Sign language
Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 12:42 A non-smoking self-employed workman has been fined for not displaying a 'No Smoking' sign in his own van.
Trevor Emery, who runs a domestic appliance business, had to pay £150 which is £100 more than he would have been fined had he actually smoked in the vehicle.
According to Trevor he was unaware of the law, which is no defence of course, but the curious thing is that it took Kent's eagled-eyed wardens almost ten years to spot the 'offence'.
The story first appeared here but went national via The Sun, Daily Mail and others.
BBC South East News also ran the story last night. They wanted to know what our reaction was so I responded as follows:
"This case demonstrates how harsh the law is. Enforcing it in such a heavy-handed way is inappropriate and ridiculous.
"Common sense suggests that a gentle warning and a reminder to Mr Emery to put a no smoking sign in his van would have been sufficient.
"It's almost ten years since the smoking ban was introduced. Compliance is very high which indicates there are very few people who aren't aware that smoking is forbidden in workplaces, including work vehicles.
"Do we really need 'No Smoking signs everywhere? Instead of punishing people like Mr Emery for this most trivial of offences, the authorities should amend the regulations because the vast majority of 'No Smoking' signs are increasingly redundant."
In the event they didn't use any of it but the issue of signs that are essentially redundant is something I may come back to.
After all, do we really 'No Smoking' signs on every shop window, for example? Who, in this day and age, would walk into a store and light up?
Truth is, 'No Smoking' signs rarely if ever have anything to do with health.
In terms of advising people they can't smoke in shops or work vans (or churches!) they tell us nothing we don't already know.
In many cases their primary purpose is no longer to inform but to create a culture in which smoking is widely perceived as a forbidden, even criminal, activity.
This less than subtle tactic is part of a general strategy to denormalise smoking and, by association, smokers.
Trevor Emery could have been let off with a word in his ear. But no, he had to be made an example of, a warning to anyone else who dares to overlook one of the most important symbols of modern life – the ubiquitous 'No Smoking' sign.
Reader Comments (6)
Is this a joke ? Every lorry i see has a smoking driver. Are they exempt ?
You've got better eyesight than me! I can't remember the last time I saw a lorry driver smoking. The occasional van driver perhaps, but no more than that.
What I do know is I've never read or heard of any reports suggesting that smoking while driving was the cause of a fatal accident, unlike the use of a mobile phone.
Well this council employee has opened the doors, from now on every council, police, fire service vehicle should be checked by the public and the council chairperson in charge be fined if there is no no smoking signs on the vehicles, including the mayors.
The key in this story is the use of draconian rules and ubiquitous warning signs to harass, persecute and denormalise smokers (where denormalise is the equivalent of dehumanise).
Rather than enforce these regulations their utility should be revisited and smoking restrictions in many cases should be repealed.
Of course antis need no smoking sighs everywhere to introduce smoking to children. The first a child asks when they see the sign is what is smoking. ASH needs child smokers too because they need to ensure a future supply of quitters to keep paying their fat salaries and justify this hate group-s existence.
As most people don't smoke, and those that do rarely smoke in front of children, the most common way children hear about smoking and learn about it is through signs such as this, not needed but about every 10 feet or less away from the last no smoking sign.
Here in Greece they're very much on the case with the 'No Smoking' signs, and you see them on the windows of every bar and restaurant, without fail.
However, you will also notice that there are ashtrays on the bar and every table.
But they're very compliant where the signs are concerned. Got to abide by EU regs y'know.
Likewise, I had reason to visit the central police station a few years ago, and they had HUGE 'No Smoking' signs on the wall in the front office. Despite their size, I almost missed them, as they were barely visible in the fug of tobacco smoke which pertained in said front office.
But they really are very compliant where the signs are concerned.