The nanny state is sanitising Britain to death
July 02, 2026 by spiked-online.com
The nanny state is sanitising Britain to death
Britain’s generational smoking ban reflects a wider shift towards treating adults as problems to be managed rather than people capable of informed choice. Reducing smoking matters, but prohibition is a blunt tool that risks ignoring autonomy, pleasure and real-world behaviour. Harm reduction offers a better path: give people accurate information, preserve safer alternatives and reduce risk without sanitising life into submission. Public health should help adults make better choices, not remove choices altogether.
11.80% of the adult population are current smokers. There are approximately 6.7 million current smokers in United Kingdom 13.60% of men are current smokers but only 10.10% of women.
SOURCE: GSTHR
