…but it’s getting worse.
This time, it’s our friends in the UK who may be getting socked…
“Smokers could be forced to pay £10 for a permit to buy tobacco if a government health advisory body gets its way. No one would be able to buy cigarettes without the permit, under the idea proposed by Health England. ”
The enormous taxes that smokers pay for every pack isn’t enough, apparently — and they make it clear in the article that one of the reasons for the proposal is to make the process so difficult that smokers would be shamed into not getting the permit, and therefore not be able to buy cigarettes.
Whatever happened to “We aren’t trying to prevent people from smoking, just prevent them from causing a health hazard to others?” We guess that once you get half a loaf — the temptation to get the rest is just too great. It certainly couldn’t be discrimination…
You can read the entire article here if you have the stomach for it.