Last night I posted up a piece which was, in part, about the social isolation and disintegration that I thought the smoking ban was causing. This evening, among the responses, there was the following anonymous message:
I am getting too old to stand outside pubs or restaurants. Plus I was taught that it was only 'ladies of the night' that stood in the street smoking.
I have been 3 years away from any social contact other than the odd hello with neighbours.
Being a widow with no family it was always going to be hard to get back into some semblance of normality with regard to socialising, but I didn't think that it would be this bad.
I used to meet up in a cafeteria with some lady friends, but now that has stopped as a few of the ladies were smokers and didn't want to stand in the street to have a cigarette.
I went to a quiz night at the local pub as there were quite a few elderly 'singles' there. That has stopped. I also playe bingo once a week and that too has stopped as there is no pleasure in having a drink there with no cigarette.
I am now on anti depressants and wish that I had the courage to kill myself and join my dear husband.
Thank you politicians for making my life not worth living after working from age 14 until 68. I am now 74 and have lost my soul and will to live in this lonely place.
Nothing needs to be added. Here in a nutshell is the social devastation caused by the smoking ban. It falls most heavily, of course, on the elderly.
I think these stories must be told. There must be thousands upon thousands - millions even - of people all over the country, and all over the world, in much the same situation. People who had their social lives destroyed. People who have become profoundly isolated and depressed as a consequence of smoking bans.
Our politically correct news media will never report any of it. They won't report it because for them smokers are non-persons, people who don't count. So it's only going to be on blogs like mine that such people are going to find a voice.
So I'd like to appeal to my readers, particularly the elderly (65-70+) and vulnerable ones like my anonymous commenter, to write to me to describe their personal experiences of the smoking ban. I'm interested in younger readers' experiences as well, of course.
And I'd like to ask readers if they know any elderly and vulnerable people who may have become isolated. Phone them up! Pop round and see them! Ask them how life has been for them. Get them to tell their story.
I'm sure there are thousands and thousands of horror stories out there, that need telling, and which antismokers would prefer never get told at all. When the stories start being told - and they will be told -, they might begin to feel ashamed of what they've done.
I've set up a googlemail account: cfrankdavis@googlemail.com
And I've also put up a (rather crude) box in the right margin, which will stay there.
Emails are welcome from all over the world, but since this a UK blog, non-UK writers should give some indication where they are, and what sort of ban is in force where they live.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Please get in touch with Frank if you think you can help or leave a message in the comments here and I'll see that he gets it.
Please consider re-blogging this appeal so that we can all give Deborah Arnott and her sick, greedy, freedom fucking fucktards a taste of their own medicine.
Thankyou.
Incidentally, in case you were wondering, G.O.T. is a non-smoker but he does believe in freedom of choice.
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12 comments:
I'm with you Gotty,. Never smoked in my life but hate the loss of freedom. It was Government that used nicotine to help first world war soldiers to commit hari kari en masse. It is they who should be on the fucking street.
LegIron did a nice piece on this a few days ago. I used to smoke 80 a day but gave it up about 30 years ago when the price hit £1 a packet and I decided I could put the money to better use. I was one of the lucky ones who just stopped and had no problems. I didn't miss it at all but if I lit one in the morning, I would smoke three packs by dinner time! Odd sort of addiction really in my case.
It clearly states on the pack that smoking kills - but I reserve the right to kill myself if I want to. It's my life and my body. As you say, it's freedom of choice and that is a basic cornerstone of democracy.
It won't be long now before the non-smokers come outside the pubs that have been making smokers freeze their bollocks off over winter and drive the smokers away from there too. And it's not as if they will be allowed back inside while all the non-smokers are outside.
I agree with banning smoking in cars. If you aren't allowed to use a phone while driving, surely dropping a fag in your lap (be honest, most of have done this) is even more dangerous. And as a motorcyclist, I object to having a lighted fag end chucked out the window into my face.
Freedom of choice must be protected. I for one have had enough of the nanny state telling me what to do.
Couldn't agree with you more GOT, as a 'vile and despicable smoker' at least thats how I feel I and my fellow addicts are viewed today, pubs are now a place I do not frequent. Nowadays the busy nights smell of cheap deoderant/perfume (something which has always made me gag, by the way) the smell of stale beer and an overwhelming stench of FART, yes I said FART!. Before the ban smoke did much to mask/neutralise these odours.
What worries me is that one day, TPTB will figure out the real original and only cause of death is birth, what then birth kills notices obligatorily placed anywhere one may concieve?
Ps how apt the 'captcha' for this comment was preigi !
That woman Arnott is a perfect illustration of everything that is going wrong in Britain today.
Overpaid and working in a quango nobody really wants or needs.
Even then when you read the statements trolled out by ASH they just make it up as they go along.
ASH the fake charity have not succeeded in cutting the amounts of smokers in fact it's increased slighly.
Incompetent.
Overpaid.
Innefectual.
Unneccesary.
A waste of taxpayers money.
Please don't post Arnotts picture again.
Iv'e just had breakfast.
The roooby schlipers ne ha ha ha ha ha ,fly my prettys fly !
A farce playing out every day in our pubs. I've visited several recently, all nearly empty, often the few drinkers are ALL smokers and gather together outside. Fucking disgusting.
Where are the legions of non smokers that promised to go back to pubs when the stench of tobacco had gone?
What a true taste of democracy Spain has with both smoking and non smoking pubs. Guess what, the smoking pubs are packed and often with non smokers as well.
I loath this scum Government and the drivel and laws that emit from them.
Thanks a lot for the re-post, GOT. I hope I get a few more accounts from smokers of their experiences.
My family have suffered 2 assaults after being forced outside after the smoking ban.
At a local charity do my wife was head butted by a youth and knocked over a wall with a 4 feet drop off. 5 stitches in the bridge of her nose, 2 black eyes,split head at the back, serious swollen haematoma on her hip, arms and legs grazed and bruised. Nothing compared to her shattered confidence though. No witnesses, charge and counter charge = no prosecution. The law is an ass.
A year later on a family and friends outing, my son had his nose so severely broken by an out of control drunk gang that he had to have an operation under general anaesthetic to correct it. The bouncers stood and watched as they are not allowed to intervene outside the building.
I was inside on both occasions and neither would have happened but for the smoking ban. I did contact my MP but that was a waste of time as he blamed the alcohol.
We no longer go out or support local events.
I'll say. I just about died when I saw that picture of her.
I gave up the weed in 1972 and because I now find them smelly and the smoke makes my eyes water i have avoided pubs since then.
However, a freeborne Englishman should have the right to smoke whereever he wishes and those that don't like it can find venues which offer a choice of none smoking.
Woodsy
I saw the same thing when they killed off happy hours. The old boys of 65 and over who came out in the early in evening to save a few quid and avoid the yobs later on could no longer afford to come out and socialise. A good many of them were old soldiers from the early post war period. I don't suppose mrs. hewitt and her ilk even gave a thought to the plight of these kind of people in her rush to outlaw every remaining pleasure people have.
Strangely ironic to see that 'Keep UK Beautiful' logo above a face as ghoulishly hideous as that on the pack.
Ain't this smoke addled old sod got a TV to watch? There's 'Doctors' in the afternoon, 'Deal or No Deal' and 'Neighbours' shortly after, then a whole shitheap of crap all evening.
Enough to keep this coffin dodger busy and away from the 100 plus Paracetamol!
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