There is an interesting new report out today.

It will of course get ne’er a mention in any of the mainstream meeja and will doubtless be consigned to the dustbin of history.

The Pleasure of Smoking – The Views of Confirmed Smokers.

It’s well worth the read simply for the views expressed.

For a start, it firmly knocks on the head the constant sound bite from Tobacco Control that 70% [or 80% or 60%?] of all smokers are desperate to quit.  In fact 77% say they see themselves smoking well into the future which hardly ties in well with Tobacco Control’s figures?

The overall impression I get is of a sector of society which is utterly pissed off with Tobacco Control.  People enjoy smoking for various reasons and they just do not see why they should quit, nor do they appreciate the efforts to “help” them quit something which they enjoy.

Naturally the report will be dismissed out of hand.

It is funded by Big Tobacco, for a start.  This overlooks that none of the respondents are in the pay of that industry nor were the bribed or coerced into the replies given.

They will claim that respondents are all addicts and naturally that addiction distorts the truth – that everyone really wants to quit.  Strangely though, only 23% state that they are addicted while 95% say they smoke for the enjoyment. 

Or is that latter figure just the Nicotine addling their brains?

And of course Tobacco Control will claim that it isn’t a representative survey because only smokers responded?