It was also noted that while under the Health Act 2006 it is illegal to give out free tobacco in the United Kingdom, Parliament is exempt from this as the Palace of Westminster is a royal palace, and therefore legally exempt from the legislation.
I love how UK has so many of these weird traditions that just went too far and now everyone just feels bad to stop it
By that line of reasoning they can also shoot up speedballs whenever they feel like it. Man the people who write the rules just casually flaunting their invincibility to thus aforementioned rules.
It’s a monarchy. I don’t think there was ever an expectation of equality.
Get here in time when our day comes
You thought it was gold but it was bronze
I love these old, mostly-harmless traditions.
This one is especially harmless
the last recorded instance of an MP taking snuff was in 1989, when 1.5 ounces (43 g) was taken at a cost of 99p
interesting, as the article mentions that it is free.
They are required to keep it full, my guess is they know that refilling cost that.
I genuinely find that surprising given the corpses that have been haunting that place over the past decade or so
TIL smoking was banned from the house in the 1600s!
That was before they knew the health problems with secondhand smoke, but also before the invention of fire extinguishers.
Definitely before they knew, but not before some suspected.
Anyone who smokes for more than a few years and is honest with themselves, knows it’s very bad for them. You don’t need scientific evidence when you can feel it in your chest. It’s also very addictive, so it’s easy to push all of the physical evidence aside.
I have been smoking regularly for 23 years, minus about a year total of quitting twice. I get regular aerobic and anaerobic exercise from work. Sure it will probably give me cancer, and I smell like an ashtray, but it’s not fucked with my health noticeably yet.
Counterblaste is a lovely word. Lots of gravitas.
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
To be fair, James VI/I was a deeply, deeply weird dude, but he was ahead of the curve on second-hand smoke.
