The media and many Blogs were hyper ventilating and offering forth loud hussars yesterday regarding the publication of a 'definitive' report by Public Health England - E-cigarettes: an evidence update - stating that, after years of denigration, they've now 'decided' e-cigarettes are, for smokers, the best thing since sliced bread. Personally, I never had much success smoking sliced bread as, after lighting, it just went from white to brown to burning to charcoal and then total collapse. When I was but a pup out on mans boats, during times of abject austerity – known as 'broke' back in the day - some of the old sea dogs would resort to smoking tealeaves. This was something else I tried a few of times but couldn't get the hang of it as I was never really sure where to light the teabag.
Anyhoo, before we get too excited we mustn't forget this report has been put out by Public Health England and, as we know, they don't surrender easily, never mind how the facts are stacked up against their latest anti something tantrum. Personally, I'm erring on the side of caution as I wouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised if, in a few weeks time, under pressure from 'who' knows where, they publish a two hundred page addendum to this pretty positive report simply entitled,
"However…".
Quote; Laurence J. Peter.
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.”
4 comments:
I'm very suspicious. It was reported that they recommend doling e-cigs out on the NHS as a quit smoking aid. In order to do that e-cigs would have to be regulated as medicines, and only the deep pocketed pharma companies would be able to afford to manufacture them to the draconian regulations. I also think that PH are looking to (teporarily) ally themselves with vapers, causing a division between vapers and smokers. Divide and conquer. Meanwhile the pharma companies would bury e-cigs as we know them and we would probably end up with something resembling a butt plug that tastes like its really been there.
Ripper,
I totally agree with you. These people have an agenda and will use any means to fulfil that agenda. I believe this to be a fifth column move on their part.
Over the coming months expect to see many ‘qualifiers’ to this report with the sole aim of drastically reducing personal choice and drastically increasing prices with much talk of ‘regulating e-cigs as a quitting aid’ thus requiring a ‘level playing field’ for ALL quitting aids.
Quite where awkward ole beggars like your humble correspondent fit into all this I'm not sure ... I decided to stop smoking on 4th June five years ago and simply stopped putting the things in my mouth; it seemed to me to be the least expensive and most obvious thing to do.
The Memsahib, however, has planned her recent campaign with the minute attention to detail which would have had the young Buonaparte snatching off his headgear in reverential awe. The local Lloyds has been stripped bare of all the accoutrements which you describe and her adherence to The Path has been unswerving these last three days ... we will wait and see.
Caratacus,
I wish her the best of luck. The kicker will be when she checks the excellent health of her purse after a month of abstinence.
I quit smoking when I finished on mans boats, worked ashore a while then went offshore to work in the ‘patch’. It quickly became apparent that if you didn’t smoke you didn’t get a break in 12 hours other than a half hour meal break, 20 minutes when hyper busy, and two 20 minute smokos, 10 minutes when hyper busy.
Smokers would do that mime smoking thingy to the immediate boss, get that mime thumbs-up and go. Me, a non smoker would mime going for a five-minute change into something dry and a sit down and get in answer miming of hearty laughter and to just carry on carrying on.
Next trip I smoked and got occasional breaks.
Post a Comment