An Englishman's home is his castle

So the government is proposing a ban on smoking in a number of enclosed public spaces:

BBC News has learned the White Paper on Public Health will plan to make most enclosed public areas, including offices and factories, smoke-free.

Only private clubs, where members voted to allow smoking, and pubs which do not serve prepared food would be exempt.

Naturally, given that Scotland and Wales have their own national bodies for this kind of meddling, this will only apply to England and will allow those Scotish MP's sitting in the Westminster parliament who are very concerned with our health to reaffirm their principles by voting on what products we may and may not consume in our public houses. I'm sure they welcome the chance.

Personally I am in no way inclined to support the legislation. As far as I am concerned the proposition that public houses, restaurants and the like offer to potential customers is completely down to them. They are private businesses selling product to customers. If we don’t like what they have to offer then it is a simple consumer choice not to buy it. What the government is doing is influencing the proposition that these private firms can offer through draconian legislation.

"Yes, but what about the people who work in these places", your dinner party guest might ask of you, "they can’t really make the same choice as the public can they?" Well, they can obviously choose not to work there but this kind of dirty talk hardly ever goes down well with the kind of person whose vegetarian meal you have been forced to make in spite of the perfectly good Mexican chilli that sits on the table. You’ve made a hash of it, the yoghurt has curdled due to excessive heat and they are in no way inclined to forgive you.

"It’s not about the people who work there. People work at private members clubs and the government does not intend to ban smoking there. If anything these clubs, particularly the smoking clubs, are likely to have atmospheres thick with the stuff. I might add that a large percentage of MPs belong to such clubs and the cynic in me would suggest that this is the reason that they have not been included in the ban."

You may win some time with that one but the half starved fruitcake will eventually come back at you.

"Well, one step at a time. It will be banned everywhere soon enough. Thankfully."

Do not at this stage go over the ground you have already covered. Repeating your belief that a private business should be able to offer any legal product for sale to its customer base without the government interfering with the menu will not help.

You see, it’s not really just about smoking. If it were some progress might be possible and the dinner party might not descend into the last one that old cow ever comes to. It’s about different types of people with different values and principles. You might not have noticed but you and yoghurt girl have never really got on that well. She’s abrasive, she hates your 4x4, your good lady forbids you to bring up any number of your hobbies when she’s around and, frankly, she’s a bit of a trog. She thinks guns are evil but for one reason or another your wife won’t allow you to take the woman upstairs and lock her in your specially constructed ‘evil room’.

My advice to you is to wait until pudding has been finished and the after dinner mints come out and then light up a big one. Perhaps that cigar you have been saving for a special occasion. Sit back and watch as the rage builds and just imagine what must be going through the stick insects mind.

I wish someone would make him stop.

Not in my house baby. Not in my house.

Posted by John at November 16, 2004 07:51 AM | TrackBack