Recently the Government have announced that they will consider bringing in plain packaging for cigarettes, the Assembly want to ban smoking in cars while over in Brussels they are trying to ban "e-cigarettes" - those things that look like fags but emit no smoke whilst still delivering the nicotine than smokers enjoy.
Smoking is bad and governments should discourage it, but politicians from all parties including my own are a little too quick to cross the line into a kind of finger waving bossiness towards those whom they serve.
As an observation people's addictions to drugs and alcohol are used to explain all manner of crime ("m'lud the defendant never normally behaves like this but he had drunk 8 pints", or "he was addicted to heroin and had to find ways to pay for it" etc etc.) In 8 years as a Special Constable nobody has ever threatened me as a result of smoking a Marlboro.
Maybe it's time to recognise that if people want to smoke and if they are doing so in ways that do not affect the rest of us, then we should ensure they are aware of the health risks and respect their right to make their own decisions.