...but it should not be criminal offence to smoke.
I know all about smoking. It is bad for you and it is bad for others who have to put up with second-hand foul air. It is a habit that became very popular after the first World War and was deemed socially acceptable right up to the seventies. The figures that show cancer and emphysema fatalities from smoking are not disputed. They are fact and the healthy eighties and nineties saw a downward trend in smoking to levels where only 25% of Brits , 25% of South Africans,18% of Americans and 16% of Australians smoked in 2005. (note: these figures were based on estimations of tobacco consumption and are probably slightly lower now).
The problem about smoking (for me), is that tobacco companies still continue to advertise (albeit in a more limited fashion), that they still provide employment for thousands of employees,and, their products are still freely available.
Now, I, a person with a sense of logical thought and a penchant for wanting 2 + 2 to equal 4 , want to know why cigarettes are not banned entirely. I mean it would prevent incidents like those this week in Britain where a pub smoker was locked up and Charles Kennedy (former libdem leader), was cautioned for smoking on a train. Is a smoker such a criminal that he should be locked up? It's the law you'll say. I'll tell you why the law is an ass (UK speak), a dumb ass (USA speak):
3 weeks ago I stood in the queue at passport control at Heathrow. The lady in front of me was having her passport checked. At the risk of boring you, the conversation went like this:
Passport officer: " What is your destination?"
Lady: "Jamaica."
Passport officer: " You arrived from Jamaica in 2001 and were given a six month visa to stay in the UK. It is now 2007. Can you account for that?"
Lady: "I must have overstayed. I didn't notice the expiry date. I'm sorry."
Passport officer: " OK, let's go and check this out."
Sheesh--and they want to lock up smokers?
My message to Britain is this: You cannot control your borders but you want to lock up smokers. Where are you're priorities? No wonder there are thousands of illegal immigrants in Britain. I shake my head.