A Celebration of Totalitarianism

Hard to believe it’s been a year since the sock-puppet charity ASH got their way with the ridiculous legislation on smoking in cars (with kids). Yet, a year it has been. I’m sure you’ll remember how ASH considered the passing of the legislation a “success” and how it would “drive down” smoking rates and all the usual platitudes when a state-funded charity imposes its authoritarian will by lobbying the government (with their own cash mind).

Well, after a year what exactly has been accomplished?

The ASH Smokefree GB survey shows that 86% of children report no exposure to smoking in cars compared to 83% last year.

What does that actually mean? Does it mean the legislation is actually working? To an extent, perhaps it is. But let’s draw a parallel with the use of mobile phones while driving. It is an offense to actually use a mobile phone while behind the wheel in the UK, and yet not a day goes by when I don’t see at least one driver on their phone. Hardly a successful legislation that is it?

No, what this survey shows is that kids – you know, the ones that tobacco control are fond of “protecting”, more to the point it’s hailed as “a landmark in protecting children from secondhand smoke” (more utter wibble) – are now part of the whole tobacco control bullying organisation. It’s a miracle so it is. Tobacco control have spent millions of our taxes in brainwashing kids to do their bidding.

Support for the law, including among smokers, has also increased since the legislation was implemented. In addition, a clear majority of the public support a total ban on smoking in all cars.

Think you’ll find that “support” for the law – as you claim – is people just telling you what you want to hear so you’ll just fuck off and leave them alone to get on with their lives, except these wonderful troughers won’t let you do that. This result of course came from one of their own YouGov surveys – the kind that I never ever get to see – and as with any survey of this ilk is rife with selection bias. In other words, the folks that are most likely to complete it are the ones that are “fully supportive” of such draconian measures.

Of course, the harridan herself claims:

Compliance with the legislation on smoking in cars with children is dependent on the level of public support not enforcement action

Well quite. Considering that there’s only been one successful prosecution, while the reality is “The prosecuting agent for these offences is the local authority – we’ve become the conduit in between stopping the driver and the local authority,” so in effect, even though it’s technically illegal the police can’t do jack about it. Judging from the first three months of the ban, the police don’t intend to do jack about it.

The law has been a complete failure. There has only been one successful prosecution and almost no fines have been issued which suggests the law is unenforceable.

Well the whole point of the law wasn’t to really get folk prosecuted now was it? It was more about adding yet more stigma onto an already ostracised proportion of society because some crackpots don’t like smoking.

Yet, as we know full well with those fuck-knuckles in tobacco control, getting this part of the legislation passed was only the first step:

t is not just children, adults are also at risk from exposure to the high concentrations of tobacco smoke found in confined spaces like cars. Prohibiting smoking completely would make the law simpler to enforce as well as protecting all car occupants from the harmful toxins in tobacco smoke.

So now, instead of it just being smoking in cars if there is a child in there, they want to dictate whether or not you can actually light up in your own vehicle. Remember when these smoking bans were meant to be about health?

No, neither do I.