July 2007 will change the lives of British smokers almost instantaneously. That is the day that the overwhelming smoking ban takes effect and smokers are cast out into the streets to inhale their barely-legal tobacco. In preparation for the culture shock expected, the government will begin to slowly implement changes, meaning that you could be affected even sooner than you think.
Is it impossible to imagine enjoying that pint without a cigarette in hand? Do you love to enjoy that first morning cigarette over a hot cup of black coffee in the back of your favourite caf? For the privilege of smoking in the great outdoors, British smokers will continue to pay the highest price for cigarettes in the EU. British smokers pay almost double as much for a pack of cigarettes than the Dutch, Belgians, and Austrians.
Next up on the chopping block? Quite possibly the smoking break. As work places eliminate smoking rooms in accordance to the new law, workers must seek other areas further and further away from their desks. This means that a five minute smoke break becomes a fifteen-minute break. Employers are not happy. In several countries that have already adapted such bans,...