BLABBERMOUT’ BABSIE: Putting out public smoking

Dear Nesta,DON’ LEH SMOKE GET IN YUH LUNGS!Chile, I got some real good news! Las’ week, I open de papers to read dat, at las’, smokin’ in public places gine get ban’ from 1st October dis year! “Public places” seem to cover a wide range – hotels, bars, restaurants, museums, rum shops an’ wheyevuh yuh fine people congregatin’, so it look like it gine affeck nearly evahbody – an’ some stiff fines waitin’ fuh whoevuh get ketch lightin’ up! I en know how smokers gine accep’ dis new law, ‘cause a’ready people sayin’ ef dem want to smoke, dah is duh right! Sure, ef duh at home, inhale all de smoke duh could, ‘cause it is dem lungs duh playin’ wif, an’ I sure won’ be de one to stop nobody from smokin’ ef duh want, but not ef I anywhey near while duh lightin’ up. I remember one time I was in a group o’ people an’ a man near me tek out a cig’rit, light up an’ start blowin’ a whole lotta smoke all over de place. When I ax ef  ‘e c’n do it someplace else, ‘e had muh to know it was a free country an’ dey wasn’t no law ‘gainst wuh ‘e was doin’!  Well, ‘e was quite right, so I had to move ‘way, ‘cause, as you know, cancer is one o’ de diseases cause by secon’ han’ smoke! Now, it gine be somet’ing quite diff’rent ef I come ‘cross anybody like dah man, any time after 1st October! It still is a free country but he certainly won’ be able to smoke anywhey near me! I never could onderstan’ how people dat cyahn even afford it, prefer to see duh few cents gine up in a cloud o’ smoke, ‘stead o’ puttin’ it to better use! But den, some advertisements mek smokin’ look so excitin’ –  people in de ads always dress up real nice, drivin’ fas’, expensive cars or gine in some fancy restaurant, an’ evahbody  lookin’ rich an’ cool smokin’ cig’rits – dat people, ‘specially de young, feel smokin’ an’ high livin’ go han’ in han’ an’ is de t’ing to do! I wonder wevver we gine still see dah kine o’ advert after 1st October, neh?  Some people callin’ ‘pon Guvment to provide special reserve places fuh smokers to enjoy duh habit, but I en know ef duh gine get anywhey. I suppose, like in ethuh countries, duh need some place set apart fuh smokers, as long as it don’ affeck ethuh people! An’ who knows, one day duh might realize it is only t’rowin’ way money, an’ stop! Anyway, we jes’ got to wait an’ see wuh happen in October! I gine only say dis ban shoulda happen a long, long time ago, an’ dah doctor dat was tryin’ fuh umpteen years to eddicate Bajans ‘bout de turrible t’ings smokin’ could do to de body, mussee glad enuff to see ‘e words finally bear fruit! I han’ it to de Minister o’ Healf to tek de bull by de horns an’ I hope ‘e words don’ jes’ go up in smoke, an’ e’ get dis Law ‘pon de books by October lst! An’ dat it en gine be one o’ de many Laws we got ‘pon de books dat jes’ stay right dey, fas’ asleep!Good news fuh asthma sufferers, but wuh ‘bout all de pollution Bajans still facin’ ‘pon de roads daily? Dah is a whole lot o’ diesel fumes to breave in from vehicles when de day come! Couple monfs ago I read a Law was comin’ “as a matter o’ urgency” to clean up t’ings, but eithuh it en come yet or jes’ ressin’ ‘pon de books, an’ as usual, nobody en payin’ it no min’! Well, I always hear de longes’ road start wif de smalles’ step!  De Healf  Ministry step out, an’ ef Transport follow, de air we breavin’ should soon be a lot mo’ clean!