A mixed 48 hours for tobacco control lobbyists in Wales.
Yesterday they were celebrating the Welsh Government's decision not to relax the smoking ban and allow actors on film and television sets to light up, as they can in England.
Hardly a monumental victory – the government was merely maintaining the status quo.
Today however they were hit by the bombshell that the smoking rate in Wales has fallen by just one per cent since the smoking ban in 2007.
One per cent!!
If I remember, politicians and anti-smoking campaigners justified not only the smoking ban but also the display ban, graphic health warnings and the proposed plain packaging law on the fact that they would reduce smoking rates, youth smoking rates in particular.
Clearly those arguments were garbage because all those measures (and I haven't even mentioned the ban on tobacco vending machines) have had virtually no effect at all.
Goodness knows how much time and public money has been spent introducing and enforcing all that legislation.
And what about the hundreds of pubs and clubs that have gone out of business in Wales as a direct result of the smoking ban, or the consequent loss of jobs?
Still, never mind, the smoking ban has been a great success, hasn't it? (If that's success I'd love to know how tobacco control defines failure.)
A colleague has just commented, "Perhaps they should re-consider their approach of trying to stigmatise smokers and introduce yet more red-tape regulation and instead look at education and awareness."
Nah, that would be far too sensible. Anyway, tobacco control is addicted to legislation. It's a habit they just can't break, whatever the consequences for society as a whole.
See also: Epic fail (Taking Liberties, May 9, 2013)