Now, smokers in some places face smoking bans in certain public and private spaces, and unspoken -- and sometimes overt -- hostilities.

CNN: If smoking is so bad for you, who still does it?

"Sometimes it's very overt -- parents say, 'You must choose this major or this type of job' or 'You should not bring home As and Bs, only As, " she says.

CNN: Push to achieve tied to suicide in Asian-American women

Sometimes officials do end up in conflict with their political masters but that conflict is rarely as overt as Yes, Prime Minister would have it.

BBC: Does Whitehall still say Yes, Prime Minister?