Blackpool Liberal Democrats

Which is worse..............................................

A born again Christian or an ex-smoker?

From what I have heard born again Christians are often thought to be full of vim and vigour regarding their conversion and are also believed to be quite hot on converting others. I have come across these peeps and they always appear to be quite happy to say their piece and leave you in peace if you don't agree with them. An ex-smoker on the other hand, well………

I'll only be happy if smoking is banned

We should no longer tolerate the minority threatening the lives of the majority

"I used to be a smoker. The first thing I did when I woke up at 6am was to reach out of bed, grab a cigarette and light up. It was my start to the day, every day. I tried several times to give up, but only lasted a few months before going back. During one of the periods when I was off cigarettes, I went to the pub. Somebody bought a round, then someone passed round a packet of fags. I foolishly took one - I'd had a few drinks - and the next thing I was a smoker again.

That was about 30 years ago, and I finally managed to kick the habit soon after that, partly because I met a woman who didn't smoke. We married and had four children."

So says Duncan Bannatyne in The Guardian. Well done you, says me. I wish I could quit, but to be honest, I just enjoy it too much.

"The government also introduced the ban on smoking in public places, such as pubs and restaurants, which has made a big difference to public health, although they did wait until Scotland and Ireland had changed the law before following suit."

Has it Duncan, how do you know?. Because you choose to believe those dodgy statistics about a 40% drop in heart attacks that got pulled apart and proved to be false. (3.4% approx was the real figure, the same decline as the 3 years prior to the ban). You know, the statisistics that said more people were smoking more fags but the government decided that more peeps were dying less because of the smoking ban.

"Tomorrow, the House of Commons will see the third and final reading of the Health Bill. I believe MPs must support the clause that would ensure that cigarettes being sold in shops must be stored out of sight, though I'm puzzled and concerned as to why so many seem reluctant to back this move."

Er perhaps they thought the smoking ban was cool because it didn't actually affect Westminster but they have just realised that if this health bill goes through it will actually affect their ability to buy their fags. Perhaps some have twigged that the smoking ban was a waste of time and money as it actually increased smokers.

"Ending point-of-sale displays in this way is an excellent idea and necessary. Whether by accident or design, the primary colours used on both the outside of cigarette packets and the shelves they are kept on attract children. It's the same marketing technique that is used with confectionery."

Primary colours = Red, Yellow and Blue. I cannot think of a single brand of fags that have yellow packaging. So that leaves blue and red. Malboro, Mayfair and Richmond. In my experience most fags are packaged in silver, gold, white, black and green. It is illegal to sell fags to children. There are millions of cars that come in primary colours, does that mean every child will want to steal one?. Confectionery and Fags = sun and moon.

"Tobacco companies can't be trusted to make cigarette packets a colour that doesn't work in this way, so they should be put out of sight. This is very important because most smokers get hooked as teenagers - few start at 18 - so if we can stop children being addicted tobacco companies will soon run out of customers."

Kids smoke because their parents and/or friends do and because they are stupid and because they want to be cool and because they believe they are immortal. They don't start smoking because they popped to the corner shop for a packet of smarties and decided on impulse to settle for 20 Richmond instead. Did I miss something. I thought that teenagers were aged thirteen - nineteen, not thirteen - seventeen. Since when did eighteen years olds stop being defined as teenagers.

"The government's "de-normalisation" of tobacco is welcome, but it's taking too long. The Health Bill proposes to restrict cigarette-vending machines in pubs. But they should be banned altogether. Even smokers don't like them, because they typically give you only 16 cigarettes instead of a normal packet of 20 and cost £6, about £1 more than in the shops. And many pub landlords think the government's halfway-house proposals are unworkable because bar staff would have to check people's age ID before operating the machine by remote control."

Duncan, if the Government really were that concerned about the health of the nation they could just make smoking illegal. Why do you suppose they haven't? (something to do with duty?). Ha ha ha, yes most of us smokers hate vending machines because they are a rip off, but we don't want them banned, we will pay £6 for 16 rather than not be able to buy any at all. Duh. And many pub landlords now what the fuck they are talking about.

"In my view smokers who currently stand outside a pub or restaurant having a fag should have to stand at least several yards away from the front door, to save the 79% of us who don't smoke from breathing in their smoke when we go in or out. We should curtail the rights of the 21% and increase their responsibilities towards the 79%. In other words, we should stop them killing us and our children."

