So the ban on displaying tobacco comes into force today, meaning that cigarettes and other products will need to be kept under the counter, or behind the closed doors of former display cabinets.
The ban will only apply to large shops and supermarkets, with smaller shops being exempt until 2015.
Apparently, according to public health minister Anne Milton, young people are recruited into smoking by colourful, eye-catching, cigarette displays. Really?
I'm no great expert on these matters but I'd always assumed that young people smoked because their friends did.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not an apologist for smoking - it's a filthy disgusting life threatening addiction but is this really the best way of tackling the problem?
What about obesity? That's quite a large (pun intended) problem as well. I think the government have missed a trick here. at the same time as the tobacco display ban they should also have banned the display of sweets, chocolate, and other confectionery from all shops everywhere.
This would do wonders for the future health of young children, and earn the undying gratitude of harassed mothers throughout the land
Good point Chris. I started smoking at 17 and it was because people around me did. I do wonder about hiding the stuff being the best way to stop it. I mean there are no class A drugs on display anywhere, but there's no shortage of addicts. As for the obesity problem I agree with you. Perhaps overweight people will only be allowed a basket and be forced to go through a strict 10 items or less procedure. There are many problems with health and I think hiding the stuff from people won't stop them looking for things they know about. We'll all end up being treated like children. Our bins having cameras that look at our waste, our trolleys having sensors which monitor what we eat and in the end we'll be like astronauts with body monitors feeding information back to the doctor. I bet Ken Clarke is fuming, in the old fashioned sense of the word; cigar on the go!
Thanks for the comment Ricky. If we adapt the old adage, 'we are what we eat,' to 'we are what we read,' it makes me think that '1984' must have been high on the reading list of many government ministers, past and present.