The Smoking Ban | Yes, Prime Minister | Comedy Greats 

"You can prove anything with statistics." "Even the truth."

There are not enough superlatives to describe just how good the writing was for this magnificent series.

Brilliant and current. " your statistics are truths and my truths are merely statistics" Love it

_"Thank you very much for your cigarette paper... I mean, your paper on cigarettes."_ 🤣🤣

Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister the most realistic, meaningful and accurate way to learn about politics and Government.

This documentary series gets more relevant with every passing year.

I remember the 1996 statistics (okay a long time ago). It cost the NHS £965 million to treat smoking related illnesses. The tax on tobacco was about £4,500 million. That is before savings on state pension due to premature death.

i just discovered this show for myself a few days ago and can't stop watching clips - this is better than any government class

I grew up in the shadow of this British comedy great as a pre-teen in the early 1980s far too young to appreciate it's deliberate slow pacing, witty dialogue, dry humour complicated life as Westminster politics. Not when the zip bang action of the likes of Doctor Who, Buck Rogers and Dukes of Hazard TV shows were on. Never understood why my parents loved Yes Prime Minister until I was much older and life got serious and the cost of living on my own was very real. Then catching this legendary TV show on reruns and marveling at these great British actors at the top of their game reminding me that TV was best in the 1970s and 1980s by far.

The number of about faces that Humphrey does during this scene in order to not antagonise Jim are hilarious brilliant and well executed facial expressions of shock and about turn.

Fun fact, they never had to clean the ceilings, because Humphrey hit it so often it may as well have been self-cleaning.

Humphrey's laughter should have its own award category 🏅🏅🏅

Boris: "Write that down, write that down" Lackey: "Yes Prime Minister."

3:12 "No! They're government stat..... they're facts" Jesus Christ! I whish I could go back in time and give him a kiss on the cheek for that one!

Every time I see snippets from this show, I just look at Sir Nigel Hawthorne and cannot believe the same actor played Georgie in Mapp and Lucia. What an incredible range he had. It's just amazing to me.

Indeed we should be thankful to those smokers, who heroically shorten their lives to fund our social medical services. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten!

I knew a smoker many years ago. who in the early 80's said it was his patriotic duty to smoke and theraby provide taxes for the govt to help prop up an ailing economy. I now apply that arguement to drinking.

I loved this series. Especially Sir Humphrey's ability with the English language. His ability to lie while being factual

...and 30 years later, tobacco advertising & sports sponsorship was banned by the government of the day. Prescient methinks... Yes Prime Minister was *way* ahead of time.

This show was and is timeless in its genius..grom writing to acting to directing...absolutely brilliant

The funny thing is that Hacker’s suggestions are all used by Australia to fight smoking.

So glad I discovered the series. Better late than never.

An actuary once told me that, overall, UK smokers contribute more through taxes than cost the government because of related healthcare costs. Same for alcohol. Mad.

Brilliant writing, brilliant performances, proper comedy. Now we get …..gogglebox

It's fascinating that the policies mentioned in this episode, which were considered impossible in the 1980s, are now well-established policy in at least Australia. Cigarette advertising is banned, all cigarettes are sold in drab olive boxes plastered with gruesome health warnings, and a pack of 25 Peter Stuyvesants costs "about the same as a bottle of whisky" thanks to massive tax increases over the last 15 years or so.

Perfect writing. Impeccable acting. Ages deliciously.

Interesting how 30 years after this episode was broadcast, (Dec 2012), the Australian government implemented exactly the same policy. With even no branding allowed on cigarette packets, just plain paper packaging, that's embellished with a photo of a person's ulcerated gums. And at this point in time in 2021, a packet of 25 cigarettes inc tax, costs $30 Australian dollars = (GBP £16 or USD $22). So someone who smokes a packet per day would be spending every week: AUD$210 = (GBP £112 or USD$154). And twice that for heavy smokers that smoke two packs a day, AUD$420 = (GBP £224 or USD$308) per week. This has taken smoking outside the affordability of kids and low income earners. And smoking is no longer allowed inside public buildings. You can't smoke inside pubs, restaurants, shops, office buildings, or pretty much no where. And as for outdoor areas, you can't smoke on railway station platforms, or where people congregate, like bus stops, etc. The health minister at the time faced exactly the same attacks against her, by tobacco industry lobbyists and supporters of smoking. The Conservative federal opposition at the time, had branded it a tax on battlers (i.e. on the working class); and they promised to repeal these new purportedly draconian laws, should they win the next election and come back into government. However, the public had become strongly supportive of these anti-tobacco policies, so the laws remained in place, even after there was a change of government. And within a decade, rates of cigarette smoking have halved from 30% of the population to 15%, as the next generation of school age smokers, (and budget-constrained existing smokers), simply do not get or remain addicted, due to the expense and unaffordability of the product. This has saved Australians billions of dollars in healthcare costs. And compulsory worker's superannuation contributions (50% paid by the employer and 50% by the government) which began in 1992, has meant that these longer living and healthier Australians will not be overburdening the government's pension system when they become elderly.

"Thank you for your cigarette paper" 🤣😁 that's so brilliantly slipped in!!

Brilliant. That's the first word that comes to my mind whenever I re-watch these. Just brilliant.

This is an interesting one. Hacker's moral arguments usually come across as genuine, seeing that he sounds just the same when he makes them just for show without commitment demonstrates his skill and untrustworthyness as a politican. He fools Humphrey into thinking he is sincere and he might have fooled the audience on other occasions.

Absolutely fantastic. Timeless comedy and satire of the finest!!! 🤣🌟🤣🌟🤣

This was one of Margaret Thatcher’s favourite shows, I heard her say in an interview, of how scarily real this programme portrayed the goings on at number 10 Downing St! The writer’s were genius!

