Where there's smoke there's liars

At last. An unprecedented move by the Scottish Executive will see a ban on smoking in public places. I can't tell you how happy this makes me. Someone in authority actually looking after our interests!
No suprise that smoker's lobby groups are up in arms. They have

"...condemned the Scottish Executive, accusing ministers of misleading the public over the health impact and economic costs of the ban."

Hold on - misleading the public over the health impact? Three words: Pot. Kettle. Black. Surely the "health impact" would be a positive one. The mind boggles.

It seems (and always has seemed) that smokers would rather experience the ravages of cancer and general deterioration of health, and pass the bill on to the public heath system. I take a very dim view of anyone who would vandalise their own body with years of abuse and neglect, in full knowledge that smoking is detrimental and causes horrendous illness, and then cry about the problems they face in later life, expecting the rest of us to be sympathetic and foot the bill for their medical expenses. Go fuck yourselves, smokers. I don't care if you get painful debilitating cancer from smoking. It's your own fault.

Here in NZ, we've had a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces for a while now, and I believe it is working. Before the ban, I wouldn't even consider going out for a drink. Now, I can head out for an evening and not be subjected to choking, disgusting second-hand smoke. Economic costs? The bars and restaurants that I now visit have gained my custom. So the bar or restaurant has not lost a customer - after all, smokers still want to visit restaurants and bars, and will continue to do so. And now I can too. As for the infringement of rights - What about my rights as a non-smoker? Do smokers have a right to poison me and my friends with filth and ash and put my health at risk? If your employer did that, they could be fined, or imprisoned. I think not.

I mean, on every single packet of cigarettes sold in NZ there is a warning that smoking kills, will harm your baby, and causes lung cancer. You have to be illiterate (possible, but unlikely), ignorant (possible, but unlikely) or stupid (probable) to continue to smoke. Why would anyone be loyal to the tobacco companies, who kill smokers slowly and profit from it, and who have no qualms about doing so?

Good riddance.