I read in the paper today that, for the first time in years, cigarettes will now be advertised on American television. Rather than the traditional paper and tobacco products, the cigarettes in question are the new electronic cigarettes or - more accurately - an electronic cylindrical device designed to deliver a dose of nicotine to the user when it is sucked.
Predictably the anti-smoking lobby are up in arms about this complaining that it's setting their cause back by years.
But is it? All the research I have seen suggests that these electronic cigarettes are relatively safe (albeit I have only seen it in the popular press so haven't been able to really puzzle through the source data with my scientist hat on). The main arguments that are being used against them is that a) they still deliver nicotine (which is true BUT nicotine can actually be quite beneficial in a multitude of biological processes and occurs in the body in a similar form) and b) that it encourages people to smoke... which it does but it encourages people away from traditional tobacco products and towards these new ones.
To be honest, I wish they would just bugger off. I am not a smoker nor do I find smoking particularly pleasant. I don't like the smell (especially if I've got a headache or am feeling sick), I hate the litter generated and the queues generated at supermarket kiosks when I'm trying to get out quickly are unbearable. That said, what I hate even more is an interfering nanny state trying to run my life for me. It is for this reason that I am also against the smoking ban in pubs and clubs.
Yes smoking is bad for people. Yes it causes disease. But, if people still want to smoke while well aware of the dangers then please, please piss off and let them. Politicians take note; you obviously think the electorate are clever enough to elect you. Well then, they are clever enough to make their own choices when it comes to their own smoking (and drinking) behaviour. We don't need you passing laws telling us what to do with every aspect of our lives. Where will it end? Will there come a day where we have to get a permit just to have a shag lest we pick up an STI or unplanned pregnancy. Or will we have to fill out a form in triplicate just to have a pint. Please guys, concentrate on fixing the economy and restoring law and order to our streets and let us have a few pleasures, however unwholesome, in our lives.
I know the anti-smoking lobby isn't directly related to government but it's symptomatic of the general nanny-state culture where anything regarded as not entirely desireable is pilloried out of existance.
These are our lives (and we only have one). Let us live them - or ban some genuinely objectionable things too. If you're looking for ideas then may I suggest; driving in the middle lane at 60mpg, vegetarianism and being so engrossed in your smartphone that you don't look before crossing the road.
That is all.
JR
Predictably the anti-smoking lobby are up in arms about this complaining that it's setting their cause back by years.
But is it? All the research I have seen suggests that these electronic cigarettes are relatively safe (albeit I have only seen it in the popular press so haven't been able to really puzzle through the source data with my scientist hat on). The main arguments that are being used against them is that a) they still deliver nicotine (which is true BUT nicotine can actually be quite beneficial in a multitude of biological processes and occurs in the body in a similar form) and b) that it encourages people to smoke... which it does but it encourages people away from traditional tobacco products and towards these new ones.
To be honest, I wish they would just bugger off. I am not a smoker nor do I find smoking particularly pleasant. I don't like the smell (especially if I've got a headache or am feeling sick), I hate the litter generated and the queues generated at supermarket kiosks when I'm trying to get out quickly are unbearable. That said, what I hate even more is an interfering nanny state trying to run my life for me. It is for this reason that I am also against the smoking ban in pubs and clubs.
Yes smoking is bad for people. Yes it causes disease. But, if people still want to smoke while well aware of the dangers then please, please piss off and let them. Politicians take note; you obviously think the electorate are clever enough to elect you. Well then, they are clever enough to make their own choices when it comes to their own smoking (and drinking) behaviour. We don't need you passing laws telling us what to do with every aspect of our lives. Where will it end? Will there come a day where we have to get a permit just to have a shag lest we pick up an STI or unplanned pregnancy. Or will we have to fill out a form in triplicate just to have a pint. Please guys, concentrate on fixing the economy and restoring law and order to our streets and let us have a few pleasures, however unwholesome, in our lives.
I know the anti-smoking lobby isn't directly related to government but it's symptomatic of the general nanny-state culture where anything regarded as not entirely desireable is pilloried out of existance.
These are our lives (and we only have one). Let us live them - or ban some genuinely objectionable things too. If you're looking for ideas then may I suggest; driving in the middle lane at 60mpg, vegetarianism and being so engrossed in your smartphone that you don't look before crossing the road.
That is all.
JR
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