This was such a brilliant show with razor sharp writing.

All I've seen of this show are the short YT clips, and not one has failed to amuse. I'm going to have to binge this series eventually! 😁

I love it when the minister is so onto Humphrey he gets backed into a corner

I remember watching this on UHF. One of the best TV series ever made.

We have all this in Australia, tax is sky high , no advertising , plain packaging etc its worked quite well .

Just started watching yes Minister again. It’s great to see how their relationship evolves.

Dominic Lawson wrote in the Sunday Times along similar lines. Smoke like a chimney, drink alcohol, drive everywhere,pay your taxes and NI stamp,:pop your clogs at 65 and the country is sound fiscally.

Even the minute things "Thank you for your cigarette paper" cracks it.

What a spin! I am surprise Humphy didn’t fall flat on his back. How I love him

Some of the best comedy actors the BBC ever had 😊

The writing was absolutely brilliant on this show!

Great old Humpy must be laughing now

This is political business education for the public in light-hearted form

What depresses me is that I can see both sides of this logic! The phrase “necessary evil” keeps rattling around in my head. I wonder if this makes me a “moral vacuum” like Humphrey?

Man...the writers had a field day with this one. Well done. ☮

Today on 05/10/2021 the home Secretary announced a public enquiry, Sr Humphrey used to say, If you don't want anything done, hold a public enquiry. Makes you wonder

Not entirely in the same vein as this hilarious sketch, but back in the early 00's I was working in part of the MoD. One of the regular publications that crossed my desk was Civil Service News (or something similar). One edition had a lengthy & very detailed letter from an unnamed civil servant working out that smokers who were entitled to smoking breaks during office hours worked x% less over their full working lives than non-smokers. The writer was dead serious - it certainly was not a joke !! 😎😱

British humour at its long gone best.

What Hacker suggested, raising tax sky high, banning advertising, especially at point of sale, is exactly what Australia did to great effect.

Hunphrey in this scene is absolutely brilliant

Genius writing and comic timing

As Billy Connoly once said smoking takes 10 years off your life ,The Worst 10 Years.

Brilliant that Australia's Nicola Roxon, as Health Minister and then Attorney General, actually managed to do this and more. No-one thought it was remotely possibly to take on big tobacco. Now most countries around the world have same rules.

It’s scary how real this is

Good thing financial incentives would never affect the relationship between Public Health Policy and Pharmaceutical companies in the event of a major health crises like a pandemic.

20 years ago today, Nigel Hawthorne (Sir Humphrey) passed away

Bless their souls those two were perfect.... RIP

I need a brain like Humphrey's 🤣🤣🤣

I'm so glad i have the complete box set of this series. I just have to make sure i have a big box of tissues when I watch it for the tears of laughter! A brilliant cast 💖 😂👋💕😂💖😂💕👋😂 👋......Yes.Minister......👋 💖..............&.................💖 👋.Yes.Prime.Minister👎 😂👋💕😂💖😂💕👋😂

Why is this so perfectly accurate decades on?

Intentional 420. Genius move

I've been trying to think about where I recognise the Humphry guy and I finally got it. He's the bad guy in Demolition Man other than Wesley Snipes.

Sunak did this... Man this just a documentary

I watched these series in the 80s and am still watching then in 2022.

I love it because Humphrey says exactly what the tea party is thinking

Oscar from heartbeat 🥺 ❤️

It sounds like an arguement with your mother. When you have reasons, they are 'excuses' When *she* has reasons, they are iron-clad facts.

3:10 - I died.

Ah, perfect timing.

Why these british sitcoms are making me feel cozy watching them bedtime?

Loved this show; I used to watch the reruns every weekend on PBS twenty years ago up in Maryland when I was a student there

British comedy at its best 😂😂

Same now here in Australia, but swap out the tobacco industry with the mining industry.

2022 and we're still having this very debate in Switzerland about banning tobacco advertising... With the same arguments, to boot!

Check the video's length. Very nice.

Desert island 🏝 This makes my Top 10 dvd 📀 list. Yes Minister was arguably even better!!

Simply brilliant!

👏 Brilliant comedy I have Yes Minster and Yes Prime Minister on DVDS

Was this the episode where the Minister for Health is a smoker with a hacking cough?

Humphrey justifying the death of smokers is pretty bold and pretty cold at that, assuming that the dead smokers would of been a burden on society if they lived healthy lives

One of my favourite british shaw, the other ones are "are you being served" and " some mothers do have 'em".

I love how this is 4min and 20sec long, perfection👌

sky high tax and no ads, even at point of sale. That won't happen ....oh, it did

Humphrey could give s MasterCards in rationalizing

And that's why I still smoke! Just doing my bit!

Weird this was seen at the time as impossible- but actually smoking bans came in pretty quick in the end with barely a whimper except from the tobacco lobby.

Shouldn't had cut the next line "smokers are national benefactors"

....The Larry Sanders Show! Genius

I wish I was around when this show was new

It's so laughable an idea it's now government policy! 🤣🤣

This is the best Anti Smoking ad I have ever seen.

I truly l,oved this programme and what made it so much nicer was to read the pm and sir Humphrey both insisted on Bernard been given better lines so there was the three of them not the two plus Bernard.

Perfect British humour. ..

It's good, in itself, that fewer people smoke, but it's probably also responsible for the fact that so many people are obese or overweight, because smoking used to kill people's appetites.

Such beautiful acting.

These should be subtitled in every language possible.

Amazing how times have changed

When COVID killed 17,000 people, Boris had a party