Friday, September 12, 2008

Smoking, not smoking, let's call the whole thing off.

I was away most of yesterday, driving and listening to the radio for company. I had been listening to Newstalk-as I am wont to do- but for some reason (Tom Dunne) I decided to listen to some music instead so I changed channel and put on Spin.
Within seconds I was busily frothing at the mouth, shaking my head furiously and using expletives that would have made a sailor blanch.
What caused such apoplexy?
Why this...
"My dream is that one day we could eventually put all tobacco products on 'prescription only' and have all nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) free of charge (cf. prescriptions for methadone replacement therapy for heroin addicts).Why not? It would also prevent a new generation becoming hooked while we do everything to help today's tobacco addicts," said Avril Doyle

Avril Doyle for anyone interested is a Fine Gael MEP, and as you can probably guess an anti- tobacco lobbyist. She was waffling on about this some time back in July when she had revealed her dream of making Europe pretty much smoke free by 2025, you can read that little wish upon a dream here.

I'm no smoker, I used to smoke and gave up almost 6 years ago. I don't like smoking, I don't miss it. These days I think it's pretty disgusting and a complete waste of anyone's money. But I also think it's none of my goddamned business if a person wants to smoke themselves into a cloud of grey. It's none of Avril Doyle's business either. Smoking is not illegal. Expensive, unhealthy and a great tax creator sure, but not illegal. People smoke, making it more difficult for them to do so does not make people NOT smoke.
This chaps my bloody hide completely. I used the 'bloody nanny state' line on Twenty's the other day when it was decreed that alcohol ought to have warnings that is isn't the greatest idea ever to drink while pregnant. Diagio are forever warning us to 'drink sensibly'. I'm still fuming that off licenses now close at 10 pm to save the hard drinking children- won't somebody think of the children!!!??
This might seem churlish, but I really don't get it. How can anyone not react to things like this, where is the line drawn? Everyone already knows tobacco is bad for you. Everyone knows drinking to excess is bad for you. Everyone knows driving without a seat belt might end badly should you and your car suddenly meet an immovable force. Everyone already knows kids prefer junk over cabbage, everybody knows large engines use more fuel, everybody knows eating crisps and white bread is not brilliant ( this is in reference to something I heard the other day where one secondary school has actually BANNED crisps and white bread from the school- oh the humanity!) Everyone knows some doggies might bite, lets restrict them! Quick, let's make a law that everyone on bikes MUST wear helmets, make it mandatory!!!!!!!!!! Quick, QUICK. Write a law. Fine them, corral them, rubber stamp them.
No, let's not. Let's just bloody well stop for a second, let's assume adults are people too and can decide for themselves how to behave with regards to their own personage, let's go WAYYY out on a limb here and afford people some fucking liberties. Even if those liberties lead them to do silly things. Let's keep our big beak out of people's private lives as much as possible. Let people live for god's sake. You can't sanitize life- as much as you might like too. If people want to smoke let them puff themselves senseless, let them drink insensibly, let them be merry, let them alone.

More cock-a-mammie rules 'for our own good' -I"m against them.

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24 Comments:

Blogger Cycles Goff said...

For which ailment will the doctors be prescribing cigarettes?

Fragrant breath? Excessively efficient respiratory function? Terminal lack of cool?

9:02 a.m.  
Blogger JL Pagano said...

So, basically what you're saying is, banning things should be banned. ;-)

9:12 a.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

Gimmie can you imagine, 'Doctor, I;'e got a really busy stressful week next week, please man, you've got to up my 'script' just for one week.'
Or, ' I'm not coughing much, got anything for that?'

JL, fuck no, I'm for blunderbussing.

9:26 a.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Right on FMC!

By all means, feel free to warn me, inform me, advise me (bend me, shape me, any way you want me) what things are bad for my health... but let me make my own decisions.

Between this, the new licensing laws and the sodding green party's whimsical initiatives we will soon be like the drones in "Brave New World".

SOMA... yumm!

9:40 a.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

Damn straight BA, inform fine, demand I comply? NO, a thousand times no.

9:44 a.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Maybe Ms Avril Doyle would be happier living in North Korea - someone should treat her to a one way ticket.

10:36 a.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

With ol' Kim keeling over she'd be a shoo in.

10:43 a.m.  
Blogger Around My Kitchen Table said...

Can't someone sack Nanny State and replace her with Common Sense? As my grandad was always saying: "Everyone should be allowed to go to hell in their own way."

11:14 a.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What?!
Smoking is bad for your health?
Why wasn't I informed? They should at least put out a massive advertising campaign on papers, TV, billboards, posters etc. Maybe stop advertising tobacco products on TV and put warnings on ciggarette packets about the dangers of smoking. Maybe they could put the price of ciggys up to extorionate levels to really hammer the message home...

