He’s Gonna Blow! Extremists Flout The Smoking Ban
HAD the Glasgow bomber attacked one day later, the burning man would be now facing a charge of smoking in a public place.
Timing is all. Something other smokers are discovering as they nip out of the pub between monsoons.
It is now illegal to smoke in an enclosed public place. And, as the Express says, that includes playgrounds in Middlesbrough, Cleveland and County Durham. And a cemetery in Llanelli, South Wales. “It’s bureaucracy gone mad,” says “mourner” Steven Evans, lamenting the loss of Virginia Slim.
But can you smell that? Get past the top notes of scorched skin and burning Osama bin Laden seat covers. Inhale deeply. That, dear readers, is the rich aroma of rebellion.
The Express says “3,000 bar owners are ready to defy the law”. Tony Blows is the leader of Freedom2Choose. He claims support from 3,000 members and will go to the High Court to “fight against injustice and erosion of freedom”.
Blows is landlord of the Dog Inn in Ewyas Harold, near Hereford. “Passive smoking is a perfect lie,” says he. “There is no proof whatsoever that second-hand smoking kills.” Blows is having a “smoke-in” with his regulars.
Landlord Hamish Howitt of the Happy Scots Bar, Blackpool, says it is a “human rights issue”. Landlord Nick Hogan, of The Swan, Bolton, says: “I’m not pro-smoking, I’m pro-choice.”
“I’ll take it to the European Court of Human Rights,” says Dave West, who is planning a “mass light-up” at his HeyJo erotic club in London’s West End. “We’ll have cigarettes coming out of our ears,” says he, failing to realise that punters fed on tales of Bangkok clubs expect so much more.
And singer Joe Jackson puts the tin lid on the argument by saying: “I’m allergic to dogs. But I’m not screaming for a total dog ban.”
He should be. We should all demand an end to dangerous things, like driving, war, bad weather, being hit by a bus, Anthea Turner…
Posted: 2nd, July 2007 | In: Tabloids Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink
