Wimp Nation and the Police State

What a shambles this country really is. Yesterday hundreds of thousands of pounds was wasted on a full scale anti-terror raid on a bus on the M6 motorway. It turns out somebody was smoking an artificial cigarette. Thank God it wasn't a real one or some macho, anti-terror robocop would have probably slotted the poor bastard. Full story here.

Sadly the more the state arms it's operatives, the more danger the rest of us are in. Personally I'd rather take my chances than have my head blown off in my local because somebody's having a sneaky fag in the bog.

The Police State

The police state manifests itself in all kinds of ways, some bigger some smaller. Yesterday we were in Lancaster and checked out a new bar and restaurant, the Dalton Rooms. There is a picture of the front of the building in the gallery on their website.

The way the police state manifests itself here is in front of the bar. There is a large covered terrace affair that is roped off from the street with tables and chairs in it. I thought it was a very civilised smoking area now poor old smokers are forced to huddle up outside pubs and bars in all weathers. But no, smoking is not allowed.

The sign on the wall in this terrace area makes it clear that it is not the bar owners or staff responsible, but the authorities. The sign informs customers that smoking is not allowed on the terrace only on the pavement outside the actual premises. So you can take a very short step onto the pavement for a smoke. Fine, but you will get nicked if you take your drink with you because drinking on the street is illegal.

So you need to straddle the rope, lean one way to take a drag on your cigarette, then lean the other way to have a slurp of your pint. Just shows how petty minded the authorities can be.

I wonder when they will ban class TV adverts like the following. After all, we need protecting from alcohol as well as nicotine!

Britain Has No Serious Problems

It seems that we have so few problems our politicians can waste time on this kind of thing:

Cigarette vending machines could soon be a thing of the past after MPs agreed to ban them.

The House of Lords will now consider whether there should be an outright ban on the machines, after an amendment to the Health Bill by Labour's Ian McCartney was passed by the Commons on Monday night.

MPs also voted to bar the display of cigarettes in shops, despite strong opposition to the Government's proposals from the Tories.

Former Cabinet minister Mr McCartney said the approval of his vending machines ban proposal "was going to change history".

Condemning the devices as an "outrageous loophole in our country's safeguards" to prevent thousands of children suffering illness and premature death, he protested that tobacco was still "the only product in Britain that can be sold legally, which routinely kills and injures its customers".

Mr McCartney's amendment was passed without a vote, and Health Secretary Andy Burnham said the Government would not oppose the measure in the Lords.

Anti-smoking campaigners welcomed the move. Deborah Arnott, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said: "Stopping tobacco sales from vending machines has made a strong Bill even stronger.

"We wouldn't tolerate other age-restricted products such as alcohol or knives being sold in this way. This prohibition means that a lethal and addictive product will no longer be easily accessible to children."

Harpal Kumar, Cancer Research UK's chief executive, added: "We are delighted that MPs have voted to protect young people from tobacco marketing. Putting tobacco out of sight in shops and removing cigarette vending machines will help reduce the number of young people taking up a lethal addiction: Tobacco kills half of all long term users."

The Tories expressed concern over proposals for a ban on the display of cigarettes, particularly during the recession when shops could suffer from a lack of business.

Interfering bunch of illiberal prats and complete plonkers!!