Something for the Killjoys of This World!

Sunak comes immediately to mind!
Many thanks to Elis Cliffe on Pinterest for this priceless image!
I have nearly lost my life on three separate occasions. I am being serious. I have survived each misadventure and have fully recovered from everything. I can assure you that after such experiences, one has a very, very different take on the dangers of smoking. People who go on about the dangers of smoking come over to me as snowflakes. And as for people caring about secondhand smoke – what a joke! Don't make me laugh! I was once run over by an oncoming car, smashing the man's windscreen! Worrying about the dangers of smoking is rather pathetic by comparison with such an experience. People who worry about such trivialities need to get out a bit more; they need to start living! Even though I no longer smoke (though I could always decide to go back to smoking), smokers are very welcome on this website. They are not welcome in so many places these days, I know. But rest assured, you ARE welcome here. Very welcome, in fact. This website is a website for grown-ups. – © Mark Alexander

Make Smoking Cool Again! Especially with a Large Glass of Wine. | #shorts

The New Puritans are scraping fun from our lives! Katie Hopkins thinks these prudes should naff off (Katie’s vocabulary is rather more colourful!)
WARNING! Very strong language is used by Katie in this short!

Is Smoking Stylish Again? Experts Sound Alarm as Cigarettes Become a Trend on NYFW Runways

NEW YORK POST: This is a real drag.

Despite years of campaigning against big tobacco, it seems that cigarettes are reclaiming their chic status à la Kate Moss, appearing as accessories on New York Fashion Week runways in the wake of the “mob wife” aesthetic and an early aughts “indie sleaze” revival.

This week, multiple models meandered down the Christian Cowan catwalk with a cigarette teetering between their fingers in a collection depicting the elevated glamour of the rich housewife. Then, just days later, a model wearing a deep-cut power suit dangled a dart from her hand on LaQuan Smith’s runway, oozing corporate sex appeal with garments that doubled as both boardroom and club wear, an ode to “office sirens,”he said.

The Post reached out to reps for Cowan and Smith for comment as to why they included cigs on the runway but Retrofête’s creative director Ohad Seroya said cigarettes played a “big part” in his designs crafted for the “alpha woman.”

He debuted a collection at The Plaza Hotel last weekend, showcasing red hot power suits, slinky evening gowns and luxurious fur coats reminiscent of a chain-smoking, “Mad Men” persona — with one model in particular in a navy power suit adorned with wisps of smoke.

Seroya told The Post that the powerful woman theme was, in part, inspired by his “strong” mother, who was a smoker. And while the designer said he’s a former smoker, he made it clear that he did not support the habit, but rather, appreciated the human “connection” of a smoke break.

“When you come to somebody and [are] asking for a lighter and creating a conversation with you outside,” said Seroya. “And this is why I miss smoking.” » | Brooke Kato and Brooke Steinberg | Friday, February 16, 2024

Eat your heart out, Rishi! The habit you love to hate is making a comeback in stylish circles. Well, well! Who would have thought?

Neither you nor any other politician will ever manage to stop people smoking. The pleasure is far too great and the allure of a handsome gentleman/beautiful lady smoking a cigarette far too sexy to stamp out.

The prohibition of alcohol was tried in the States in years gone by; between 1920 and 1933, to be precise. But the Prohibition didn’t work out too well, did it? So the silly law had to be repealed. A prohibition on smoking will not work out very well either. Silly laws like that are tried by greenhorns in politics who understand little about human behaviour.

If you are wise, Mr Sunak, you’ll abandon the idea of an incremental smoking ban. It’s a dumb idea which is bound to fail. If you really want to help children in the UK in 2024, make sure their parents get enough money to put quality food on the table to be able to provide their children with the nutrition they need for healthy development (without having to go to food banks). Make sure they have access to well-qualified NHS dentists when their teeth need attention — most parents cannot afford private dentistry. Make sure they have quick access to good, well-qualified doctors when they are sick. And, very importantly, make sure that children have access to good schools. Education is key to social mobility. Most parents do not earn enough to send their children to top, private, élite schools, affordable only to the über-privileged few; instead, they have to rely on state provision for their children. Until relatively recently, they could.

