Here we go again
Here we fucking go again.
The Irish Cancer Society want the government to invest more in anti smoking campaigns.
Why?
Why are these people so hell bent on criminalising smokers?
There is only one proven cause of cancer, and that is radiation. Why are the ICS not screaming from the rooftops about Sellafield? Why are they not campaigning vigorously against nuclear power? Why are they totally ignoring radon gas which is at dangerously high levels in many parts of the country? Why this obsession with smoking?
Smoking has never been proven to be a cause of cancer. They have tried in numerous laboratory experiments to create tumours by forcing animals to smoke, and they have never succeeded. In fact, they found that the smoking subject developed less cancers than the non-smoking.
And why are the ICS the self appointed guardians of the nation’s health? Are they going to claim that smokers cost the state billions in health care? That is another lie that the Antis love to shout. If you add up the cost to the nation of the number of people who have been hospitalised because of illnesses directly caused by smoking, then I could probably pay for it out of my pension. You see, once you remove the people who have broken legs, who happen to smoke, or people with chest complaints caused by other reasons who happen to smoke then you are left with nothing. Why? Because there are no complaints that are directly and solely caused by smoking, unless you count the people who suffer from burns when they set their homes on fire. Yet smokers contribute hundreds of millions, if not billions to the government coffers in taxes and excise, but that is conveniently forgotten.
Ireland has one of the toughest regimes in Europe when it comes to picking on the unfortunate smoker. Yet since the ban was introduced, smoking rates have increased here, as they have in the U.K. and France. What does that tell you? It tells you that all the cash squandered on covering up tobacco displays, creating laws, employing smoking control officers and putting God knows how many pubs out of business has achieved sweet fuck all. It has all been a massive waste of time, jobs and money. The only thing it has achieved is to alienate a significant sector of society and to promote an atmosphere of divisiveness and apartheid.
The ICS say that 70% of smokers want to quit. So fucking what? If they are that keen on people quitting, why don’t they provide free nicotine patches? Why don’t they promote the use of e-cigarettes? Why don’t they help those who want to quit instead of forcing everyone into the underworld with their draconian measures?
That figure of 70% is a load of bollox anyway. If someone asked me if I wanted to quit, I would probably yes simply because it is the answer expected of me, as would most [70%] of people. What I would like to know is the actual number of people who, at this moment, are actively trying to quit. I can guarantee that it is a lot less than their fucking 70%. And even assuming the figures are correct, what about the other 30%? They don’t want to quit, as is their legitimate right, yet the ICS want to impose their will on that 30%? Is that just? Is that democratic?
My message to the Irish Cancer Society is simple.
MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS.
Concentrate on finding a cure for cancer. Concentrate on things that are positive.
And stop funding that shower of interfering, holier than thou wankers in ASH.
Just registered charities competing for cash, Groandad. Moral alarm is one of the many ways in which Chief Executives of such charities can claim flights to conferences and expensive cars.
If I told the Irish Cancer Society that I could prove that the number one cause of cancer in the world is genetic predisposition would they immediately demand that we kill everybody whose parents had had cancer? No.
If I told them I could prove that the second highest cause of cancer in the developed world is urban pollution would they demand that the government ban all cars in Ireland, ban all trucks and make every Irish city car-free? No they wouldn’t.
They are addicted to two things- getting funding for the Irish Cancer Society and the sexiest narcotic of all time … ‘telling other people how to live their lives’.
I just wish they would get the message that what they are doing is pissing off a good portion of the population, and that it’s actually counterproductive. Wankers.
The likes of the ICS & the twats we suffer over here aren’t in the least interested in how many people they piss-off .. nor how counter-productive their pernicious campaigns are ..
Cap’n Con has it right .. so long as they feel that they’re “in charge” & that their over generous salaries & fat-cat pensions are safe .. they couldn’t give a Fish’s tit ..
Basically its the nicest form of government going- directing people without the responsibility of having to justify or hold surgeries.
