‘This creeping puritanism can be applied to anything’

Nanny state says John Mallon

WHEN the topic of smoking arises now, it is usually accompanied by the terms, “ban” and “fine”.

Sure enough, today it is the voice of Senator John Crown demanding a smoking ban in cars with small children present and an on-the-spot fine for anyone caught by the gardaí.

Lest we forget, smoking tobacco is legal in this State, and is a habit freely engaged in by adults, in the knowledge it may carry health risks as well.

The industry also happens to contribute €1,500m in excise duties to the State each year, with Vat added on top of that, in addition to smokers paying all the other taxes that everybody else does.

From the perspective of the smoker, we were told in 2004 the ban should not be a problem for us; it was safe to smoke outdoors and legal, and was introduced only to protect non-smokers.

Why then, was it necessary to take away all the rights of smokers? Why was it not possible in a democracy to cater for both tastes? But perhaps, we are only finally discovering that it may just have been the first step on the road to prohibition.

It has been eight years since the introduction of the smoking ban in Ireland and, since then, persistent political lobbying from some quarters ensured we have the most expensive cigarettes in the EU, attracting as it has, the unlawfulness of professional smugglers. While being told it was perfectly safe to smoke outdoors, we now hear calls for bans in public parks, at sports stadiums, and on the grounds of public hospitals.

Remember too, our public hospitals are owned by the people, nearly one third of whom choose to smoke, and who already comply with the ban indoors in these institutions.

The call for the ban in private cars with children present was first made last year, but as reported then, a senior civil servant suggested they would examine the draft legislation to determine if it was enforceable, and if not, they might ban smoking outright in all cars regardless. Doubtless, supporters of this would applaud its application in the family home also.

I suggest to you that a responsible parent will not smoke with young children present anyway, whether it is in their car or their home.

In these straitened times also, there are surely more immediate and pressing issues that need urgent debate in the Seanad and the Dáil.

At a time when the Government is closing Garda Stations for lack of funding, is policing a difficult-to-enforce ban the best use of their time? Again, from the smoker’s perspective, the political message in all of this appears to be, on the one hand we want and need your money, and the jobs it creates, and yet we also want to price tobacco out of your reach, ban you from smoking indoors and outdoors, and regulate it in your car and possibly soon, in your home as well. And most important of all I’m sure, they want our vote too.

But the real question is: Where will it all end? What is the ultimate strategy of those who have already marginalised smokers and attempted to de-normalise them?

On a radio programme yesterday, Prof John Crown actually stated they had considered adding a home ban to this legislation proposal.

I don’t know about you, but I find that frightening. At the urging of the medical community — the caring professions — the State will be asked to consider regulating and policing what you may do in your own home. The message there appears to be: “We will force you to be healthy at all times and in all places.”

This is creeping puritanism and can then be applied to anything. Ask yourself, whether once established, will the household charge be the same next year? No, it won’t, because once the precedent is set, it is an easy matter to add to it. If you can regulate smoking on private property, you can add regulations around your diet, demeanour and any behaviour your tastes might have you engage in.

It is a brave new world we are headed for and, like with the economy, it is being driven by the powerful and influential few. We, the voting citizens are powerless to determine our futures but you can be sure that its authors are happily planning theirs — and they can.

I normally shy away from references to “nanny state” or “big brother” but it is becoming uncomfortably clear that whether you smoke, or not, there are those that are watching you.

Who is next for a ban?

* John Mallon is spokesman for Forest Éireann, launched in Aug 2010 to represent the views of consumers who choose to smoke