These are the things which will help children grow up to be fine, upright and healthy citizens, not some authoritarian, idealistic, un-Conservative, undemocratic, unpoliceable smoking ban which will deny future generations the pleasure of smoking (if they so wish to take up the habit), and take their democratic rights away from them. Nevertheless, it will still enable them to indulge in all manner of dreadful substances which are far, far worse for their long-term health. – © Mark Alexander

Smoking Hot!

A photo to gladden Sunak’s heart!
With thanks to Dino Stefano on Pinterest for this photo.

Sunak’s Incremental Smoking Ban

It appals me that our king has joined our unelected prime minister in calling for an incremental smoking ban. However, it doesn’t surprise me, since as Prince of Wales, he had a history of involving himself in political affairs, even though we all know that our monarch is supposed to stay well out of politics.

Both our king and our prime minister are unelected. Therefore, they have no right whatsoever in a so-called democracy to make decisions on the people’s behalf.

The mere idea of banning smoking for adults — a habit which brings great pleasure to many adults even to this day — is undemocratic, autocratic, in fact, and, quite frankly, stupid. There are far more unhealthy habits than smoking cigarettes. Excessive sugar consumption springs quickly to mind, alcohol consumption, the smoking of marijuana and cannabis, and the use of ketamine, and increasingly, of cocaine. How many young people have a cocaine habit, I wonder? London is, in fact, said to be the cocaine capital of the world.

So, cigarette-smoking is the least of our concerns.

I would be the last person on earth to advocate smoking. However, I must admit, until nearly two years ago, I had a twenty-a-day habit, which brought me enormous pleasure. It also kept me slim and free of type-2 diabetes. Since quitting, I have gained weight quickly; and this worries me. Why? Because I know that my metabolism has slowed right down since I gave up. I am not gaining weight because I am eating more; rather, I am gaining weight because of my now slow metabolism.

You can talk of lung cancer, and lung cancer is a terrible thing. But the fact remains that only about 5 – 10% of HEAVY smokers contract it. Indeed, I recently read of an Israeli rabbi many years over a hundred who died of old age despite being an extremely heavy smoker. Like 60 cigarettes a day!

Please do not misconstrue my message: I neither advocate smoking nor condone it. However, I do defend the right of an adult to make his own choice without people in the Establishment interfering in their decisions. (By the way, I am not a republican. Far from it. However, interference like this could push me in that direction.)

The NHS argument holds no water. Smokers contribute approximately £10.5b in taxes, whereas they cost the NHS only £3.5b.

It should also be remembered that a person’s health is more than being about remaining cancer-free. One also wants to be free of Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease and type-2 diabetes. One also wishes to remain as slim as possible. Nobody wants to be obese. Smoking has a protective effect on all these maladies.

It is imperative that we look at the big picture; it is also imperative that we keep meddlesome people out of our decision-making process.

If you wish to ban anything, ban meddlesome people from interfering in the democratic process. Keep people’s right to choose. Ban interference from the Nanny State.

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

Oh God! Here we go again! When is the risk of type-2 diabetes reduced after quitting sugar? Or the risk of a car accident when you quit driving your car? Or the risk of liver disease after you quit drinking alcohol? Or the risk of an STD once you quit sexual contact with your partner, straight or gay? Unfortunately, life is for living; and we cannot get out of this life alive. All this preaching is oh so tiresome. For heaven's sake, live and let live! It behoves us all to live moderately; and to enjoy life, to get our kicks where and when we can. One of these fine days we will not wake up! We'll all be dead! – © Mark Alexander

”Smoking Is Good for You” | My! How Times and Narratives Change, and Not Always for the Better!

THE GUARDIAN – EXTRACT: Every week we read that something we believe is bad for us actually has beneficial health effects. This week it's coffee, before that it was pizza - and every other day it's red wine. But can these stories really be true? That depends how you interpret the facts. To demonstrate, Ian Sample 'scientifically proves' the benefits of a few risky pastimes

…

Talk to physicians and they'll tell you there are few things you can put in your mouth that are worse for you than a cigarette. But it's not all doom and gloom. Smokers are at least doing their bit to slow down the runaway obesity epidemic that is sweeping through the western world. "In many studies, you often find smokers are slimmer. We've certainly seen it in our studies," says Jodi Flaws at the University of Maryland school of medicine. "Some people think it's due to certain chemicals in cigarettes somehow making them burn more calories, but others believe it suppresses appetite. It may well be both."

