Chewing Gum Tax!

[vetteheadracer]

I thought this was a joke to do with Red Nose Day but apparently they are serious

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4286363.stm

[Incorrigible]

Class response

some bloke said:

As the UK is now so polluted with edifices commemorating the gross ignorance and lack of taste of our civic leaders, by which I refer to recent "architecture" and "Public Art", I hardly think a few blobs of chewing gum, fag ends, pavement pizzas or unconscious binge drinkers makes much of a difference. Contemporary political fashion has rendered the urban landscape uninhabitable to anyone who cares.

[z1000]

Doesn't seem unreasonable to me , when you look at the costs involved in the clean-up

[v8thunder]

Good. Can't stand it, finding chewing gum stuck to everything a member of the public might have to use. I prefer mints myself - they've got a much more simple 'disposal method'.

[falcemob]

Only a penny per packet tax, it should be a couple of quid per packet or better still ban the stuff altogether

[jimothy]

falcemob said:

Only a penny per packet tax, it should be a couple of quid per packet or better still ban the stuff altogether

Speaking as a gum chewer who throws away all his gum properly. Oy. Falcemob. No!

If people are seen spitting it on the ground they should be made to clean it up, there and then. After a few public humiliations hopefully the trend will be away from using the ground.

Not helped when bins are few and far between. They complain about chewing gum on the underground but don't have any bins to put it in.

[dnb]

At least they didn't ban it like Singapore (IIRC) did a few years ago...

[dilbert]

It's sad.

This a tax I don't have to pay. So I don't mind. Wouldn't you have thought that the powers that be might have something better to worry about.

Next thing you know they'll be employing people to clean and polish the insides of dustcarts.

[cotty]

jimothy said:

They complain about chewing gum on the underground but don't have any bins to put it in.

they are worried people would put bombs in them

[coco h]

it's shame you can't swallow the stuff - that would solve the problem

[DanBoy]

Don't really care for gum most of the time, but when I was completely stuffed up with a cold, that Wrigleys Air Waves stuff was great!

[rdhawkins]

coco h said:

it's shame you can't swallow the stuff - that would solve the problem

I do sometimes shouldn't I be?

[Pigeon]

coco h said:

it's shame you can't swallow the stuff - that would solve the problem

You can swallow it. It's just that people are indoctrinated from an early age with rubbish about it gumming your insides up or some such bollox.

[esselte]

Pigeon said:

coco h said: it's shame you can't swallow the stuff - that would solve the problem You can swallow it. It's just that people are indoctrinated from an early age with rubbish about it gumming your insides up or some such bollox.

It gums up your bollox?

[Don Veloci]

Pigeon said:

coco h said: it's shame you can't swallow the stuff - that would solve the problem You can swallow it. It's just that people are indoctrinated from an early age with rubbish about it gumming your insides up or some such bollox.

Aye, I remember been told that but I swallow the stuff quite often when a conveniet method of disposal is not available and I ain't dead yet.

[tycho]

cotty said:

jimothy said: They complain about chewing gum on the underground but don't have any bins to put it in. they are worried people would put bombs in them

They could put "Gum Boards" up. A piece of plywood 3ft sq which people just put their gum on when finished.

You could then come back on the way home, find your piece and use it again!


This is what I sent in:

"A tax isn't a solution to the problem. We should ban gum! There are other alternatives like mints, and in any event I'm sure gum manufacturer's would soon find an alternative if they were forced to!
Phil, Cardiff, Wales

What a pathetic attitude to have. If I don't like it then it should be banned! Where does this stop? This governments solution to all problems is to decide: "Can we get more money out of the public by taxing it? If not then we'll ban it." Kids should be educated from a young age to put litter in bins, cross the street correctly and respect their elders and peers. If this was done, the country would be a much better place than people getting banned and fined for everything that some people don't like."

[hornet]

I don't like the concept of taxing anything that moves (and plenty that doesn't), but chewing gum is a real problem. Watford Council have spent a fortune getting rid of the stuff, yet within a week or two there's a new layer coating every pavement in town. It's pure laziness. The "there's nowhere to get rid of it!" excuse is just another in the long line of "let's blame someone else" answers. If you know you'll have trouble disposing of the stuff, either a) don't chew it to start with or b) have something on you to discard your gum in. Same goes for fag ends.

[dilbert]

I'd personally be happy if the local refuse people would take my ordinary rubbish away.

They're obviously too busy scraping up gum!

[yertis]

People who chew gum look as intelligent as camels.

[randtis]

It should have been taxed a long time ago IMO, its a complete eyesore. And whilst we are taxing things, how about McDonalds being taxed to get some of that rubbsih removed from road verges.