Interesting with the passing of time to see things that were once popular and universal fall out of public favour. With particular reference to the concept of physical and mental health.

Take smoking for example. Once ubiquitous across the globe and practiced almost everywhere, in cinemas, shopping malls, offices, restaurants and bars, until the forces of health consciousness mobbed up and mobilised, and drove the tobacco industry away, out of sporting venues, cars and our lounge rooms, away to the Third World, where it appears they are still free to peddle cigarettes to small children.

This happened in my lifetime. I recall the days of my youth, when almost every girl between the age of 15 and 30 used cigarettes as a dietary measure, feeling like they had to smoke because all their friends did. I remember the bad girls at high school sneaking back to class from behind the bike sheds, desperately chewing gum and utterly failing to disguise the smell of cigarettes on their breath, hair and clothes. They got hooked early.

I recall my early days in the public service, when a party in the common room would inevitably witness a fog of smoke crawling along the ceiling, as every girl in the office, and most of the blokes, lit up.

Fast forward to today where smoking in this country is almost a rarity. The education process worked really well, not to mention the taxes and the astronomical cost of smokes. Gone are the days when doctors could be used in television advertisements to encourage the mentally beneficial stress relieving qualities of a particular brand of cigarettes. Now our smokers are the social lepers, banished to a windy corner on the street for their shameful fix. Banned and discouraged almost everywhere in polite society.

Alcohol too is coming under increasing pressure. While we will never see the days of prohibition again, and boutique bars and beers increase in popularity, there is at least some official acknowledgement of the medical and social problems its excessive use can cause, particularly to the young.

Makes me think what other niche unhealthy products will be targeted next. Two immediately come to mind – fast food and gambling.

At the moment, fast food companies are still allowed to reel our kids in early to try and get them hooked on sugar and fat. I’d wager it won’t be long until more pressure is placed on these purveyors of junk to remove themselves from such broad public view.

Lately I notice one company in particular running an ad which seems to imply they are somehow a part of us, a part of our lives and our upbringing. They have always been there for us, in the background, an intricate part of Aussie summers, passed down through the generations. No you fucking haven’t, McDonald’s! You are not part of our history. You are an American company that only appeared on our shores in the 1980s. Away with you, you bastards.

Then there’s KFC. Suddenly an intricate part of the Aussie summer and cricket no less. A part of our cricketing history eh? Their colours miraculously segueing from red white and blue to Aussie green and gold, all so dumb bogans can run around at the cricket with empty chicken buckets on their heads.

Fuck off, Kentucky Fried Chicken. You’re about as Australian as my left nut (I was born overseas). I guarantee the good ol’ boys back home in Kentucky have never even heard of fucking cricket.

The growing epidemic of obesity across the Western World will see to you lot.

The next ubiquitous product I reckon will come in for some harsh treatment in the not too distant future is gambling. Especially now that we don’t have to go into seedy betting shops and it can dig its mucky claws into us 24/7 by our own hand held devices.

I notice the ads for gambling in Australia are usually posited in a blokey, matey, ocker voice. The whole tone of the ads seems to be – ‘Go on, don’t be a fucken poofdah! Have a fucken bet yakunt! Don’t tell the missus, put the whole fucken house on it. Go on, bet bet bet bet bet bet bet… but gamble responsibly.’

Then there’s the ad where we see the inner workings of the betting agency, where the staff engaged in various tasks are cheering the punter on. My fucking arse they are. They don’t want you to win. They want you to fucking lose everything you mug. Gambling of course shares a vital quality with our other bette noirs, smoking, booze and fast food – in that they are all massively addictive.

So come on, what are ya waiting for? Have a smoke, have a burger, have a beer and have a bet, ya bastard! At least before they are rightfully banned or at least supressed.