Drastically upping your chances of cancer and heart disease might not be the best way to avoid obesity, but it's certainly easier than running round the block.

Scientists have also found evidence that smoking might, in some circumstances, help prevent the onset of various dementias. Many dementias go hand-in-hand with a loss of chemical receptors in the brain that just happen to be stimulated by nicotine. Smoking seems to bolster these receptors, and smokers have more of them. The theory is that smokers may then have more to lose before they start losing their minds. "It does seem that nicotine has a preventative effect, but the problem is that the other stuff in the cigarette tends to rot everything else," says Roger Bullock, a specialist in dementia and director of the Kingshill Research Centre in Swindon. So if your time is nearly up anyway, and you have somehow managed to steer a course past the Scylla and Charybdis of heart attacks and tumours, smoking might just help you retain your marbles.

…

Read the whole article here » | Ian Sample | Thursday, August 7, 2003

How Smoking Can Be Good for You! | #shorts

Nicotine is great for us!

Naughty and Nice; Sexy and Cool…

… a source of great pleasure with each and every draw!
Many thanks to Nona DeAnda on Pinterest for this delightful photo.

Cool Is as Cool Does

One young, manly, handsome, pensive gentleman! No piercings! No tattoos! Just a cigarette! No other adornments necessary!
Many thanks to Sohrab on Pinterest for this beautiful photograph.

France to Ban Smoking on All Beaches in Effort to Create ‘Tobacco-free Generation’

GUARDIAN EUROPE: Public parks, forests and areas near schools will also become smoke-free as part of nationwide move

Two small parts of the beaches in Cannes are cigarette-free, but its mayor questioned the government’s smoking ban. Photograph: Sébastien Nogier/EPA
France is to ban smoking on all beaches, as well as in public parks, forests and near schools, after Emmanuel Macron promised to create “the first tobacco-free generation” by 2032.

“From now on, no-smoking areas will be the norm,” said the health minister, Aurélien Rousseau.

There are already 7,200 tobacco-free areas in France – including in Nice, on the French Riviera, which was the first to establish a cigarette-free beach in 2012 with the approval of France’s League Against Cancer.

The government said that instead of smoke-free areas being decided by individual local authorities, central government would introduce a nationwide ban. “We are now shifting the responsibility and establishing a principle which will become the rule,” Rousseau said.

Taxes on cigarettes will be increased, with a pack of 20, now priced at about €11 (£9.50), rising to €12 by 2025 and €13 the following year. » | Angelique Chrisafis in Paris | Tuesday, November 28, 2023

It was bad enough that the Anglo-Saxon world was working overtime to kill off the concept of joie de vivre; now, Macron’s government is also hell-bent on taking la joie out of la vie too! Clearly, the end is nigh for freedom in the West. Maybe Macron should think of changing the motto Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité into just Égalité, Fraternité, because liberty in France is clearly being eroded.

I think that this is a very unwise move on Macron’s part at this time because this could help sweep Marine Le Pen to power at the next election. Populists are already gaining strength right across the Continent anyway. This will surely help populist parties become even stronger. – © Mark Alexander

France urged to accept the science on how to stop smoking: France’s Parliamentary Office for Scientific and Technological Assessment has concluded that a drastic change in approach is required to get cigarette smokers to stop smoking, A report prepared by members of both chambers of the French Parliament recommends a risk reduction approach that offers smokers the chance to switch to much less harmful electronic cigarettes, writes Political Editor Nick Powell. »

Tabagisme : « Il faut avancer sur la voie de la réduction des risques » : Alors que les politiques publiques semblent perdre en efficacité avec le temps, des spécialistes des addictions appellent, dans une tribune au « Monde », à tenter une nouvelle stratégie d’accompagnement des fumeurs. »

Being that France (and other Western countries) are on a banning spree... just as smoking can cause cancer, so can drinking alcohol. So, why not ban alcohol, too? Why stop at smoking? Ban all sources of pleasure! Don't waste any time: Ban the bloody lot! Why not?

Alcohol and its link to cancer »

Joint statement by WHO/Europe and IARC to the European Parliament – raising awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer »

Ireland signs law requiring cancer warnings on all alcoholic beverages: The Irish government says the measure — opposed by drinks industry chiefs worldwide but cleared by EU and WTO regulators — will come into force in May 2026. »

New Zealand’s New Government Says It Will Scrap Smoking Ban

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The law, celebrated as a model for other countries, would have eventually made tobacco illegal.

