Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
Well as suggested in the Queen's Speech 6 days ago, our Government has got off its arse and announced that ciggies will have to taken off display (and put under the counter) in large shops by 2011 and in small shops by 2013. Understandably specialist baccy shops may be exempt, otherwise their entire stock would be hidden.
Why wait so long, I wonder? Many have said that the Government recognises the impact that such a move may have on beleagured shops in these hard times so they have given them time to adjust. Bollocks! If this was motivated by an intention to improve public health then the sooner the better, surely. No, it's just another of those tricks that governments come up with to distract the public from the major issues of the the day and make people feel that 'they are doing something'. This is nothing new. Go read Livy's 'Early History of Rome,' Books 1 -5 and see how they duped the proletariat time after time.
Some wizard has said that in countries where cigarette displays have been removed 'the prevalence of smoking among young people has fallen by up to 10 percent.' OK, but have they proved the link? Sloppy science, I suspect.
I am quite at home with statistics which means I know how to use them properly but if so inclined I can use them maliciously or at least without care. Given a hour or so, I could find a way of linking the average noon time temperature in Buenos Aires with the price of soya beans. Such is the way of numbers. So that 10% fall means bugger all without supporting facts.
And why stop at ciggies? The attack on the fatties grows so let's hide chocolate. Indeed why even stop there - let's go for saturated fats, farmed salmon (poly-chlorinated biphenyls, you know), wetting the bed, fabric softeners, salt, having noisy fun, Private Eye - the list is endless and all Gordon Brown can say about Zimbabwe is 'enough is enough'.
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