It was also noted that while under the Health Act 2006 it is illegal to give out free tobacco in the United Kingdom, Parliament is exempt from this as the Palace of Westminster is a royal palace, and therefore legally exempt from the legislation.
It was also noted that while under the Health Act 2006 it is illegal to give out free tobacco in the United Kingdom, Parliament is exempt from this as the Palace of Westminster is a royal palace, and therefore legally exempt from the legislation.
TIL smoking was banned from the house in the 1600s!
That was before they knew the health problems with secondhand smoke, but also before the invention of fire extinguishers.
Definitely before they knew, but not before some suspected.
Anyone who smokes for more than a few years and is honest with themselves, knows it’s very bad for them. You don’t need scientific evidence when you can feel it in your chest. It’s also very addictive, so it’s easy to push all of the physical evidence aside.
I have been smoking regularly for 23 years, minus about a year total of quitting twice. I get regular aerobic and anaerobic exercise from work. Sure it will probably give me cancer, and I smell like an ashtray, but it’s not fucked with my health noticeably yet.
How much do you smoke? I smoked a pack per day, and it was obvious within a few years that it was fucking with me. I still had better cardio and fitness than most people I knew, because I was a distance runner, soccer player, martial artist, dirt bike rider, and a bunch of other physical activities that most people don’t do, but it was still obvious that it was impairing me.
Depends. If I’m working hard long hours I’ll smoke less than a pack. If I’m off work and drinking I can do two whole packs. It balances out to roughly a pack a day.
I guess you’ve been lucky then. Most people can feel the negative side effects pretty quickly.
I hear there’s been a potential lung cancer vaccine developed in Cuba. Due to the bullshit US embargo, I wonder if we’ll ever get it if it works.
Counterblaste is a lovely word. Lots of gravitas.
Yeah, of all the Tudor neologisms that didn’t really stick, ‘counterblaste’ is one of the more regrettable ones.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
To be fair, James VI/I was a deeply, deeply weird dude, but he was ahead of the curve on second-hand smoke.