Smoking ban implemented in Wales

So, at last, on 2 April the smoking ban is implemented in Wales. Of course, had it not been for the election on 3 May then the ban would have waited until the ban in England came into effect in June. But then, Labour wanted to show it had done something in four dismal and uninspiring years.

The ban was brought in to much celebration by Gibbons, the Assembly's Health Minister (Gibbons of course was born in the endependent Republic of Ireland - independence good enough for the Irish it seems but not for the Welsh, eh Gibbons, better work with the Brits when you're in Wales?). Gibbons said:

"Smoking is the major preventable cause of illness and premature death in Wales - causing around 6,000 deaths each year.

"Second hand smoke contributes to over 400 deaths each year.

"Adult non-smokers who are exposed to second-hand smoke have a substantially increased risk of lung cancer, heart disease and chronic respiratory disease.

"Second-hand smoke is a serious public health risk that needs to be addressed. This will have health benefits for both smokers and non-smokers.

"Those are the facts, and we must act on them."

Of course, because Labour's Assembly is deliberately so weak the ban couldn't be implemented until this year. Yes, that's it, British Nats prefer to see 400 deaths a year rather than give Wales a parliament that could do anything.

If Wales was a proper country, and not an appendage, then hundreds of deaths - and thousands of pounds - could have been saved. What price British Nationalism eh?