‘Won’t somebody think of the children’
and
‘I know. I’m a health professional’.
Best way to deal with the latter is to ask them why their profession is notoriously the worst for drug and alcohol abuse. And how have they fixed that problem?
When are people going to wake up the fact that these propaganda campaigns are the greatest load of crap? That fact that people are actually being taken in by that Third Hand Smoke bilge makes me despair for the future of mankind.
Its a well known fact that within the human make-up is the need to feel “superior” to someone else ..
As we’re no longer allowed to feel superior to our “Non-reflective” bretheren .. and its permanent “Close season” on Botty Bandits .. and those of a “Travelling” nature are out of bounds … there’s only we Smokers left as targets ..
Shit like this really winds me right up. The last figures I heard (via Dick Puddlcote’s blog) were that the government in the UK had spent something in the region of £43million in a year on this bollocks.
With all their other adverts about 5 a day this and checking the batteries in your smoke detector I get so irritated. On some cable channels, in the middle of the fucking night FFS, I have seen 5 govt paid for ads in a single ad break. No exaggeration – 5 in a poxy row..
All telling me to look at their shitty websites. Which we’ve also paid for.
Shower of worthless ****s..
grandad i thaught u would have been savvy enough to figure this out:)
when i was working as an engineer in motorola as a software engineer i was always able to justify my existence. however some employees with dodgy titles like ‘process engineer’ or ‘quality consultant’ always had to justify not twisting their thumbs.
the best way was always regulation:) or an extra step to make your job harder.
so thats all this is!! these guys are in a state of perpetual regulatory revolution to justify their jobs. I mean think about it, they are paid by the week and they have to show something for the yearly audit apart from updating the date on they’re website!!!
I’ve just seen this, courtesy of Mark Wadsworth’s blog, which happens to mention the crap I was referring to:
“Shadow Chancellor George Osborne yesterday pledged that the Government’s advertising budget would be among the first to be cut by a new Conservative government… Osborne confirmed the marketing budget handled by the COI, which last year amounted to £540 million, was the place to begin the necessary changes… The Government was the UK’s largest advertiser in 2009 following an increase of 43% year on year. It was responsible for campaigns ranging from recruiting teachers to helping people give up smoking, and recycling to tax returns.”
How’s that for serendipitous timing..?
The £40million-odd I mentioned was just the anti-smoking part btw.
I have no problem with people trying to justify their petty little jobs and giving themselves fancy titles. Where I do have a problem is when these same fuckers try to impose yet more petty laws, restricting my freedom, and in the process spending my money.
With regard to the amount being spent by governments both here and in the UK, isn’t it very strange that money is no problem there, yet one of the reasons they cite for combatting smoking is the cost to the health service? Why don’t they spare us all and give the advertising money straight to the hospitals?
What?!? That would make far too much sense..
Best not try standing for office with ideas like that Grandad..
Maybe if they used the money to buy carbon credits which could in turn be exchanged for Russian gas which could then be sold at massive profits and the profits ploughed into the health service [and not forgetting a healthy backhander for the politicians]??
A left-right combo to you get back into the fight eh..?
And my last mention of govt. advertising (I don’t wish to bore eveyone interminably) will merely link to the Adam Smith Institute blog (a hot topic today, it would appear..):
http://www.adamsmith.org/blog/politics-and-government/do-shut-up%2c-big-brother/
Sums it rather more eloquently than I can be bothered to. But then most people can.
Fucking anti-smokers!
Fuck ’em all!
was over in Dooboy there last week, where smoking isn’t seen as akin to head butting children.
You can smoke in bars, pubs, clubs and nearly every restaurant but they do cater for the “non smoker” as you have “smoke free restaurants” and bars which are just as shiney and new and “HIP” as all the others establishments but guess what? nobody was in them.
Now isn’t that logical? Isn’t that the way to go? Choice? No on ostracised or marginalised?
Why, oh why can’t other countries follow that example?