I'm much obliged to Man Widdecombe for recording this morning's debate about the Stony Stratford outdoor smoking ban on BBC Radio Sussex. Rather foolishly IMHO, 'health experts in Surrey' have put their weight behind Bonkers Bartlett and want a county-wide ban. They are not using the passive smoking argument per se, and instead are saying it will bring down the smoking rate. Maybe it would, although the indoor smoking ban didn't and, besides, whether adults choose to smoke is none of their business.
On the show was Karen Simmonds a 'tobacco control alliance co-ordinator' who is, presumably, one of the aforementioned experts, but since she thinks that "many countries" have outdoor smoking bans (actually none do, except possibly Bhutan), that California has a state-wide outdoor smoking ban (it's only a few towns and suburbs), that heart attacks fell after the smoking ban (they fall every year) and that outdoor smoking bans are "self-enforcing" (the New York ban has been completely ignored), this requires a broader-than-average definition of expertise.
I spoke after her. Man Widdecombe has this sound file and others. Go listen. It's interesting that the Department of Health and its front groups have come out publicly in favour of outdoor bans despite the fact that the public are overwhelmingly hostile to them. It's all good. People are starting to see the true nature of the anti-tobacco extremists and they don't like it one bit. I love the smell of hubris in the morning.
