Each time I take my monthly Aer Lingus flight between Gatwick and Dublin, I buy a carton of Silk Cut cigarettes for a dear family member who enjoys the odd few fags. As Ireland is in the EU and Britain is not, duty-free purchases are on sale – so the gaspers are cheaper. But when the next Labour government arrives – and there will very likely be one next year – cigarettes will be en route to prohibition, with a view to a total ban within six years. Do I feel guilty buying these ciggies, complete with their graphic photographs of diseased organs and ghastly afflictions caused by smoking? No. I’m acquiring this tobacco product for someone mature enough to make her own decisions, who moderates her smoking sensibly and with consideration to others. Hasn’t the universal cry of feminism for the last 40 years been about women being free...
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