The smoking ban came in this past Sunday in England. Hip hip hoorary…please note the dripping sarcasm. Mr Jenkins of Guardian fame has written an excellent op-ed piece on why the smoking ban was unneccesary and, guess what people, he isn’t a smoker. Well worth a read but if you don’t have the time please note my favourite snippets
The smoking ban was not necessary. There was no reason why an activity that causes individuals a mixture of pleasure and risk without necessarily harming others could not be left to communities and institutions to regulate for themselves. Why should a group of consenting adults wanting to smoke tobacco not be permitted to do so, if they can avoid impinging on the enjoyment of others?
I fail to see it as an advance of liberal civilisation when a man on his way home from office or factory cannot enjoy a cigarette with his beer in a private club that has agreed to his doing so. Likewise the government bans a London club man from enjoying a cigar in a formally designated smoking room. These people harm no one but themselves. They pay their taxes and are as entitled to healthcare as the obese or the reckless driver.