Smoking could be banned in cafés, restaurants and pubs in England within a few years if the government gets its way. And, it probably will – as it has the weight of public opinion on its side.
Putting my cards on the proverbial table here; I am not a smoker and I have never smoked, not even a surreptitious puff as a rebellious teenager. I deplore smoking and dislike the smell of tobacco smoke. But, and it’s a big but, I deplore the idea of banning it even more that the activity itself.
If the government decides that banning smoking in pubs is a good idea, what health risking activities will it decide to ban next? For our own good of course, because we are all too stupid to make informed choices of our own. I ride a motorcycle. This is an activity which, according to RoSPA figures carries around 10 times more risk than driving a car or van. Well, that must make me a potential burden on the NHS. I must be stopped from doing it for my own good. Then whom shall the nanny state target? Skiers? Balloonists? canoeists? What about hang gliders and sky divers? Bloody irresponsible risk-takers, they are. 
After 18 years of Tory rule I was desperate for a government that exercised a social conscience. I believe it was George Bernard Shaw who cautioned that we should beware of getting what we want – well, my wish came horribly true. 
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