Don’t blame the outdoor smoking ban on the ‘nanny state’

I’m totally against the so-called “nanny state”, but the reality of smoking is that it is a vile, pervasive, unhealthy, unsociable, smelly habit, which no one should be subjected to in buildings, on the street, or anywhere else.

Not only that, but it is a waste of money and causes an unnecessary burden on our NHS. It wouldn’t be so bad if the negative effects of smoking were restricted to smokers, but unfortunately second-hand smoke is also injurious to public health.

Lots of things are banned for health and safety reasons – there is no good reason that smoking should not be added to the list.

Graham Cooper

Address supplied

As parliamentary recess ends this week, we urge Keir Starmer’s cabinet to consider the impacts of the current environmental crisis on other high-profile issues such as the cost of living, food price volatility and food security.

We have all seen food prices increase in recent years following geopolitical and post-pandemic challenges, but we believe that those price increases could pale in comparison to future indices. If recent extreme weather conditions continue, as experts predict, crop failures will become increasingly frequent, directly impacting food availability and costs.

This year’s weather, combined with continued use of chemical pesticides (many of which could be supplemented – or replaced completely – by natural alternatives to reduce the chemical load on our soils and environment) also took its toll on wasp populations of Great Britain – a potentially catastrophic situation for our environment.

To put it simply, if you think 50p for a supermarket apple is expensive now, how much do you think an apple will cost when the trees need to be pollinated by human hands, or by drones? How much