We have a journalist who has tried valiantly to put the cost of the smoking ban, well, the cessation costs at any rate, into some sort of perspective. A valiant effort indeed, but actually worthless in terms of reality! James Connell (Halesowen News) reports that Worcestershire saw 5,793 people take up the challenge last year and remarkably, 47% went on to glory! That means that 2,730 succeeded in quitting at a cost to the county of a mere £595,000! Wowee.
Of course, what James has totally ignored, or quite probably didn’t know, is that barely 5% of well-intentioned quitters survive a whole year and it is a year without a fag that is the benchmark of a true quitter – not 4 miserable weeks! Now the government do not broadcast this fact as they know full well that people will start to waiver and probably not try at all. They want big figures to impress not only themselves but other countries as they boast “look at us, look how clever we are (look how easily we’ve balls’ed our country up)”
James then goes on to explain that each quitter has only cost £218.00 per person – but do I want £218 of my money wasted on forcing someone to quit! I don’t think so. I want my £218 to go toward repairing the potholes in my road thank you – leave smokers to decide for themselves, for if they really want to quit they will do!
Sadly, it is worse than £218 per quitter (and that’s bad enough value for money as it is).
5% of the total starters is 289 people, yet the cost remains at £595,000. Oh, dear me, it seems that that the hoodwinkery has been opened up for all to see already as it means that each quitter has cost the county £2.059 – a far cry from the £218 boasted by HMG.
A simple thought for you all: if so many people are total quitters, as the government would have you believe, why is it that after 4 years of bansturbating we still have the same 25%-27% of the population smoking?
I don’t blame the journo for his factually wrong article for he was, until I send him this, probably blissfully unaware of the immense amount of legerdemain employed by all HMG agencies as the constantly pull more wool over the ‘sheeples’ eyes. The truth is of no consequence nor use to the anti-tobacco lobby for they now know, through that marvellous tool known as the internet, that the truth is coming out -FAST, LOUD & CLEAR! Basically, the anti-tobacco lobby are in shit street, they have nowhere to go except to fall back on legislation already imposed and to try and create more lies, more fabrications & more junk science-all funded by the equally crooked Pharmaceutical industry. What a tangled web we weave folks.
However, to James Connell I bear no malice, he is merely another innocent (I hope) victim of this giant scam but perhaps after reading this he will be wiser, more erudite and more focussed on truth instead of what HMG decide they want to be true!