[West Ender]

When statistics are being bandied around I am always reminded of one fact. Merseyside and its nearby area has, apparently, the highest rate of lung cancer in Britain. Though the anti-tobacco lobby would, no doubt, argue that this must mean the area has the biggest concentration of smokers, that hypothesis is ridiculous. What the area does have is a large concentration of chemical industries, particularly in the Widnes/Runcorn area, and petro-chemical and neuclear plants on the Wirral.

While I, as an ex-smoker, totally agree with non-smoking enclosed environments I find the premise of outdoor tobacco smoke being responsible for air pollution, frankly, ludicrous. Take a drive through Widnes, on a still day, with your car window open, drive down to the dock area in Runcorn or have a ride out to Stanlow refinery. Take a deep lungful of the air the people are breathing daily and, when you stop coughing, just think a little harder.