pipeclub.gr

[Marbella]

Well, don't be too sure Australia is the worst. New Zealand is up there. Locally I can only source 5 or 6 types of pipe tobacco, ranging in price from $80 to $95 for a 50g tin. There can be no reference to tobacco anywhere in the shop name, and all tobacco must be stored out of sight. Some guy with a chain of shops,originally called Smokos, got fined $20000 and had to change all his branding.

I went into one shop and asked what sort of rolling tobacco they had and they wouldn't tell me. I had to ask for a particular brand and then they would tell me if they had it.

I also used to smoke organic cigarettes in Australia. Not available in NZ. The NZ government will not allow them to be imported in case somebody thinks they are safer. Go figure.

I've just been overseas for 3 weeks, spent time in Singapore, Italy and Hong Kong. Sing and HK are draconian, tobacco is expensive though not as bad as NZ. No smoking within 10 metres of a door. Only smoke in smoking areas in bars and restaurants, who are allowed to dedicate no more than 17% of their tables to smokers,all outside of course.

Italy was cool. You could smoke anywhere as long as it was outside. Every cafe and restaurant had smoking tables and there was a positive attitude to smokers. I miss it actually.

Unfortunately, with the easy acceptance of all the junk science around smoking and second hand smoke, we have seen the rise to power of people who hate smoking and the smell of tobacco and see the current situation as supportive of their desire to completely ban smoking. These people are completely intolerant and will happily lie, exaggerate, ignore inconvenient data etc in order to get their end desire.

As well we have people who love power and want to control all aspects of our lives and dictate what we can and cannot do. We see this manifestin g not just in the area of tobacco control but also in mandatory vaccines,raw milk etc and we are starting to see the rumbles around junk food, soft drinks, fatty foods etc. In NZ we are also seeing it around regulations for quad bikes and the insistence that farmers must wear crash helmets when riding their quaddies on the farm, cannot take a second person on the bike etc. Some South Island farmer was fined $40,000 for not wearing a helmet on his bike while riding on his own farm. (By comparison, the fine for a motorcyclist not wearing a helmet while riding on the road is $100). If we do not resist, they will take heart at their success and move to control more and more areas of our lives.

My attitude is that we are adults and should take responsibility for our own choices. Why does the government get to insist it knows best and set ridiculous regulations around so many areas of our lives which should be areas we get to make our own choices and live with the consequences.

Oops, better get off the soapbox ...

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Posted by: flashgordonv@startmail.com
Australian pipe smokers