Martin Dockrell, director of policy and research at the campaign group Action on Smoking and Health, said: "The minister can count on our support and the majority of the public. A ban on smoking in cars is the right thing to do."
This is all to be done on the basis that we must THINK OF THE CHILDREN—because the government cares more about people's children than their parents do.
There are some who suspect that banning smoking in cars when children are present is the thin of the wedge and will lead to a ban on smoking in cars when grown adults have made the conscious decision to hitch a lift with a smoker.
Of course that would be fallacious slippery-slope rhetoric and would never happen, would it Martin?
"We need to think about whether this should just be aimed at children. Older adults are vulnerable too."
These salami slice tactics are so tiresome, predictable and irrational. The idea seems to be that people have a right to smoke, but that nonsmokers do not have a right to be around smokers even if they want to. Nanny knows best.
You will fondly recall the BMA's arch-propagandist Vivienne Nathanson lying through her teeth about secondhand smoke in cars being 23 times being more concentrated than secondhand smoke in bars (listen to the clip at Dick's place). She was back to her old tricks today on Radio 4 calling for the prohibition of e-cigarettes. You can listen to her at 48 minutes in here (the item starts five minutes earlier if you want to listen to the whole thing.)
Nathanson admits there is no evidence of harm, but claims that people using them on aeroplanes encourages smokers to light up real cigarettes. I would be amazed if this is not a bald-faced lie. She is a disgrace to the medical profession.
And finally, there's this from the Daily Mail.
Caffeine is so dangerous that it should be regulated like alcohol and cigarettes, warns leading expert
The Mail has a pretty broad definition of what a 'leading expert' is, but this particular guy is the editor of the peer-reviewed Journal of Caffeine Research so he couldn't possibly be a crank with a axe to grind (cough). I recommend reading the whole article as it is a textbook example of a tabloid moral panic.
Even more worrying, he says that caffeine is also frequently used as a diluent (cutting agent) in illicit drugs.
You wouldn't want a bit of caffeine in your illicit drugs now, would you? It might very slightly raise the heart beat.
There is also evidence that children who drink caffeine are more likely to use alcohol, drugs and smoke in the future.
Ah, the old gateway theory. And so it continues, forever and ever without end.
