Ninth Stage

All the government paternalism in banning smoking in various locations is distilled to it’s essence in one Stalinist stroke. North Korea’s Kim Jong-il bans smoking.

In most cities, smoking bans are intended to protect the non-smoking majority from the minority who insist on lighting up.

North Korea’s Kim Jong-il has ordered a smoking ban
Kim Jong-il’s health has deteriorated recently

In Pyongyang, the latest and most unlikely international capital to be subject to a ban, it is the other way round.

The ban is to protect one man from the effects of his puffing compatriots, but since that man is the reclusive North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, it is still likely to be vigorously implemented.