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| BRITISH CONSIDER “LICENSE” TO SMOKE |
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Page 1 of 2  Plus: More cigars from ancient Cuban seeds on the wayLos Angeles, February 18 – In a strong step toward repression of smokers, a plan is being floated to create a national “smoking licence” in Britain. The concept was developed by Julian LeGrand, a professor at the London School of Economics and a one-time advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, who wrote in a paper for Parliamentary Under Secretary of Health Lord Darzi the following proposal: Suppose every individual who wanted to buy tobacco had to purchase a permit. And supposed further that they had to do it every year. To get a permit would involve filling out a form and supplying a photograph, as well as paying the fee.LeGrand’s comments also included some ideas about how the idea might function: Breaking the New Year’s Resolution not to smoke would be costly in terms of both money and time. This would probably have a greater impact on poor smokers than rich ones, hence contributing to a reduction in health inequalities.In addition to simply filing for the permit, LeGrand also has the idea that in order to obtain a permit, applicants would need to obtain an endorsement from a physician that their health is sufficient to permit smoking! LeGrand told BBC Radio 5 that wants to make consumption of a legal product – tobacco – as difficult as possible . . . in a simple way. “You've got to get a form, a complex form - the government's good at complex forms; you have got to get a photograph. “It's a little bit of a problem to actually do it, so you have got to make a conscious decision every year to opt in to being a smoker. 70% of smokers actually want to stop smoking. So if you just make it that little bit more difficult for them to actually re-start or even to start in the first place, yes I think it will make a big difference.” LeGrand originally suggested the idea last November and it went nowhere. His initial proposal was for a permit that would cost £200 (about $400 U.S.) per year, but has now scaled down his idea to £10 (about $20 U.S.), which would raise about $50 million per year. |
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Did you know?
“Alfred Dunhill opened his first shop in 1893, his first tobacco shop in London in 1907 and the New York store in 1923.
