THERE IS CERTAINLY NO SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE

BY KIM MAYO

WHEN it comes to government initiatives and proposals, Rishi Sunak’s plan to gradually phase out smoking is doomed from the start.

It is important to stress that I am a smoker and have consistently been so for the past 40 years, aside from a three-year hiatus in my early fifties when I managed to give up before in a moment of madness starting again.

More fool me, I hear you say, and that is indeed true, but none of us are perfect, and I have enjoyed every single cigarette that I have ever sparked up.

My partner hates smoking, and most of my friends detest the habit, but has that deterred me? Not one jot, I’m afraid, even though a packet of cigs now costs in excess of ten pounds.

Sunak’s plan is simple but totally flawed. If implemented, it would see youngsters aged 14 and under today being criminalised for the rest of their lives if they attempt to buy and smoke cigarettes as the years roll by.

People have smoked tobacco for hundreds of years in its various forms, and once addicted, they will do everything in their power to get their hands on the demon weed.

The best way to stop people smoking, particularly the young and impressionable, is via education, not a draconian ban.

If you drive a legitimate habit underground, there will be only one outcome, namely that criminal gangs will profit, and the Government of the day will be significantly worse off without the tax revenue it reaps from the sale of tobacco products.

According to statistics, treating smoking-related diseases costs the NHS £2.6 billion a year, which I am sure you will agree is a mind-boggling amount of money. That is until you also take into account the fact that smokers contribute £10 billion in annual tax revenue to the government coffers. Ban smoking entirely, and the NHS would be on its knees in a matter of months.

It is also worth noting that treating alcohol abuse costs £3.5 billion annually, with combating obesity costing a startling £6 billion.

It is worth remembering that we allegedly live in a democracy, and the right to smoke or not to do so should be our individual choice, not a draconian imposition by the Government.

I do not advocate smoking. In fact, the exact opposite is true, and I fervently wish I hadn’t bowed to peer pressure all those years ago when smoking was deemed to be cool.

It is not. Simple as that. It is a totally ridiculous habit, but once you are hooked, that is unless you have a much stronger will than I when it comes to endeavouring to quit.

Significant progress has already been made. Smoking’s popularity has dropped significantly, and the 2006 ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants was an absolutely sensible decision.

Therefore, Mr Sunak and his cohorts in the Cabinet should focus instead on outlawing candy-flavoured vapes in their bright packaging, which attracts youngsters like bees to a honeypot. Vaping is now ‘on trend’, and no one is quite sure how much damage they will do health-wise in years to come.

In addition, the rise in the smoking of marijuana has, for all intents and purposes, been decriminalised. Take a walk around Bexhill at any time of the day or night, and the pungent smell of dope hangs heavy in the air. Technically, it is illegal to buy and smoke it, but practically everyone turns a blind eye to its consumption in public.

If I didn’t smoke, would I be healthier? Absolutely. Would I be wealthier? Without a doubt. Would I be happier? Most certainly not.

It is time to focus on the real issues at hand. Combating poverty, the rise in crime and the cost of living among a multitude of other problems adversely affecting our everyday lives.

My grandfather, a lifelong Conservative, died at the grand old age of 88, having smoked since the age of ten. He was dispatched to meet his maker with a packet of Woodbines tucked securely in the top pocket of his jacket. Were he still alive, would he have voted for Rishi Sunak? I very much doubt it.