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Wednesday 24 October 2012

They Call It "Action" in Nottingham

This Is Nottingham reports that volunteers are wearing high-visibility clothing to "ask" people to stop smoking outside the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital's entrance or even on hospital grounds:
During the week volunteers and staff wearing high visibility clothing stood outside the hospitals between 1.30pm and 4.30pm, asking people to stop smoking or, if they wished to continue, to do so off hospital property.

Community protection officers also patrolled the sites and fined anyone found littering. In total, 21 on-the-spot fines were issues for littering.
Well, first off, don't litter, people. Get a personal ashtray -- I never leave home without one -- or learn to "field strip" the lit end of your cigarette and put the butt into your pocket.  Although they'll probably consider the ash as litter... so just get an ashtray, folks.

Right. You see how they operate. They are using the might of the state's uniformed officers to denormalise your lifestyle, and by not providing smoking shelters, a trash bin or some kind of ashtray they are expecting you to litter. If you're tempted to toss your butt on the ground, which is precisely what the hospital staff wants people to do it seems, community protection officers step in to fine your unhappy asses.  All to get you to quit smoking in line with this month's Stoptober campaign.

It's called the Kick The Butt campaign.  It's not the first time this year that Nottingham has harassed smokers for trying to enjoy a legal product out-fucking-doors, where it is legal to do so.  The BBC covered it here:

Uniformed officers will patrol Nottingham's two main hospitals in January in a bid to remind people of a non-smoking rule on hospital property.

Queen's Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital will use community protection officers to deter smokers.

A no-smoking rule was introduced at the city's hospitals five years ago, but is often ignored.

Under a week-long campaign in early January, the hospital will prosecute anyone who drops cigarette butts.
Nice, huh?  Prosecute you.  I might have chosen the word "persecute" but the BBC didn't ask me to write the article.  The hospital is so pleased with its hate campaign against you, they even wrote it about it:
A third week of action to stop patients and visitors from smoking outside Nottingham's hospitals has been successfully undertaken at the Queen's Medical Centre and City Hospital.

Kick the Butt Week was held from 15-19 October to raise awareness of the no smoking policy at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) - and offer stop smoking support.

During the week between 1.30pm and 4.30pm, volunteers and staff wearing high visibility clothing politely asked people to stop smoking or, if they wished to continue, to do so off hospital property. This period is a peak visiting time and also a time when people often choose to smoke outside of the hospital's main entrances.

Local Community Protection Officers were also patrolling our sites and fining anyone found littering.
Some of the headlines from the week included:
  • 15 Kick the Butt volunteers gave their time to patrol main entrances, politely asking smokers to move off site
  • Nottinghamshire Community Protection Officers issued 21 on-the-spot fines to both staff and the public for littering (mainly for the discard of cigarette butts)
  • New Leaf and Nottingham City Smoke-free Homes had a stand inside the QMC main entrance to promote smoking cessation.
And you have to wonder what kind of hateful bastards would volunteer to harass the visitors and ill people at the hospital. This has nothing to do with your health. This is about controlling your lifestyle, for which you pay a hefty amount of taxes to "enjoy."  This is what denormalisation looks like.  This is a hate campaign.

Finally, how did I learn of this masterful hate campaign against my northern friends?  From the Deborah Hutton Charity, which evidently has abandoned all charitable principles and decided to hitch a ride on the Tobacco Control Industry express train to hating smokers above all else.

That's right, Nottingham. You go! You go on behaving as inhumane, uncaring, horrible, hateful people against a minority of those who have done nothing at all to you and are NOT harming you, all the while guided by the shining holy light of fake charities such as the Deborah Hutton Charity, or ASH or CRUK.  Because, yeah, those high-visibility vests and your fucking evil attitudes towards your fellow human beings will cure cancer.  Dickheads.