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So that's it the clampdown continues. The Liberty of the smoker has been taken away. As from today 'smoking in public places is banned' (remember its all about the language) any one who breaks the ban can be fined up to £200. Right then since when has a smoking room at work been a 'public place' would a non smoker go into one, I doubt it, but thanks to this new law workers that smoke have to stand outside their work place; on street corners like prostitutes and drug dealers. In pubs and clubs fair enough, after all it's all down to the harm principle and the rights of individuals, so long as their liberty to do what they like doesn't effect the liberty and rights of others. (J.S Mill-On Liberty)hence public places, but smoking rooms at work? Looks like the bosses are using a piece of government legislation to their own ends in a bid to increase productivity among workers who would normally go for a smoke break, surely this is the same as having a break, which is required by Health and Safety law from sitting in front of a computer for too long. Britain is the only EU country that has banned smoking in the work place. Others have left that decision to the employers. As for the cost saving to the NHS, this is bollocks! the savings to the Health Service are outweighed by the profits to the Treasury. After all if you don't want people to smoke, stop allowing the production and retail of the fucking things. Aaah, but then you'd be infringing the rights of individuals to make vast amounts of money and we can't have that can we, because then characters like Bernie Eccelstone wouldn't have been able to make a hefty donation to New Labour party funds and buy his way out of a cigarette advertising ban in sport. How many more clampdowns on our freedoms are there gonna be in the name of profit and peace. These 'foiled' terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow are nice and timely. The first test for our new leader, how will he react in the face of a critical terror threat how many front doors of the Muslim communities will be kicked down, how many 'suspects' will be detained without trial and what new laws will be introduced 'to secure our future safety', well a few laws about the production and consumption of Western commodity goods would be a start, after all one of the things the terrorists express their hatred for is the excesses of the West. So let the government clampdown on conspicuous consumption, but we know they won't for reasons I said earlier, so until they do we best be prepared for more smoking carbombs.