New Zealand’s new prime minister, Christopher Luxon, leads a government that is the country’s most right-wing in a generation. | Marty Melville/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
New Zealand’s new right-wing government has said it will repeal a law that would have gradually banned all cigarette sales in the country over the course of several decades.

The law, passed by a previous government led by Jacinda Ardern, a prime minister who became an international liberal icon, took effect this year and was celebrated as a potential model that other countries might someday follow. It would have gradually introduced changes in retail cigarette sales and licensing over several years until tobacco could eventually no longer be legally sold in New Zealand.

By Jan. 1, 2027, the law would have made it illegal to sell tobacco products like cigarettes, to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, according to the government. The law would then have gradually raised the smoking age, year by year, until it covered the entire population.

But last week, the new government said in published agreements between the three coalition partners that it would repeal the law, without explaining why.

The incoming finance minister, Nicola Willis, later told Radio New Zealand that the Ardern government’s plans to restrict sales of tobacco and reduce the amount of nicotine in cigarettes could have led to a “massive black market.” » | Mike Ives and Natasha Frost | Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Even though I am no longer a smoker, this is about the most welcome news I have heard in a long time. Why? Because it may signal the start of a return to common sense in matters related to smoking and the enjoyment of tobacco products. In recent years, one has been able to feel the ever-tightening grip of the health Nazis – they have been choking off all pleasures and enjoyment in life.

For very many people, a smoke is one of life’s daily pleasures. Indeed for some less fortunate people, it can be one of the few pleasures they can look forward to after a hard day’s work. What gives these do-gooding health Nazis the right to deny these people this simple pleasure?

If I were elected into high office, I would slash the taxes on cigarettes and tobacco asap. The enjoyment of a cigarette has been turned into a pleasure that only the privileged class can afford! In years gone by, a cigarette could be enjoyed by people in all classes and strata of society – from royalty right down to the coal miner, from the film star right down to the shop assistant.

The anti-smoking zealots go on and on about the carcinogens in cigarettes and tobacco. Yeh, yeh! We know all about it. So many of our products are actually carcinogenic, not just cigarettes. So are we going to ban those products, too? These health fanatics have harped on about the dangers of smoking for so long now, so how could we not know ALL about the dangers? What they are very sly and secretive about, though, is that there can be certain advantages to smoking cigarettes IN MODERATION. For example, smoking may have a protective effect against Parkinson’s disease. (Click here.) It may have a protective effect in Alzheimer’s disease, too. (Click here.) And that it helps ward off obesity is also well-known. In fact, in years gone by, many a lady would take up the smoking habit to stay slim! Being slim, in turn, helps ward off type-2 diabetes.

None of these facts mean that it is necessarily a good idea to smoke cigarettes. That is not what I am saying. But we need to get these things into perspective. Anyone reading a newspaper article on cigarette smoking would probably conclude that all cigarette smokers end up with lung cancer. But this is not the case. About 10% of HEAVY smokers contract lung cancer. Maybe up to 20%. (Click here.)

But it is interesting to note that in Japan, despite very high smoking rates, lung cancer rates are lower! This is known as the Japanese paradox. (Click here for further information.)

There are other health benefits too!

Do I advocate smoking? No! I certainly do not. But I certainly think that smoking a cigarette is preferable to snorting cocaine or being addicted to opioids, or any other substance. As always, the devil is in the dose.

But I am against the war that is being waged on smoking and smokers for political reasons, too. I am anti-Nanny State. I also am convinced that banning smoking in all public places and making all people paranoid about “second-hand smoke” leads to loneliness in society. People these days are afraid of their own shadows! Snowflakes all! – © Mark Alexander

Now Macron wants to get in on the anti-smoking act! But will the French tolerate being bossed around by the state?

New Zealand Smoking Ban Scrapped by Government in Shock Reversal - BBC News

Nov 27, 2023 | New Zealand's new government says it plans to scrap the nation's world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts, a reversal strongly criticised by health experts.

The legislation, introduced under the previous Jacinda Ardern-led government, would have banned cigarette sales next year to anyone born after 2008.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in New Zealand, and the policy had aimed to stop young generations from picking up the habit.


