Bad law is worse than no law at all

MY blood is boiling over the proposed law that will ban smoking in a car where minors are present.

It’s not that the law is a bad one, anyone who smokes around children in a confined space is putting them at risk. But why do we need to legislate for this? Surely, an ad campaign showing the risks is enough. This law is, at best, ridiculous, at worst, unenforceable, and a complete a waste of time.

Put yourself in a garda’s place for a minute and try to imagine enforcing this. Bad law is worse than no law at all, and it sends out a message to the general public that you cannot be trusted to have common sense alone.

After all is said and done this foolish law will probably go ahead and the usual silence will follow before the do-gooders pipe up again, saying let’s ban drinking in pubs, let’s ban fast food or let’s suspend freedom of choice and give common sense a knockout blow, raise the hammer and sickle, and be done with the lot of them.

Colin O’Regan

Midleton

Co Cork