11:59 a.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I wonder how much smoking related diseases cost the state/tax-payers? Could be asked about a lot of vices but at least with most there's some element of fun to be had in doing damage to your body and using up the health services resources, smokings just shit.

I hate the Nanny state but if they banned smoking I'd support it.

12:39 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I’m with Russell here. If it walks, looks and sounds like a duck, it’s probably a duck. It’s a good idea. Smoking is shit for everyone. It’s addictive, dam it.

But Avril Doyle, isn’t she the apologist for our phoney on the pony at Beijing?

2:04 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"I hate the Nanny state but if they banned smoking I'd support it"
Any sense of irony in that statement at all russell?

I'm not too sure how many restrictions I'd be comfortable with in the way I choose to live my life. Surely the demon hooch is bad for us too. No more friday night kebabs? Its a slippery slope when the state interferes in civil liberties.

2:35 p.m.  
Blogger Glinda the good witch said...

Got to go with Russel and Sniffle on this one.
Nanny state... Well in fairness to the state it does have to look after the bigger picture - you know, trying to provide healthcare, and the best interests of its citizens and so forth. I am also an ex smoker by the way. I have the unenviable task of working in the shambles that is the Irish healthcare system. There are no upsides to smoking. Like there are no upsides to homicidal mania or pedophilia. Sure it make the smoker/maniac/pedo feel good for a few minutes - but I'd outlaw them all. Thankfully homicide and pedophilia are already outlawed....

*Runs off, ducking heavy objects and accusations of disingenuousness*

3:57 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bit of a rough comparison there glinda, comparing smokers to pedos...

Like I said, what if the gov closed down all kebab houses, chippys and pubs in Ireland? That would be in "the best interests of its citizens", would it not?

4:04 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It feels like something's wrong.... as if something is... I dunno... missing?

Can't quite place it.

I'm seeing a man in a white suit with a white fedora. He's nodding and saying "yes". He seems happy about something. It looks like he is confirming that some fruit meet his required standards. He is surrounded by piles and piles of citrus fruits - but strangely there are no lemons or limes? Just oran...

THE GINGER!

THE GINGER IS MISSING!

4:30 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh dear, I just did a lol. sorry.

4:32 p.m.  
Blogger Rob said...

We were discussing "Nanny-Statism" predictably enough, outside the pub, having a smoke a few weeks back.

We agreed that the only people who obey the new laws, are the same shower of down-trodden bastards (us) that already obeyed the old ones.

I have not seen any reduction in smoking / drinking of late among our teens. We are too concerned about the appearance of doing something, than actually doing anything.

Linking back to an earlier post of yours FMC, we have a breastcheck system in place and they all pat themselves on the back for being so good to the nation's tits, but they never actually checked if the locum / scapegoat can interpret the results.

But we have a shiny pr initiaive, sorry screening program, so who gives a shit?

5:02 p.m.  
Blogger Glinda the good witch said...

@ sheepworrier:
sure its a rough comparison. As for kebabs and hooch - yes the demon drink is poison for some - most can handle it. Kebabs? Really very little damage to health from the odd kebab - also not a substance of abuse. Fags? Bad for all, bad for kids, babies in utero, grown ups. Cause chronic lung disease, cancers (not just lung,but oral, colon, pancreas yadda yadda yadda), heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, stroke, intrauterine growth retardation, venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, not to mention bad breath, yellow fingers, smelly clothes and stress when you can't have a smoke.... Kebabs? Pshaw, I laugh at your kebabs... ;-)

6:27 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry to be off topic, msg from Aisling : buy the paper tomorrow.

6:39 p.m.  
Blogger fatmammycat said...

Farking kickboxing nearly killed me. Look, smoking, bad, nobody thinks it's anything but. HOWEVER smokers pay a ton of tax if I'm not mistaken, every time thy buy their cancer sticks. And what's next?? Crack squads breaking down the door every time some old duffer lights up a Sweet Afton? Bollocks to that. If you want to smoke, smoke, if you don't don't. Easy peasy. Make it illegal, flood the market with more shit for dealers to get rich off.

Granny mar, which sodding paper? Oh I'm so cranky. And now I've to go out for dinner, gah. No ones getting any ginger neither. It's NOT a ginger day.

7:03 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What if it smokes like a duck?

10:14 p.m.  
Blogger Megan McGurk said...

Happy Ginger Day, FMC.
I will toast your dear Carrot Top with a yummy glass of wine shortly. Oh, and I picked up your suggestion to Andraste to check out "Black Books" and was up far too late last night laughing.
Cheers!

10:29 p.m.  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Been around for quite a while. Fads and fashions have come in and out. Came to the conclusion that you are wisest to observe and make up your own mind. Life is a fatal disease and there are many ways to hasten or delay the inevitable process. It's important to enjoy the journey. Smoking cigarettes (in moderation) can sometimes help. Not many people will tell you that

12:24 p.m.  
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2:44 p.m.  

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