Health and Safety Society

Whether you refer to it as “red tape,” “blame culture,” or something else, everyone has a view on the current “health and safety society” in which we all now find ourselves living.

Last week, when armed police stopped a coach on one of Britain’s busiest stretches of motorway, there was understandably a great deal of concern. Coming only hours after several individuals had been arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences, there was clearly good reason why there could be a link. When initial reports suggested that a passenger had witnessed another “pouring liquid into a box which then started smoking,” the general consensus was that the passengers on the coach had had a lucky escape.

I somehow doubt that many would have felt the same, however, once the picture became less clouded, pardon the pun.

Safe or Sorry

Now the common line trotted out on these occasions is that it is better to be safe than sorry. That argument is fair enough, but in this case, really? Had I been made to sit in the freezing cold, on motorway tarmac, being filmed by news helicopters for around an hour, to say I would have been incandescent with rage is an understatement.

Could the person who reported this to the driver not have asked the passenger in question what they were doing first? It is a shocking reflection on society today that thousands of pounds in public money has now been wasted, because one person jumped to a fast conclusion. I sincerely hope that whoever the “whistleblower” was on this occasion felt insanely stupid, and was given some, erm, “feedback” from the other passengers concerning what they thought of them.

The “Smoker”

And why on Earth did the smoker not just show their product?! Presumably there were in a state of shock, given that armed police had swooped on the bus and vast emergency resources had been directed to the site. What a great way to treat someone looking to quit smoking! I would imagine said individual probably will give up giving up now, and in future just hang on until the next stop before lighting up for real.

Ironic Overtures

Funnily enough, this overreaction happened in the same week that G4S, supplying security for the 2012 London Olympics, came under fire for not having trained enough staff, or training them to a high enough level.

Find out who phoned the police on the electronic cigarette user, and put them in charge of the whole operation.

Problem solved.

Jasper and Jasper is the company behind the healthier alternative smoking solution, the e-cigarette. Jasper and Jasper provides people with smoking starter kits and accessories such as e-cigarette cartridges.