The UK Government doesn’t want anyone to stop smoking…why would it?
Of the 80,000 UK people who die from smoking related illness each year the tragedy of this is offset over cigars in the Members’ Only clubs of Whitehall that every death is set against the annual boost in tax revenue that smoking gives our GDP through its 10.5 billion contribution.
They mourn the loss of a good customer of course but, like buses, recognise there’ll be one along in a minute. People like to smoke. Why fight it? In 200 years' time we'll all realise it's daft but by then they'll be doing something equally as crazy.
The point is that the UK government don’t want anyone to stop smoking but they are keen that people don’t die from it so they can continue to flood the coffers. This is why they set their tax funded pressure groups like ASH on us like attack dogs and use guerrilla tactics to grab our attention by hijacking things which are unrelated.
Yesterday two bits of news did the merry go round. The first was that cigarette packaging was due to vanish and drive sales under the counter and the second (lesser) issue was that it coincided with No Smoking Day (held? Yes you’ve guessed it on the Christian festival of Ash Wednesday).
The fact that Ash Wednesday has absolutely nothing to do with tobacco or smoking didn’t deter the PR gurus at the pressure groups paid to tell us what to do. I’m surprised they didn’t launch an obesity campaign on Pancake Tuesday the day before and outlaw Lurpak as a dangerous drug.
It wasn’t No Smoking Day in Newcastle on Wednesday. As I walked through the streets everyone seemed to be sucking one back and who can blame them? It’s £6.51 for a packet of 20 Woodbines in the Grainger Market and enough to make you want to start when you think about losing your job, your home, your pension, you name it.
As Paul Merton once said: “I’ve tried to start smoking I just haven’t got the willpower to start. I reckon I’m not smoking 200 a day.”
I don’t smoke but I’m considering it to help the country. Join me, let’s sort out the deficit by smoking ourselves silly. Just don’t die, it’s not good business.
In the short term this would work but the cost to the NHS would be enormous!
Posted by: Moonstone Soap | 03/15/2011 at 12:00 AM