Cigarette Breaks - The debate

[Mellotron]

"The only legitimate reason to take a 5-10 min break from work every 2-3 hours is to be a smoker".

Is this correct/fair? Shouldn't other habits/addictions be taken into account?

I'm not even giving my own position on this, I'm just genuinely curious to see what everyone thinks.

Debate away!

 

[Simster]

But the people you're asking to answer this are people who take a 5-10 min break from NSC every 2-3 hours to do some work!

 

[beorhthelm]

if govenrment really wanted to cut out smoking they'd issue advise to civil service and companies to cut this practice out. it would probably lead to people stopping smoking too. but they only ever pay lip service as we get so much money from tobacco, they dont really want to stop it.

cut out any religious breaks too, i cant drink in dubai, they cant pray 5 times a day here.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

One of my ex members of staff used to take lots of smoking breaks. That would be ok, but she tended to spend the rest of the time on the internet.

Moral of the story - Don't take the piss.

 

[pasty]

I offset my fag breaks against the fact I don't dump (unless an emergency) at work. There's people in my office spend far longer in the crapper than I do smoking.

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

Muslims have the rights for breaks a lot longer than five minutes to pray five times a day... Not to mention the countless other demands their religion imposes on the workplace...

Like?

 

[The Goon]

i take 10 minute shit breaks, so i don't see the problem?

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I am a non smoker but have nothing AGAINST smokers.

But they should NOT be allowed a break to satisfy their habbit.

If so then all alcoholics should be allowed a quick pint from time to time or a sex addict should be allowed to quickly go knock one out whb they have the URGE.

GOOD DEBATE

 

[The Goon]

Like?

don't turn this into a racial binfest!!

 

[Simon Morgan]

Certainly when working in restaurants in my experience. No fag break often meant no break (even in a 12 hour shift), so you had to be clever about it.

 

[Deleted User X18H]

People who take Fag breaks should be made to make the time up before or after work.
I often walk down Preston Road and they are all standing outside thier offices or huddled in the car park chomping on thier little white sticks of poison

 

[Insel affe]

I Start work at 8 0'clock and finish at 5 in a normal day, but we dont have a lunch hour or take breaks for being on the computer all day (which i think is against the law).........So i dont give a shit if they get upset if i nip out about 5 times during the day to have a quick cigar !!

 

[Mellotron]

I am a non smoker but have nothing AGAINST smokers.

But they should NOT be allowed a break to satisfy their habbit.

If so then all alcoholics should be allowed a quick pint from time to time or a sex addict should be allowed to quickly go knock one out whb they have the URGE.

GOOD DEBATE

You are the first person to get to the nub of the debate for me. Why are concessions allowed for smokers but not other addictions? Why is it seen as more socially acceptable?

If we can get another 5 or more people involved, it will be a MASS DEBA....I'll leave it.

 

[Scampi]

don't turn this into a racial binfest!!

To be fair, it's IT who's trying to do that.

 

[Benny Seagull]

if govenrment really wanted to cut out smoking they'd issue advise to civil service and companies to cut this practice out.

they already do. plus you can't work for the council and be expected to have ciggarette breaks (not in manchester anyway). i think in most businesses it's completely down to the discretion of managers. if your boss is a smoker, expect frequent breaks.

 

[Easy 10]

We have flexitime here. Smokers don't knock their 15 minutes a day off their hours for the accumulative occasions when they go down for a quick cancerpuff, so I don't time my arrival/departure to the nearest nanosecond on my flex sheet.

Had an hour and a quarter lunch today as well, being as I hadn't quite finished my 2nd pint.

 

[keaton]

don't turn this into a racial binfest!!

I don't think he started it

 

[The Goon]

I don't think he started it

i wasn't saying he did, well i was, but didn't mean that. Just by saying how? or why? he was encouraging a racial reply

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

What REALLY annoys me is when smokers talk about it as if it's their RIGHT, a bit like our lunch break.

Eg. when I walk up to someone with something URGENT and they reply "I'll do it after my fag break"

You GIT, do it NOW. It's the thing you get PAID for.

 

[Acker79]

I Start work at 8 0'clock and finish at 5 in a normal day, but we dont have a lunch hour or take breaks for being on the computer all day (which i think is against the law).........

For every six hours you work you should have a 20 minute break. In theory, you can legally do a 12 hour shift with just a twenty minute break in the middle.