The Scottish Government's plan to make Scotland "smoke-free" is meaningless unless backed by Government measures to forcibly restrict the sale and consumption of tobacco (The last gasp, Cover story, November 25).
The Scottish Government's plan to make Scotland \"smoke-free\" is meaningless unless backed by Government measures to forcibly restrict the sale and consumption of tobacco (The last gasp, Cover story, November 25).
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This is part of a trend for the state to clamp down on all sorts of lifestyle choices, including drinking alcohol, eating fatty and sugary foods, using sunbeds and so on.
In moral terms, what business of Government is it to order the free choices of responsible adults? When politicians set themselves up as the arbiters of people's private lives, it opens the door to all sorts of unwarranted meddling. Anti-smoking campaigns to "denormalise" smokers are sinister. Health lobbyists are now aiming for a ban on smoking in private cars, supposedly to protect children. What next? A ban in the home? Are we to be punished for feeding our kids pizza?
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Beat deprivation to tackle smoking
The Scottish Government's plan to make Scotland "smoke-free" is meaningless unless backed by Government measures to forcibly restrict the sale and consumption of tobacco (The last gasp, Cover story, November 25).
This is part of a trend for the state to clamp down on all sorts of lifestyle choices, including drinking alcohol, eating fatty and sugary foods, using sunbeds and so on.
In moral terms, what business of Government is it to order the free choices of responsible adults? When politicians set themselves up as the arbiters of people's private lives, it opens the door to all sorts of unwarranted meddling. Anti-smoking campaigns to "denormalise" smokers are sinister. Health lobbyists are now aiming for a ban on smoking in private cars, supposedly to protect children. What next? A ban in the home? Are we to be punished for feeding our kids pizza?
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We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.
Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.
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