Some common sense on smoking from a government at last! This generational smoking ban was both draconian and undemocratic. It was a hare-brained idea from the very start.

I write as an ex-smoker. I gave up smoking successfully in April 2022. But even so, I am implacably opposed to banning cigarette smoking for future generations. This ban is a socialist-style policy. Boy! Don’t socialists like to interfere in people's private lives! Socialists and people like Rishi Sunak! We in the UK need a policy reversal on this stupid ban as well.

There are far worse things for young people to do than enjoy a smoke. Taking drugs, for example. Only last week, I posted a DW documentary on the problems that Germany is facing with cocaine use. (Click here to watch the hair-raising documentary.) Truly, if the worst a person does in this life twixt cradle and grave is enjoy a cigarette and a drink of alcohol, then I would say that he/she is doing pretty well. I really am sick and tired of this obsession with smoking and smokers and I am also sick and tired of the Nanny State poking its nose in people's private lives. Have people forgotten that it is healthy to have some pleasure from life? Who the hell wants to live forever anyway, and end up in an old people's home, ga-ga, and being fed by some nurse? There is such a thing as enjoying the journey of life. More power to the new New Zealand government which has had the courage to swim against the tide and overturn Jacinda Adern's stupid law. – © Mark Alexander

The left-wing press is having convulsions over this ban reversal:

New Zealand scraps world-first smoking ‘generation ban’ to fund tax cuts: Health experts say axing plan to block sales of tobacco products to next generation will cost thousands of lives »

New Zealand smoking ban: Health experts criticise new government's shock reversal: New Zealand's new government says it plans to scrap the nation's world-leading smoking ban to fund tax cuts. »

Smoking Is Sexy. Smoking Is Cool. Smoking Is Pleasurable. Cigarettes Are Not Cocaine.

Many thanks to Pinterest for this great photo of this handsome smoker.
STOP this war on smoking. Smoking is still one of the daily pleasures of life for so many people. And bring those taxes on tobacco and cigarettes down precipitously! A.S.A.P.

Smoking Pleasure

Rauchvergnügen / Le plaisir de fumer
With many thanks to Salvador on Pinterest for this great photo.

Smoking Is So Sexy. Vaping Will Never Be Able to Replace It.

Many thanks to Pinterest for this great photo of this handsome smoker.
So let’s make smoking cool again! Let’s help put an end to this stupid war on smoking, smokers and pleasure! Many of the politicians are on drugs. A cigarette is harmless by comparison. Fie on these politicians! They want to take the joy out of life. Sie wollen dem Leben die Freude nehmen! Ils veulent retirer la joie de la vie !

Loneliness a Problem? You’re Never Alone with a Cigarette!

Slash taxes on cigarettes! Relax laws on smoking in public places! Make smoking cool again!

With many thanks to iva for this delightful photo.

Well, Well, Well

With thanks to Crawford Smoker on Pinterest for this expressive photo.
READLY: SMOKING IS BACK. VEGAN RESTAURANTS ARE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE. FASHION MONTH WAS BOOZIER THAN EVER. AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE OF WELLNESS MANIA AND SELF-OPTIMISATION, A RAUCOUS ENERGY IS TAKING HOLD – AND IT’S ALL KINDS OF FUN

EXTRACT: After the pandemic’s years of enforced solitude, followed by a war in Europe and the cost-of-living crisis, a febrile atmosphere has taken hold. Microdosing might be here to stay (and is now a staple in suburban circles) but, more noticeably, the air is filled once more with good, old-fashioned cigarette smoke: Kate Moss, Malia Obama, Lily Rose Depp and even David Hockney – who supposedly set off the fire alarm at the opening of his latest exhibition with his smoking – are back on it. Vegan restaurants are struggling to survive, and brands are pulling their meat-free products as the vegan bubble that health enthusiasts once embraced bursts. Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow, the very beacon of wellness, can’t say anything about her ‘cleaner than thou’ lifestyle now without becoming an instant meme.

…

Read the rest here | Alexandra Jones | Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Send the Puritans packing! Send them scurrying into the hills for cover! Are you listening, Drakeford?

When I posted this a few days ago, I had no knowledge of this new trend. My antennae must be in tip-top condition; they must be well-maintained, I feel. N'est pas ?

