Thank You For Smoking

Smoking is a filthy habit, not only does the smoke damage your lungs and can cause heart disease or blood clots (or much worse), it also effects the people you choose to smoke around even though they didn't choose to smoke and have pretty much no say in the matter! Sure things are getting better with the smoking ban, you come home without the lingering smell of burned tobacco following you. I would venture the opinion that we should go either one step further or one step back from the 'smoking in the workplace' ban.

The problem is, the average pack of cigarettes (I'll use Marlboro as an example as it is the world's most recognisable brand) costs around £6; £3.56 of which is tax! Now you don't have to be great at maths to know that that's well over 50% (59% for the pedants out there). The question I would like to ask is how can the government justify such a high duty on cigarettes? I'm very aware of the stock argument that smokers will need more health care in the future and that cancer treatments are expensive but that's not enough to justify that much duty.

Smokers die younger, that is a fact, they are at an increased risk of getting lung cancer, mouth cancer, heart disease, stroke and a whole heap of other ailments. Generally speaking, these things will kill so, as a result, these people wont be taking out a state pension or need any help from the NHS for the large list of ailments that are synonymous with old age. I would imagine that the true cost (worth a read, if only as an example of 'true cost') of growing old (if you choose to have children than let's not forget the cost of education, state child care etc.) would be, at least, comparable to the short term treatments a smoker will receive.

I find it incredibly hypocritical that the government is essentially making a lot of money from smokers on the one had and is telling them where they can't smoke on the other! I would like to see a world where smokers can smoke where they like or I would, much rather, like to see a blanket ban on smoking, both cannabis and cocaine went through this process and the fact I can't go to a shop and buy a gram of coke seems socially acceptable now!

I'll stop ranting as hypocrisy usually drives me insane. I'll confess, I am a smoker, I have been for over ten years now, I wont smoke in cars with non-smoking passengers, I wont leave cigarette buts everywhere (I hold on to them until I can find a bin, this seems to be too much to ask from most smokers) and I try, when I can, to be considerate to the people around me.

I've had three serious attempts at quitting and although the longest lasted nine months, Lady Nicotine has always managed to drag me back. I mention this all now as, tomorrow, I'm about to embark on my fourth attempt. To be perfectly frank, I have no idea if I'll succeed in this attempt but I know it'll be worth a try....