Duncan, I think all pubs and restaurants should allow smoking and those non-smokers that don't like it should be made to sit out in all weathers to eat their food and drink their beer. I think the rights of interferring shit spouters should be curtailed to 0 simply because they annoy everyone else in the world. 79% of people don't smoke. 21% do. 98% of both smokers and non-smokers don't give a flying monkeys chuff what other people do. If they don't like it, they avoid it. 2%, aka ***** like you, very much a minority, think you should be able to curtail the rights of other because you don't like them. (I didn't make those statistics up, they are an educated guess, when it comes to smoking, everyone else it doing it). I am 36 and I have smoked for 23 years, last time I looked I had killed nobody.

"Studies estimate that about 11,000 people a year die because of passive smoking. This isn't nanny statism, Big Brother, or wrongful interference in people's personal freedoms - it's the right thing to do to protect the health of the vast majority of us who don't smoke from the declining minority who do."

What studies?. Gestimate?. As far as I am aware there is no actual proof that passive smoking has killed anyone. This isn't nanny statism, Big Brother, or wrongful interference in people's personal freedoms - er yes it is, in ****ing spades, as it were.

"Smoking should be banned in cars, and particularly any vehicle with children in it. On a school visit I met a 12-year-boy who wanted to be an athlete who told me that every morning his mother lit up when she was driving to school, even though he'd begged her to stop. He should be able to report her to the police."

Wow. Now if I was this chap's mum and he really did want to be an athlete and if my smoking was holding him back the only thing I could do would be to quit let the whinging little ****tard walk to school. After all, he would be smoke free and getting a good deal of exercise in the process. As for reporting her to the police, Duncan, don't you think they are rather busy not dealing with rapists, murderers, peado's etc. Millions of children phoning 999 to grass their mum for having a quick fag may well, slightly **** up the entire non crime fighting abilities of the local plod.

"It should also be illegal to smoke at home in front of children. I accept that enforcing such a law would be difficult, but it would send a message that such behaviour is unacceptable. And shops should need a licence to sell cigarettes. They need a licence to sell alcohol, which is sometimes addictive and certainly harmful, just like tobacco, so why not? That would make shopkeepers less likely to sell fags to people under age."

Difficult, you reckon?, what you gonna do, plant a plod in every house or send one out to do a sniff test every time a child that has just been grounded phones 999 to pay the parents back?. As for a licence to sell fags, akin to the one for booze. That's been a real winner hasn't it. Nowadays no shop has been caught selling booze to underage drinkers, cos they got a license. Sigh.

"Some shopkeepers are genuinely afraid of a ban on tobacco displays. But that is because the tobacco industry have been up to their old tricks. They tried to convince pubs that the smoke-free law would drive them out of business so they would lobby against the law."

Yep, the tobacco industry tried to convince those pubs that the smoking ban would **** them right up. Sadly the pubs didn't listen. Shame on them.

"Now they are doing the same thing with shopkeepers. A retailer from the northeast recently went to Ireland to find out the truth and the shopkeepers he spoke to told him that now they had won their displays back from the tobacco companies who controlled them, they were free to promote products that allowed them to make a healthy profit."

Mummy falls 'off her legs*' laughing. Yep all you Irish shopkeepers 'won your displays back' from the companies that paid you shit loads of dosh to sell their stuff. Just like you fought two hundreds years to regain your independence from those that wanted to oppress you. Just like you bent over, grabbed your ankles and handed the KY to the EU and allowed them to **** your **** for 30 pieces of silver.

"Recently I spent some time in Mauritius; not the six-star hotel bit, but the parts where the poor people live where so many die of heart attacks because of smoking. The island's surgeon-general said that he wanted Mauritius to become the first totally no-smoking country in the world. I would like the UK to get there first."

So the poor people of Mauritius are dying in droves. Not because of the grinding poverty. They are dying because they smoke.

Tell you what Duncan Bannatyne, I have had many peeps knock on my door, trying to convert me to their beliefs. I have never punched any of them……yet……..Duncan………please………..ring my bell………so I can kick you right in the ******** and breath my passive smoking breath right in your face whilst you lie crying on the ground.

Thanks to: Mummylonglegs 2009 http://andtherewasmethinking.wordpress.com/