James Delingpole’s latest Spectator column laments the pernicious portmanteau afflicting this fine month:
Stoptober. Geddit? That’s ‘-ober’, as in the second half of ‘October’, with the word ‘Stop’ cunningly positioned where the ‘Oct’ would normally be. And what marketing genius was responsible for this rebranding? Why, someone from an Orwellian body which you’d probably much prefer didn’t exist, let alone to have to fund with your taxes. Public Health England.
James closes with his own call to action: ‘Let’s start by reclaiming October.’
In that spirit, and on the conviction that public tediousness is a greater hazard than the odd puff, here are seven non-catastrophic health-related outcomes observed in association with smoking.
Most popular
Michael Gove
‘I’m a new kind of Christian’: Jordan Peterson on faith, family and the future of the right
1. Revenge of the skinny couch-potatoes: smokers undergo fewer joint surgeries. Smokers tend to be both scrawny and sedentary. We burn roughly 200 more calories per day than non-smokers,without rising from our armchairs.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in