Evidence, reader dear, of how time works when you work for the government.
The BBC today carries the story about how a select band of Dundonians are to be helped to give up smoking by being given
cash.
All well and good, and bearing a marked resemblance to a story carried by The JT (big version) back in June 2008. I know I'm uniquely prescient and aw' that but that story didn't come out of my head - I'd read about the project that month in the media.
Two points occur: it would seem to take an inordinate amount of time between the government (and the agencies charged with service delivery) announcing a new project and the service starting. And imagine if you'd been a smoking Dundonian aware of the story originally and you'd wanted to sign up there and then. Too bad.
Government must be the only field in which you advertise (through media stories) a product or service that's not actually available.
Weird.
Anyway, here's the my original take on the story. Not especially hot off the press, but at least it's unexpectedly relevant some 10 months since it first appeared.
PS: in the interests of full and frank disclosure (Hey Frank, how you doing), I should point out that there's a non-deliberate mistake in the text.
I think I should've written "18000 problem smokers" and not 180000, a figure which somewhat comfortably exceeds Dundee's current population, smokers or not.
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