I was on the Stephen Nolan Show (BBC Radio Ulster) this morning.
We were discussing a recent report that 'Smokers who light up outside three hospitals in north Wales will trigger an alarm and loudspeaker message telling them to stop.'
Forget the Orwellian, Big Brother nature of this initiative (which is not the first of its kind), the most striking thing for me is the fact that smokers are going to be assailed by the same message in two languages!!
Anyway, I won't bore you with what I said (I think you can guess) but I was struck by something Nolan said. Speaking to Andrew Jones, executive director of public health for the health board, he asked whether similar warnings would be shouted at obese people caught eating a Mars Bar.
He may have been playing devil's advocate but the question wasn't entirely frivolous.
Returning to the matter in hand, Jones said that smoking is costing the NHS (in Wales, I assume) one million pounds a day, which is a remarkably neat round figure.
Smokers, I wanted to shout, not only pay far more than that in taxation, they help pay your effing salary. We need to remind public sector workers of this at every opportunity.
PS. Stephen Nolan is one of the great British broadcasters. He should be given the mid morning slot on Five Live on a permanent basis. Unfortunately someone at the BBC loves Victoria Derbyshire so that ain't going to happen any time soon.