Fun is back in fashion! Spaß ist wieder in der Mode! Le plaisir revient à la mode ! – © Mark Alexander

A Puffer’s Paradise: Smoke-friendly Japan

May 31, 2023 | Japan is known for its healthy diet and impressive life expectancy. But it is also a smoker’s paradise. Although the number of smokers has dropped by a third over the last 20 years, more than 17 million Japanese smoke regularly. They are easy to spot in Tokyo’s bars. …


Their relaxed attitude to enjoying a pull is probably conducive to their longevity. Plus, Japan appears not to have been invaded by the Puritans. Not yet, anyway; and hopefully, never.

It is interesting to note that according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lung cancer develops in around 10 to 20 per cent of all smokers. (MedicineNet) Listening to the health fanatics, however, one would be forgiven for concluding that a much higher percentage of smokers die from lung cancer. But happily, this is not the case.

We are living in dreadful times. People are not supposed to enjoy themselves anymore. These days, it seems that all pleasures are considered to be either unhealthy, sinful or forbidden by religion.

All we hear about is advice on how to stay healthy. Yet, ironically, populations of most countries have never been as unhealthy as they are today. So many people will die young, having led miserable lives either because of poverty or because of depriving themselves a few pleasures in life, in the vain hope that deprivation of these pleasures is conducive to living a longer life. And where and when their lives have been prolonged by just a few years, they can look forward to being shunted off to an old people’s home by their uncaring families, in order to stare at the ceiling and wait for their visa to the ‘Land of Milk and Honey’! I fear that they are in for a big disappointment!

Meantime, the insouciant Japanese cock a snook at the advice of so-called health specialists and continue to smoke as if there was no tomorrow. – © Mark Alexander

Tobacco Sales Ban: PM Accused of "Creeping Prohibition"

FOREST: Forest has accused prime minister Rishi Sunak of “creeping prohibition” and treating future generations of adults like children.

Responding to the announcement that the government will raise the age of sale of tobacco by one year every year, Simon Clark, director of the smokers’ rights group Forest, said:

“These are desperate measures by a desperate prime minister.

“Raising the age of sale of tobacco is creeping prohibition, but it won’t stop young people smoking because prohibition doesn't work. Anyone who wants to smoke will buy tobacco abroad or from illicit sources. » | Forest | Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Banning sale of cigarettes to future generations "obscene": Forest has reacted with anger to a report that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is 'considering introducing some of the world's toughest anti-smoking measures that would in effect ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes'. »

Ireland: Tobacco tax hike will "drive more smokers to the black market" »

Some Thoughts on Vaping

I recently wrote a short essay on smoking and drinking. In it, I pointed out that I had been smoke-free for a full year and a half. I also pointed out that I disagreed with vaping being touted as a healthier alternative to smoking, pointing out that we know far too little about the habit yet to be able to tell.

This sad article on the BBC website today about a young 12-year old girl with lung damage helps prove my point.

In my experience as a person qualified in education, I would say that it is irresponsible to encourage this habit, especially among the young. Our young have been encouraged to take up the vaping habit because of the unrelenting war on smoking, cigarettes and tobacco. I stand by my words: vaping should not be encouraged, at least not at this time and at least not until we have many more years of experience with it. Originally, vaping was put forward as a way to help smokers to quit. And for that purpose, vapes should have been made available only on prescription. But vaping is no longer simply a means of giving up smoking; it is now an alternative to smoking, a habit to which young people have quickly been drawn.

It goes without saying that smoking is an unhealthy habit. Therefore, I have no problem with our government or the medical profession educating people on the dangers of habit. But that is as far as it should go. Cigarettes should not be made so expensive that they become unaffordable for anyone except for the superrich. In doing that, it makes the pleasurable habit affordable only for the privileged few. Ironically, it also make the habit more attractive! After all, if everyone could drive a Bentley, they would soon lose their appeal.

Whenever governments get involved, they screw things up. Governments should adopt a hands-off approach, being satisfied that they are doing all they can to inform people of the dangers. It is precisely because governments have been meddling that we now face the huge problem of so many of our young people being addicted to e-cigarettes and vaping! Do-gooders rarely do good; usually, they achieve the opposite.

© Mark Alexander

All Rights Reserved

Philip Morris lobbying to stop WHO ‘attack’ on vapes and similar products: Exclusive: Leaked email shows firm behind Marlboro cigarettes critical of global ‘prohibitionist’ agenda »