smoking

Today the ban on smoking in public places in England comes into force, a ban designed purely to increase the stigma against people for whom their drug of choice happens to be tabaco. It is not to do with the risks of passive smoking because the risks of passive smoking are statistically insignificant.

The real reason for the ban was the government wanted to increase the stigma so as to get more current smokers to quit, the health risks of smoking are well known and significant (to try and prevent them having to have expensive cancer treatment on the NHS). I don't smoke but I don't support the ban either because the desision to smoke or not is not the governments descision to make. Taking these risks should be the descision of the people themselves. It is their body, not the state's, that they are risking. I don't like the smell of smoke so I simply used to take my money to were I don't have to smell it, either because they have invested in good ventilation or had decided to not allow smoking. That any individual landlord can decide wheyther to or not to allow smoking was up to them. The market provided places for people that liked smoke and people that did not, so allowing for everybodies needs in there glorious diversity.