Derek Adams, Manchester

Smoking Ban

Members of Parliament have once again shown their utter contempt for the British public by voting for the draconian non-smoking bill. The consequences of this act will be to close many pubs and clubs which are already struggling to survive. In a free society, government has no right to interfere in such areas of our daily life. I am a non-smoker, I would even point out that I can’t stand the smell of tobacco smoke, However I am also a publican and I know that ninety per-cent of my regular drinkers also happen to smoke. This is probably the case in most working class areas as for some inexplicable reason smoking and drinking seem to go hand in hand. Speaking from a commercial point of view, if there really was a popular demand for non-smoking pubs then surely some wise investor would have opened a pub chain to cater for just such a market? The only group to have attempted such an experiment last year by banning smoking in all its pubs was forced to climb down after just two months when their establishments were left deserted!

Ulterior motives?

Just like other British institutions the Public house has been around for hundreds of years, so what gives these privileged dictators of Westminster the right to destroy such traditions in one foul swoop?

The pubs and working men’s clubs of Britain are the only places left where people meet socially to discuss current events and occurrences, they are the first places where any dissent with our governing elite is aired. So for a ruling cartel who want to destroy any opposition and to stop the public talking amongst themselves the obvious answer would be to close down these meeting places and believe me that is just what this smoking ban will do.

Lost revenue?

Many people would argue that if the above theory was correct then surely the government would lose revenue. This would not be the case as people would merely choose to visit one of the numerous Asian owned off licences. There they would stock up with their favourite tipple, twenty fags and go to their armchair in front of the TV. Once seated and with no one telling them they can’t smoke they would watch various anti-British propaganda offerings from the Bangladeshi Brainwashing Corporation.

In fact contrary to the view that revenue would be lost it would in fact be increased. The few publicans who try to survive and carry on trading will be harassed by council officials sneaking around their bars and waiting to issue a two thousand five hundred pound fine to any licensee unfortunate enough not to notice someone smoking in their pub.

Perfect result

From the governments point of view a perfect result! They have effectively closed down public houses by stealth. They have suffered no loss of revenue as the goods are merely being sold in a different place. They have quelled any dissent by effectively stopping people discussing daily events of interest and as a bonus they have us all sat in front of the most dangerous piece of brainwashing technology of our age, the TV.

This is the stark reality of the smoking ban, another British tradition will be lost forever and the public will just take it on the nose. If the government were sincere about wanting people to give up smoking then why not merely ban smoking totally? We all know the answer to that question, it is Money.

Twist in the tale

One other little point that should be noted is that our employees in Westminster, our sleazy little corrupt to the core politicians, our Stalins-in- waiting have made one or two exceptions to the ban. One of the places excluded from the smoking ban just happens to be the bars at the Palace of Westminster. (How very convenient).