I don't know if this is relevant, but it is worth considering. A display ban has been in operation here in Norway for about two years now. This has had no significant effect on tobacco sales at all. Perhaps in the light of this experience and similar experiences in some Canadian provinces the tobacco companies, having lost no money to display bans feel that challenging them is a waste of money. It's all about the money on both sides of the tobacco divide.In reply I agreed with sillyusername that money was, and always has been, a tour De force in shaping the denormalisation of smokers, both for the recipients adversely affected by such bans and the businesses that have to employ them on pain of financial suicide or even jail time for daring to fight for their businesses or principles and the bodies that call for such draconian measures. They were in the minority as the majority of landlords and pubcos rolled over and said "kill me quickly." To my mind both the anti smoking fake charities, as they are fondly called by us smokers, and the tobacco companies are two sides of the same coin, as long as the money keeps rolling in they shortsightedly cannot see that one side is sliding a noose over the others neck.
As for the display ban I now have first hand experience of it when I visited my local ASDA store today. The tobacco display had two sliding doors on it that it did not have on it yesterday and on the counter was a list of tobacco products that I had difficulty reading even with my bifocals on, the writing was that small. And the display ban is three months away before ASDA has a legal duty to hide tobacco products. If I was not so angry I would have felt humiliated and shamed but I did not, and never will as I fight such legislation, I will not be made to feel dirty for enjoying tobacco so well done ASDA for kicking your smoking customers in the teeth before it was necessary, customers who only buy tobacco products AFTER spending shit loads of their well earned money in your stores.
Anyway, enough of my rant about this, I'll let Dave Atherton speak on behalf of smokers and anyone else denied their freedom of choice about their lifestyle choice as he is interviewed on radio.
The first person interviewed is one Paul Hooper, a well paid ASH propagandist who is well known to Freedom2Choose,Tony Blows and his wife. Paul Hooper attended court where Tony was handed down a £17,000 legal bill for defying the smoking ban and while Tony was being sentenced Hooper gave a hangman sign to Tony's lovely wife, using his tie as a noose, while she waited for Tony's fate outside, lovely man, ain't he. Here is some info on Paul Hooper:
Contact: Paul Hooper
Email: ph7@blueyonder.co.uk
c/o Warwickshire Primary Care Trust
Westgate House, Market Street
Warwick CV34 4DE
Tel: 07836 631 597
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