Dewch â hi ymlaen!
Monday, November 8, 2021 at 18:55 The Welsh Government has announced its ambition to make Wales 'smoke-free' by 2030, 'smoke-free' being five per cent or less of the population.
To achieve this aim the Welsh Government has launched a 'consultation' (closing date January 31, 2022) that will 'seek people’s views on how to create a smoke-free society in Wales'.
Clearly there is to be no discussion or debate about whether a 'smoke-free society' is desirable, merely how to achieve it.
By implication therefore the views of those who do NOT support the creation of a ‘smoke-free society’ have no place in the consultation and will be ignored.
Great news for anti-smoking zealots and vaping advocates who share the goal of eradicating smoking and making combustible tobacco obsolete but not so good for those of us who believe in freedom of choice.
With that in mind I issued this statement on behalf of Forest:
“Tobacco is a legal product. No-one should be forced to quit smoking yet freedom of choice and personal responsibility are being replaced by coercion and creeping prohibition.
“If people choose not to smoke that’s fine but setting a target for a smoke-free Wales is a green light for politicians and campaigners who seem determined to regulate and control people’s lives.
“Instead of imposing further restrictions on adults who smoke, a more progressive policy would focus on education and harm reduction.
“Smokers should be informed about safer nicotine products like e-cigarettes and heated tobacco but ultimately, if adults still choose to smoke, that choice must be respected by government and society.”
I'd love to know what 'cut 'n' paste' is in Welsh because when it comes to smoking the media in Wales rarely looks beyond the press releases that are issued by the Welsh Government and the likes of ASH Wales.
On this occasion however our response was reported by BBC News, ITV Wales and The Leader/North Wales Chronicle.
We obviously have a job on our hands to get the views of confirmed smokers heard but I enjoy a challenge.
Bring it on or, as they say in Wales, dewch â hi ymlaen!
See also: Ambition to make Wales smoke-free by 2030 (Welsh Government)
Update: The closing date for the consultation is now March 31, 2022.
Reader Comments (1)
It is all part of a greater plan that includes stealing farmer's land in Wales to grow trees to offset the carbon sins of big corporates and wealthy business people who sin against the Green God of climatism.
I think in Wales the problem is similar to here. Government is blinded by a handful of activists who run rings around the less intellectually challenged political leaders in a climate where the public has no real choice of who to vote for and the wowsers have no competition when it comes to election choice. They know they can do what they like and keep their undeserved seats.
The bottom line is that democracy is in trouble and fascism is on the rise but very few recognise that it is main stream. They think its about health and they think "the right to life" means they get to own other people who should live as they tell them to.
As for vaping advocates, if they are trying to force people to quit and vape, or take part in any measure to further discriminate or exclude smokers from society and the public places they have every right to access because they are not doing any harm, then they are zealots too and should be avoided at all costs and treated exactly like the anti smoker zealots that they are.
Now we know our enemy, we know who to fight. Two faced vaping zealots have muddied the water long enough. It was clear a decade ago that they are not our friends. They just use us as useful idiots to get what they want in our name but they do not and have never spoken for us and as a smoker, I find it offensive when they do because they are usually begging authority to hammer us while giving them a free ride or extra privileges.