Tobacco.org

Watch out, Big Sister is looking 

DRAWING on the weirdest British concept since Rick Astley, Health Minister Nicola Roxon has mooted "innovative options" to curb smoking.

The answer, she says, may rest in permits for smokers.

Under the British blueprint, which newspaper columnists there lambasted for being daft and paternalistic, permits would demand a mug shot and annual fees.

The application process would be deliberately painful, causing some smokers to give up trying to get a permit, thereby giving up cigarettes - and, presumably, any desire to exert free will except within government guidelines. . . .

But why stop with smoking? Imagine the intrigues of a Saturday afternoon trip to the shops if similar approaches were adopted for other vices.

Jump to full article »