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Scotland’s poor smokers

By Will 2 years ago, at the end of March Leave a comment on this post

Yes it kills you. Yep, it’s bloody expensive and lulls you into a fall sense of unbridled satisfaction. It smells, it lingers, it stains. But it’s our/their/your right. Pity Scotland and her happy smokers, for today marks the beginning of the end.

I know it’s wrong. In fact, me and a mate were accosted by an elderly drunked in the pub the on Friday who had, after 50 years of puffing, finally given up. Well done that man. I usually resent the preaching of recently-quit smokers, but his insistence was too pressing. Much of his ramblings were incomprehensible, no doubt fuelled by another equally wonderful poison, but he did make one useful observation: smoking is the biggest con around. It is. And we’re all the more pathetic for it. However ridiculous as it sounds - and I tell my brother this on an almost weekly basis - we enjoy it!

As I lit up another one, and supped on my beer in a remarkably cheap pub which does beer for £2.80, it got me thinking. 2006 will be the year I quit - it will - but nevertheless, I despise the nanny state and dictatorship we live in. Maybe the government are covering their arses for the eventual influx of law suits (”no one told me it would kill me!”) from society’s gluttonous creatures. Nevertheless, it makes me angry that someone in government can tell us - law-abiding, polite, hard-working tax-payers - not to smoke.

Oh, and by the way, the bars housed on the Thames in Parliament are exempt from the upcoming ban on smoking; those very same minions will happily puff on their cigarettes while the rest of us suffer in the stupifaction of better health and a nicotineless existence.

Yes it’s bad, but it’s also our choice. Meanwhile, Jacques Kallis has just hit his 24th hundred (vain attempt to make this rant related to cricket, which it clearly aint)

Apologies, shan’t rant about non-cricket matters here again.

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3 Responses to “Scotland’s poor smokers”

  • Sean wrote:
    March 26th, 2006 at 12.44 pm

    Ahh Will you come to your senses at last (trying not to be too sanctimonious). Delighted to hear that you’re going to be a non smoker; of course working for who I do, I’m bound to be biased.

    I have to say that I don’t buy into this choice smokescreen anymore; tobacco is the only (legal) substance that, when used exactly as directed, kills you, if it were suddenly discovered today it would be rated class A (an no Ali G, dat does not mean that dey is definitely better quality - google video search for “ali G dangerous drugs” and you’ll see what I mean - it is hilarious).

    What I am trying to day in my roundabout way is that I would expect my government to do something about rather than chastise them for taking away the choice. I watched the debate on England’s ban and, do you know what Will, the MP’s agree with you that smoking should be banned in Westminster palaces too.

    I’ll tell you what I’ll do - the next time I’m in London we can meet up for a beer in that not too expensive pub you mentioned and I’ll do a Smokerlyzer test on you after you’ve been tabbing it all day - then we’ll see if we can find a non smoker who has been in the smoky environment all day and do a passive smokerlyzer test on them. I’ll mail you shortly.

    Apologies also for an off cricket rant. But as you were speaking about Kallis, does anyone know how he can possibly be above Fred in the all rounders rankings?

  • Alan R wrote:
    March 26th, 2006 at 8.59 pm

    “Mind if I smoke?”
    “Why no, do you mind if I fart?”

    That’s Steve Martin’s 2-decade-old take on smoking.

    I’d add to what Sean said that tobacco, when used as directed, kills other people around you, too, including, in the long run, your children. For people like me who have allergies, it’s just plain unpleasant to be around.

    I think I might never have taken an interest in cricket if my serendipitous first visit to a test match hadn’t been in a venue (newly) designated smoke-free (the Adelaide Oval).

    And last summer when I watched the Ashes in the local English pub (the only public place place in Paris where it was on, as far as I know), there were times when I had to leave because my throat was getting sore and my nose was running from being around second-hand smoke.

    I don’t want to take away anyone’s rights or tell people in other countries what laws they should have, but I think it’s a bit selfish and shortsighted to see smoking simply as an issue of one’s right to poison oneself.

    Respect.

  • Will wrote:
    March 26th, 2006 at 9.56 pm

    Fair enough. There are 14 comments in moderation, none of which really can be published! Two-thirds disagree with me, which is a fair result. Clearly I’m provoking the masses, and apologies for doing so here on a cricket blog.


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