A Complaint From Sydney

Mirrors complaints up here too:

THE nanny state mentality has plumbed new depths and this time it isn't even an increasingly paternalistic arm of government shackling us with yet more restrictions in terms of the way we choose to live our own, private lives.

No, this time the owners of a unit block at Ashfield, in Sydney's inner-west, have banded together to pass a body corporate by-law that bans residents in the building from smoking in their own homes.

...If you live in this particular suburban pile in Sydney you are now prohibited from even having a post prandial puff on your own bloody balcony.

...God help the poor buggers if they dare to pass wind on their veranda the morning after a particularly potent feed of beef vindaloo there would no doubt be a lynch mob of angry residents with flaming torches and pitchforks seeking to cast out the flatulent demon.

...That said, an informed adult's decision to smoke is perfectly legal. These days we smokers are, generally speaking, a pretty considerate lot.

...But enough is enough, too.

You cannot tell me that a hint of Winfield Blue wafting from a nearby balcony or deck is going to give you cancer or suddenly render you impotent and emphysemic.

It's an odour, people. Get over it. In fact, the occasional whiff of tobacco smoke is probably less offensive than the fumes and noise inner-city residents endure constantly.

...Life is too short for this sort of stuff. Life is about personal choice and a degree of respect for others, not heavy handed social engineering