An article I read some time ago stated that in Victorian times, piano legs were covered by a cloth to prevent a 'stirring in the loins' of a gentleman. I don't know if the gentlemen in Queen Victoria's era were so sex depraved that they made a bee-line for the nearest musical instrument that looked up for it, but to them the only way to keep the Steinway's keys from getting all sticky was to cover its legs in an out of sight, out of mind approach.
The Government seem to be taking the same approach to cigarettes with it's latest idea of banning shops from displaying cigarettes and moving them literally beneath the counter in an attempt to reduce smoking.
I was one of those rare breed of smokers that supported the smoking in pubs and public places ban introduced last year and i don't have a real problem with this idea although with the millions smokers rake in for the Government, i do wonder if the they actually want people to give up en mass.
If the Govt is that concerned about really doing something, then just ban it outright but there is a greater danger lurking in our newsagents and supermarkets.
With the new laws, smoking has become a much more self damaging habit with little impact on others and i have yet to hear of smoking causing any anti-social behaviour while you only have to look at any city centre or emergency ward on a weekend to see the effects alcohol has on the body so we should be getting alcohol underneath the counter as well.
Smoking is bad i agree and anything that makes it easier to stop or not start in the first place should be encouraged but i would rather be in the vicinity of someone who had just bought 20 cigarettes than someone who has just paid for 20 cans of Special Brew.
1 comment:
Although I'm not a smoker anymore (well, not a sober one anyway), I think this new plan is stupid, kneejerk, regressive, counter-productive, and all those other adjectives you reel out whenever the government implements measures they say are 'for our own good'.
Could the subtext of this move be any clearer? "Hey kids! There’s this stuff out there called nicotine. It’s so cool that they’re not even allowed to show it to you!"... it's literally under the counter (along with the guns and the heroin and all the other cool stuff).
And of course, now it won't even occur to smokers to ask for their regular pack of Benson & Hedges because, with the ciggies under the counter now, I guess they'll forget all about them... It's like their cravings won’t even exist!
Madness...
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