What a drag it is getting told

When I wrote my novel The Smoking Gun (see www.thesmokinggun.co.uk) I made up the idea of a total smoking ban imposed by a Coalition Government as a metaphor for the madness of the PC brigade. I didn't really think that's what we would come to within weeks of publication. Aren't we sick of being told what to do yet?

It's a packaging ban today but soon enough it will be a total ban if Health Secretary Andrew Lansley gets his way.

It seems he wants to reach the point where tobacco companies have "no business" in Britain.

Well apart from the thousands of jobs that would be stubbed out and the massive increase in the already lucrative smuggling trade (20 per cent of all cigarettes sold and half all rolling tobacco has been smuggled into the country) there is a civil liberties aspect to all this.

Not that anybody seems to give a flying whatever for such an out-moded concept.