Dear Nesta,
How yuh chile? I hey, t’ankin’ muh lucky stars dat I don’ live in a low-lyin’ area, an’ so, was able to escape de lotta floodin’ dat tek place week befo’ las’!
Two weeken’s ago, de heavens jes’ open up an’ pour out water enuff ’pon de islan’. As mos’ o’ we drains need onblockin’, de water en had nowhey to go, so nuff places get flood out! It seem to me we always ’pon “flood watch” nowadays, ’cause de water does buil’ up so fas’, yuh really got to be ’pon de look-out!
Anyway, I t’ank de Almighty dat, aldoh floodin’ was quite severe in some areas, so far, we only been battlin’ risin’ waters an’ high win’s! From wuh I read in de papers, we en de onlies’ area wif wedduh troubles. Muddah Nature gettin’ cruel enuff an’ seem to be changin’ up de whole atmosphere!
Well, muh girl, October 1 bring in de smokin’ ban dat say dat no smokin’ mus’ tek place in any enclose public area. It gine proteck people dat don’ smoke, from the dangers of secon’-han’ smoke dat even mo’ wuss dan ef yuh do de actual smokin’. Yuh now cyahn smoke in no enclose public place whey people get togedduh, like shops, restaurants, bars an’ sech-like.
Dah is all well an’ good, but I still got a problem. It mean dat ef I at a open-air meetin’ an’ somebody nex’ to muh light up a cigrit an’ start puffin’, I really cyahn do neffin ’bout it, excep’ move ’way an’ go someplace else. Might be dah person right to smoke ef duh want to, but it also is my right to mek sure it don’ happen near me! We all got rights!
I onderstan’ anybody dat get ketch smokin’ in a public place – an’ de owner o’ de place dat permit it – gine face some stiff fines, mebbe even a “Staycation” at Dodds! I waitin’ to see how dah one gine play out, ’cause we got nuff ethuh rules ’pon we books people don’ pay no min’, an’ not one t’ing does happen to duh!
Chile, it seem great min’s t’ink alike! We en de onlies’ country to pick October 1 to bring in a smokin’ ban! Talk ’bout coincidences! All de way up norf,far enuff from dis li’l islan’, dah country, Finlan’, choose de same date as we – October 1 – to ban smokin’. But dat ban mo’ harsh, ’cause I read in a English paper dat duh tryin’ to put a complete stop to smokin’ an’ tobacco use in de country!
Friday de first was de date when de firs’ in a series of laws to mek dis happen, went into effeck! Yuh could even face a possible prison sentence up to six monfs fuh sellin’ cigrits to minors! Finlan’ is de firs’ country to write into duh legislation that it inten’ not jes’ to reduce smokin’ but to en’ all tobacco use, t’rough law! Dem sure en coolin’ out!
Dis is de firs’ phase, de nex’ – in 2012 – gine mek it illegal to buy or sell tobacco producks over de Net, to use in places whey yuh fin’ nuff minors, or smoke in spectator stan’s for all outdoor events. By 2015 all cigrit vendin’ machines gine be gone!
It seem dah guvment got all intentions to mek life ruff fuh anybody to advertise, buy or sell tobacco producks, an’ even ef duh en get a total ban – people boun’ to shout ’bout “rights” – it is obvious duh inten’ to mek a good try to outlaw all smokin’!
Ethuh countries like Norway an’ Icelan’, a’ready got similar measures in place, so it seem mo’ an’ mo’ countries startin’ to realise de benefits o’ havin’ a smoke-free country to live in!
Big tobacco companies en gine like dis move one bit, but perhaps some day, smokin’ worl’wide might be jes’ a t’ing o’ de pas’!
Tek care o’ yuhself,
Yuh frien’ Babsie!