Irish farmer faces £1,000 fine for smoking on his tractor - Deemed 'smoking in the workplace'

Anna Dubuis
mirror.co.uk
Wed, 22 Jul 2015 16:37 UTC

The farmer, who has not been named, was having a smoke break while parked up on a road when a tobacco control officer spotted him

A farmer who sparked up a cigarette inside his tractor could be fined £1,000 after he was found to be smoking in the workplace.

The farmer, who has not been named, was having a smoke break while parked up on a road when a tobacco control officer spotted him.

As the tractor was deemed capable of carrying more than one person, the farmer was told he was in breach of smoking regulations.

He has been issued with a notice that states he could have to pay a four-figure fine.

In Northern Ireland, where the incident took place, breaking smoke-free law is a criminal offence and people caught smoking in a work vehicle face a fixed penalty notice of £50 or a maximum £1,000 fine if convicted.

The Smoking (Northern Ireland) Order came into law in 2007, making it illegal to smoke in workplaces, enclosed public spaces and on public transport.

It is enforced by local councils.

Barclay Bell, deputy president of the Ulster Farmers' Union, said the case was "bizarre".

He told the BBC : "At one level this is a bizarre and even funny example of excessive red tape, defining a tractor as capable of carrying more than one person.

"Regardless of where you stand on smoking, in tough financial times it is justifiable to ask whether this is the best possible use of time and money?"

Comment: Tobacco control officer?

Hitler was a fervent anti smoker and a crusader for the anti-smoking cause. He personally funded research into the dangers of smoking and little wonder those results given the nature of his regime tended to support his assertions that smoking was an evil the Aryan race must be rid of. Many of the studies carried out during the Third Reich are the basis for the arguments put forward today by those seeking the imposition of repressive smoking bans.

Hitler once stated that tobacco was "the wrath of the Red Man against the White Man" Under the Nazi's the Bureau Against the Dangers of Alcohol and Tobacco was established in 1939 followed in 1942 by the Institute for the Struggle against the dangers of Tobacco. Nazi's were the first to coin the term "passive smoking"

Under the Nazi regime the German people had imposed on them the most comprehensive set of tobacco regulations and restrictions seen in any modern nation to that date. Hitler himself took particular interest in this area often personally overseeing the drafting and implementation of anti smoking policy.

Let's All Light Up!

These restrictions are not for health and longevity, read:

• The oldest people on Earth are all smokers!
• Science is conclusive: Tobacco increases work capacity
• Nicotine Lessens Symptoms Of Depression In Nonsmokers
• Nicotine helps Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Patients
• Smoking Helps Protect Against Lung Cancer