Is this right that you are allowed to include smoking into your I&E? Both my husband & I smoke but never included this on our expenses form because we didnt think we would be allowed, but apparently you can? Is this right?
I would like to think it wasnt allowed! I took great delight and comfort in smoking but I gave up to save money so I could put food on the table. After all you dont get a wine allowance!!
Back to square one but what dunt kill you makes you stronger!!
Smoking is fine and should be listed. Creditors cannot demand that clients stop smoking because it is not easy even if you want to. The IVAs would fail if people were disallowed any monies for smoking, after the clients had wasted huge sums of taxpayers' money on useless nicotine replacement therapy.
Alernatively, they could take the nicotine suppressant tablets that cause suicides which also would cause the IVAs to fail.
Like any allowance, it has to be within reason and clients may roll their own or cut down, but to try and force people to give up smoking would be wrong and self defeating.
As a smoker myself I am very defensive due to the treatment of smokers.
I actually agree that there should be an allowance for social activities and maybe for anti smokers we could give a 'WHINE' allowance.
Only kidding Fingerscrossed.
I didn't put my smoking down as I didn't think it was allowed. Can't really email my IP and say "oh by the way I smoke". Trouble is the more you stress the more you smoke. Well I do any way. What do you suggest Micael? Tell Ip at annual review?
I'd have to have the 'whine allowance' then Michael - the smoking ban was the best thing this government has done. Actually the only good thing!
Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of the people who want to ban smokers from having medical treatment and make them into complete lepers etc, but it's so lovely to go out and not come back smelling of smoke!
I just phoned Payplan, they tell me this is not the case, we are not allowed a budget for the fags! Ugh, I guess we too will be tossing up between dinner or a smoke then! I have to say, I do find Payplan a bit bla^ze with their answers, they are very polite and helpful but I feel as though they forget that people are worried about the little things. I only just found out that our IVA could run into 6years if there is no equity in the house. I will begin another thread about this though :-/
Marce. Inform your IP that you smoke as you should not have to choose between eating and smoking. To me it should come under medicinal as there is nothing more relaxing after a hard day than a nice smoke and it keeps me sane. Seriously though, there are allowances and tell your IP you did not know that it was allowed and you assumed you would have to cut back on housekeeping if you wanted to smoke.
LadyH. People are afraid to admit that they actually like to smoke because we have been dehumanised by successive attacks. The pubs are dead and buried with 8 a day shutting and tens of thousands of jobs lost but no one blames the smoking ban. I am guessing that if you were off cigarettes for 4 months you were either taking tablets or nicotine replacements which is why the smell made you feel sick.Don't feel guilty. Enjoy your cigarette and in 10 months time when you have made your last payment treat yourself to the biggest,fattest Havana cigar in the shop. You will have earned it and will enjoy it.
The real problem was if I was eating - I really object to people sitting at the next table smoking like chimneys, ruining my meal. To me it's common courtesy not to do that, smoking ban or not!
Also - and this is a genuine question - if you go out for a meal and smoke between courses, doesn't it ruin the taste of the food? I've often wondered, but none of my friends are smokers and I didn't feel it was the done thing to walk up to a stranger and ask!
going back to my earlier statement about payplan saying this is not allowed in the budget Micheal.. do Payplan have different rules to everybody else? As if life isnt stressful enough at the moment without having to give up smoking aswell. Ugh, it just gets worse & worse, I feel like my life is being dictated by a person on the end of the phone and we havent even had our IVA proposal drawn up yet!!
Skippy. It enhances the whole experience of eating. Look at the continentals. They spend four hours at lunch and have cigarettes between courses and take there time to enjoy every morsel. The British and Irish shove their food down their throats quickly because the waiters want to get someone else at the table and we diners then feel guilty.
As an aside I saw that a 71 year old convicted paedophile is being prescibed Viagra and the doctors refuse to take into account his criminal record yet these same doctors refuse to treat us smokers. That is how us smokers have become-lower than paedophiles!
Nikki. Tell Payplan that you smoke and you want your allowance or you will go elsewhere. Their job is to report and comment on your proposal and they have no right to tell you that you cannot smoke.
