There's not a wall in any school, shop, factory or office without a statutory "NO SMOKING" sign on it. The anti-smoking nazi who visited my sister-in-law's place of work in Norfolk even insisted on putting one inside a store cupboard, on the grounds that otherwise someone might slip in there for a quick drag.
Even though only around one in five people still smokes, the figures aren't falling fast enough for the health fascists.
These people never stop dreaming up new ways to bully and inconvenience the rest of us. So small shopkeepers will have to behave like purveyors of hardcore pornography when it comes to selling cigarettes.
"Hello, George, I've got that College Girls Go Wild video you ordered. Psst, fancy
20 Silk Cut while you're at it? Or would you like something a little harder, know what I mean?
"I've got some
Capstan Full Strength down here somewhere."
I can't see for the life of me why a perfectly legal product can't be sold on open display to consenting adults. The Government hasn't got the courage to ban smoking altogether.
Gordon likes the tax too much. So the battle goes on incrementally.
If they get away with forcing through the furtive sale of Woodbines, where will it end?