We continue with our updates on the fight against antitobacco around the world. This time we go to France.
Readers may have noticed that France, although victim of the junk science-based policies like every other nation in the EU, did not seem to produce an opposition – at least judging from the news we can see.
But that is not completely correct: the opposition is there, and it is coherent, too. It comes from business people – tobacconists – and it is not asking for loser’s absurdities such as “level playing field” equality-under-oppression sort of attitude, or kiss the buttocks of the ministry of “health” about the “evils” of tobacco, and then fading away intimidated with some sort of token appeasement. The antitobacco law is about to come into effect on January 1st in France.
For those who cannot read French, this is a summation of what they say:
They are telling the government to stop the disinformation that pretends that they will be saving money by not having to change their carpets and other such absurdities.
They are telling the government that if they feel that tobacco is so lethal, make it illegal and compensate the tobacconists for the damage this would do to their business and get it over with.
They are demanding from the government to reopen the debate.
They are demanding for small businesses to have the choice to be smoking or non-smoking.
The demand smoking rooms in bigger venues to have less stringent specifications, and to allow patio smoking.
That’s the right attitude, because the government is at the service of the citizens – not the other way around – and it’s not at the service of the “majority”, either. The job of the government is to accommodate all – and in the case of smoking that is absolutely possible. It is NOT the job of the government to tell citizens how to live their lives and how to manage their health.
Thirty thousand strong, 73 parliamentarians on their side, they have recently mobilized against the government in the way that should be imitated in other nations – and the time is right too, as an election is coming soon. This group is another example of how the fight against the “public health” ideology, frauds and rotten politics is to be done. May they be an inspiration for many others for an antitobacco-free world.
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