Minority report Down Under
Monday, September 17, 2007 
Breath of fresh air (no, I'm not being ironic) in today's Times where columnist Ross Anderson writes:
Interesting news from Australia (and there’s a phrase you don’t often read), where 200 years of unremitting sunshine appear finally to have resulted in paranoia and psychosis. Peter Macdonald, Mayor of Manly in Sydney – where they already prohibit smoking on the beach – has proposed that the ban be extended to all outdoor areas controlled by New South Wales’s local authorities: which means pretty much everywhere, including open-air bar and restaurant tables.
If I may be permitted to quote the Mayor, his reasoning is: “The vast majority of people don’t smoke. It’s only the minority who will be disadvantaged.” Well, that’s all right then: although if you were black, left-handed, red-haired or Jewish you might feel that Mr Macdonald’s cavalier dismissal of the rights of minorities owed much to the philosophy of the 20th century’s leading antismoker, whose first name was Adolf.
In the words of musician Joe Jackson (featured in a Forest advertisement, above, that will appear in the 2008 edition of Blakes Parliamentary Yearbook), "Smokers are now the only minority whose minority status is quoted as justification for abuse."
Reader Comments (3)
From what a number of visitors returning from Australia (yes I know it's not New Zealand but its near enough) have told me, although it's a beautiful country, it seems to be rather lacking in many cultural factors that we take for granted in Europe. A great deal of time is given to sport, outdoor activities plus fitness, however, and it may be this factor which governs people's attitudes there towards smoking.
Fear from illnesses is factor that govern peoples attitude toward smoking in Australia and in the rest of the world.
People engulfed with fear from illnesses are vulnerable to health message it doesn’t mater how ridiculous scientific explanation is.
On the other side decreasing of smoking population is correlated with increasing of incidence and prevalence of almost all known negative health condition in extent that is unknown to previous generations.
This fact strongly contradicts to “antismoking cult's” ideology.
What do you expect from a nation which was reared from criminals. They expect to be mollycoddled. I do not include members and ex members of the ANZACS