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More Smoking Bans - Less Freedom
17 years ago
General
Just a quick rant, while I'm browsing the newspapers. Might turn this into an article for a Sunday newspaper.
While browsing, I came across an article that writes about the new law to stop smokers from fostering children. Now, I'm not a smoker, but to me, this is yet another way our (British) government is using to monitor and control us. There's an article about it on the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/.....on/7710371.stm
...but if you don't want to read that, I'll summarise and explain. The government want to stop people who smoke from fostering children. Fair enough. Problem is this; how do you define a smoker? I had a pack of cigarettes a few months ago, so am I a smoker? I don't smoke anymore, so am I not a smoker? If I were to have a cigarette now, I think I'd be a smoker, but if I were not during all that time in between smoking long ago and smoking now, would I have been a smoker then too? If I smoked one now, in ten minutes, would I still be a smoker? What if I never had another cigarette again? So on and on and on.
It's difficult to define when someone is or isn't a smoker.
That brings up a more serious problem. The government already spy on, and inside, people's homes, under the umbrella of "fraud investigation" - for those people on tax cuts, income support, and job-seekers allowance. If they're cheating the system by receiving benefit as well as having a job, they get busted. There's a special police organisation to catch these people. They monitor bank accounts, phones, cars, and homes. They look through windows to see what has been bought, and what activities are going on, allsorts.
I'm sure they'll do the same with this new law. Watching, and waiting, for a time when they can take children away from people, and lock people up, for smoking in their own homes.
However - as a child of a smoker who had asthma and begged her mom to smoke outside - I can agree with why people would want to shelter kids from smoker. But yes, the definition of the word is iffy at best. but I think it would be common sense that any person worthy of being a parent would step outside and not smoke around their kids!
While reading your comment, I had another thought. The National Health Service keep a record of everyone who does or does not smoke. I went to the doctor for the first time a few years ago, to get some travel vaccinations, and the first thing they asked me (after asking my name) was if I smoked. This is because smokers, as well as drug abusers and the obese, get blacklisted for organ transplants and other medical help. I can see this being an excuse to monitor anyone, any time. Maybe the police team that investigate benefit fraudsters can be expanded to spy on people that smoke when they say they don't, which could include absolutely anybody.
This might come across as a bit paranoia/conspiracy. But while I was out a day or two ago, I learned of a case of domestic violence that the police had interrupted, because they had been watching the married couple, waiting for it to happen. A job well done there. But, would you feel safer with a police car outside your house watching. and recording, you and your husband through the curtains, with infra-red and thermal imaging cameras?
We're way past that in the UK now.
The current level of monitoring makes Orwell's 1984 actually seem like 1984.
And so sad.
It's like the government read the book and was like "yes we can."