give us social lepers portable ashtrays. We were in Spain last year and they were available all over the place, a small, heatproof, fireproof pouch that you could put your butts into. The idea there was to keep the beach clean. These things were sponsored by the local shops but if they were available here, I would buy one.
Unfortunately children aren't equipped with an "on-off" switch. Where there are children, there is bound to be noise. I find the most intolerant people to be ones who have never had children, and ones who are much older and forget they ever had children.
The problem is simply that there are often no options for the disposal of butts. For example, you are standing at a random tram stop, smoking a fag, the tram comes. What to do with the cigarette butt when there is no ashtray in sight? On the ground it goes most of the time. I personally don't smoke (anymore, despite a slight relapse), but what I would do with the butts is rub it on the bottom of my shoe to put it out and dispose of it.
Gum is also a pet peeve of mine, walked into a nice fresh piece of strawberry gum yesterday and ended up with it on my shoes as well as the back of my jean's leg. Nice.
Getting back to the OP: people with brains shouldn't smoke near children, and if they must, should seek proper disposal of the butts. I can only imagine how sick that could make a small child, or anyone for that matter.
Same goes for cigarette butts on the beach. Hate that! You don't throw paper and garbage on the beach, what makes people feel they can throw there cigarette butts everywhere! It is discusting to have you towel over a cigarette butt - smells horrible!
What I like here in CH is the portable ash-trays they have in all the public pools. The handy, portable ash-trays as mentioned by Zug Bound above should be mandatory at all beaches if you ask me.
Just to clarify what I was describing (badly it seems) the little ashtray cum fag end holder was about the size of a coin purse, not one of those pots on a stick that you get at the outdoor swimming pools. I wished that I had kept it - I rather stupidly left it in our hire car