Profit is Better than Cure

Well, here's a thing: some middle-aged men in a hurry have suddenly come over all leisurely. Having previously threatened to enforce plain packaging on cigarettes and minimum unit pricing on alcohol, the Government has now decided to wait for some evidence from Australia. Apparently, the evidence on which the original decision was made has been examined and found wanting by Daveybloke's new best chum and sometime tobacco lobbyist, Lynton Crosby, who has urged Britain's Head Boy to stop being sidetracked by inessentials like public health and get back to kicking immigrants. There have also been the inevitable squeals of outrage from the industry about the apocalyptic effect on manufacturing and retail, the risk of black-market activity and the costs to the Exchequer; all of which arguments no doubt made a powerful impression, since they are more or less the ones used by Daveybloke's chums in the banks against banking regulation, and by Daveybloke's chums in the scumbag press against scumbag regulation.