and then they were gone

Lansley is at it again.

From today, the sale of tobacco from vending machines is prohibited across England. The ban has been introduced to prevent under-age sales to children and to support adults who are trying to quit.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said:

“Cigarette vending machines are often unsupervised, making it easy for children to purchase cigarettes from them. The ban on cigarette sales from vending machines will protect children by making cigarettes less accessible to them - we want to do everything we can to encourage young people not to start smoking in the first place.”

The majority of the press release focusses heavily on the "save the chiiildren" message. Read it for yourself if you haven't already seen it regurgitated by lazy journalists in the MSM.

Don't misunderstand; I'm not a fan over overpriced vending machine fags but they serve a purpose. If you're in the pub late and all of the local shops are closed it's a safe solution to the desire to purchase fags, rather than staggering down the street looking for a 24 hour convenience shop or petrol station.

In fact when you look down at the 'notes for editors' in that press release number 4 is quite revealing. The vast majority of the machines were in places that under 18's are unlikely to be present unattended.

Industry information suggests that 78 per cent of cigarette vending machines are located in public houses, 10 per cent in clubs, 7 per cent in hotels or restaurants, 3 per cent in shops, 1 per cent in bingo halls and 1 per cent elsewhere.

Why does this current administration seem so hell bent on continuing the work of the previous incumbents in their efforts to destroy pubs and businesses associated with them?