I would have been a smoker all my puff, if it wasn’t banned

Wremembers hoNot smoking? so long ago it was the hobby of choice for all the cool kids.

Us smokers weren’t afraid of death like all the squares. We, like out-ofbreath Prufrocks, measured out our lives one carcinogen-loaded snout at a time.

On the small list of things I’ve been successful at, smoking is definitely near the top. A cigarette in the morning, a cigarette after a meal, a cigarette with a drink, I could, and did, smoke all day.

Even now, several years on from actually quitting, I still consider vaping as the occupation of dilettantes or poseurs. Smoke properly or not at all.

Back then, the more people told us we needed to stop smoking the more we puffed away despite knowing all about the damage it did to our health and our bank balances.

Then something funny happened: the Scottish Executive, as it was then, banned smoking in pubs.

Suddenly a night surrounded by overflowing ashtrays was no longer the norm and neither was going home smelling like one.

The smoking ban may not have been popular but it did help many smokers – this one included – see the light and finally give up the fags.

It’s only when you stop smoking you realise what a ridiculous habit it is. I’m not the world’s greatest John Lennon fan, but he was right to curse Sir Walter Raleigh.

There are few of us who would argue things were better in a smoke-filled world but we still instinctively recoil at “nanny state” interventions to improve our health.

As adults, we like to tell ourselves that we are perfectly capable of making our own decisions so when Dundee City Council starts backing plans to make takeaways show how many calories are in a meal, or to ban go-large meal deals, it is easy to get a bit antsy.

But sometimes the heavy hand of the state can make a valuable difference to our lives.

Smoking used to be socially acceptable. Now, after years of campaigning and tougher legislation, it is not. Drink-driving is an even starker example.

In the 1970s people thought nothing of getting behind the wheel after a few pints, now it’s something only a fool would do. And while it’s still technically possible to have a drink and remain under the legal limit, it’s a gamble most now avoid altogether.

It’s not just because of the potential penalties if caught, it’s because as a society we recognise the selfishness of taking that risk.

Eating calorie-laden fast-food may not seem to be in the same ballpark as smoking or drink-driving but given the huge costs obesity imposes on the NHS it is right to treat it as a public health issue.

Many outlets, such as famed Dundee bakers Clarks, are already offering healthier options in their shops alongside more traditional fare so in many respects, Dundee City Council is pushing an open door.

But while the public may not like to be reminded exactly what it is we’re eating, to paraphrase William Burroughs, seeing exactly what is on the end of our fork might just help deliver a healthier Scotland.

Tough time for finances

Dundee City Council’s SNP Administration unveiled its budget proposals this week in glamorous Hilltown surroundings: finance spokesman Willie Sawers spoke to reporters in the kitchen of an unfurnished flat for assisted living.

The flat was so new that the cooker hadn’t even been fitted, which made