Government keeps us guessing
Thursday, December 4, 2008 On the question of tobacco control there was very little to comment on, but here are some of the responses to yesterday's Queen's Speech.
Deborah Arnott, director of ASH (left), said: “We are pleased that the Government has announced that it will be bringing forward measures to improve public health but disappointed that it is unclear what exactly this will mean. A ban on the sale of tobacco from vending machines and the removal of tobacco products from public view in shops will lead to a significant decline in the number of young smokers taking up the habit.
"The public support the toughest possible measures to protect children from a life-long addiction to tobacco. There’s no time to waste. The government must make clear its intentions and publicise these as soon as possible. Every day of delay results in yet more children being lured into a habit that will ruin their health and shorten their lives.“
The Tobacco Retailers Alliance welcomed the announcement of measures to tackle underage smoking but warned against imposing a ban on the display of tobacco products which would drive thousands of shops out of business without delivering any reduction in youth smoking rates.
Ken Patel, a newsagent from Leicester and national spokesman for the TRA said: "The government must hold good to its commitment to support small businesses in what is an unprecedented economic climate. A display ban has not worked in reducing youth smoking anywhere in the world. All it has achieved in places like Canada and Iceland, over several years, is to drive family-run businesses in to economic ruin and reduce convenience and choice for shoppers."
Speaking on behalf of Forest, I said: “Banning the display of tobacco in shops is gesture politics which the country can ill afford at any time, let alone during a recession. There is no evidence that it will have any impact on the health of the nation or the number of teenagers who smoke. All it will do is alienate ten million adult smokers and threaten the livelihoods of thousands of small retailers." (Our full response is HERE.)
The good news is that ASH must be really pissed off. How galling to receive £191k from the Department of Health (for its Beyond Smoking Kills report) - and still be kept in the dark about the government's plans. Listen carefully and can almost hear the gnashing of teeth and the exasperated cries from within ASH HQ.
Reader Comments (20)
ASH can go to hell with there rubish, lies and dictatorship robotic style harassment of people who decide to smoke.
At a time when we are in a severe economic crisis, I hope public health can ween themselves off their addiction to ASH.
Simon, have that many smokers given up? I noticed in your comment you stated "All it will do is alienate ten million adult smokers.." I thought there were nearer 15 million, or are the other 5 million children?
I'm not sure that Deborah Arnott really believes the bullshite she is pushing anyway ... but she does, obviously, have to earn her keep from ASH and justify and keep what is probably a very high salary.
Oh why oh why doesn't she use her obvious talents for something far more important and worthwhile than tobacco control. Pro-choicers get accused of fighting a "trivial" issue when there is so much wrong in both the country and the world. .. but we didn't make it an issue at all...
A scientific study has been done in Bury Lancashire. The number of smokers has risen since the ban, but the number of 20 a day smokers has gone down.
"Smoking prevalence in a north-west town following the introduction of Smoke-free England."..."The baseline survey found that the standardized prevalence of smoking before the ban was 22.4% and after it was 22.6%."...."Conclusions The study found that in Bury the smoking ban did not have a substantial impact on smoking prevalence but had an impact on the proportion of heavy smokers. The measurement of smoking prevalence before the change in legislation can be used to assess its long-term impact on smoking habits in Bury."
http://jpubhealth.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/4/415
Your wish is my command, ASH accounts March 2007.
Direct salary costs 2007 £340,916
Direct salary costs 2006 £345,680
One person earns £60-70,000 plus £3,600 pension contributions. My guess is Arnott and my guess on Sandford is £50,000, plus goodies. They have 8 full time and 9 part time people. It looks like they wasted £694,633 in 2007 including £24,460 on the BAT AGM!!
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/registeredcharities/ScannedAccounts/Ends67/0000262067_ac_20070331_e_c.pdf
Thanks, again, Dave. Now we all know the reason why ASH takes this trivial issue so seriously!
Sucker-of-the-public-teat Arnott: "The public support the toughest possible measures to protect children from a life-long addiction to tobacco."
Presuming to speak for "the public" and attempting the old confidence trick again. Only this time they're less certain of having a supine nulabor administration in place for long enough to throw any more of this shit at us, their servant-paymasters.
"There’s no time to waste."
Before it's P45 time for Debs, with any luck.
There plans are going to hell, and so are they. Once they falter as they are doing now, and the financial state worsens, we shall see power beginning to slip from these nasty, criminal bastards. Another death on their hands in Cornwall.http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/12/04/taxman-kills-himself-over-smoking-ban-115875-20944352/
My stats on the number of smokers, it is down to 22% of people aged 16+. I have just worked out that under 16s adds another 0.8.
Therefore 68/80 x 60 million x 22.8% = 11,628,000 smokers in the UK.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_health/smoking2007.pdf
'The public support the toughest possible measures to protect children from a life-long addiction to tobacco'. So she admits that NRTs don't work?
"The public support the toughest possible measures to protect children from a life-long addiction to tobacco."
Life-long? Seams that smoking prevalence has declined, hasn't it? How'd that happen then?
west
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Gotta love all the statistics that keep getting blurted out. But they never include the smuggling trade as I am sure a lot of young / older people will get their tobacco from. Of course we can't be 100% sure how much of the smuggled tobacco gets to smokers but there must be a rough estimate. Ina ny case we all know that if kids, teenagers in this case, are constantly told not to dosomething, they will inevitabely do it. It's in there nature to rebel.
Firstly, I and a lot of other people, but their tobacco products elsewhere in the EU, where they are cheaper. I have not bought cigs in the UK for years!
Secondly, on the post by Zitori of the tax man who committed suicide - I have mentioned on numerous occasions that I and many others, suffer from depression and anxiety. Mine became acute around the time the smoking ban was announced - previously it was at a manageable level and I did not need medication.
I am now on long term medication and my doctors despair as they are trying to help in every way they can, but my staying at home and not socialising is one of the worst things to do for a depressive! However, I cannot enjoy going out because of the smoking ban, I do not wish to stand in the street to smoke and be verbally abused, as I don't think that this will do much for my depression and anxiety either! Cath 22 then!
How long, I wonder, before I can register as disabled?
http://www.mirror.co.uk/opinion/voiceofthemirror/2008/12/03/why-david-cameron-must-put-damian-green-behind-him-and-back-new-smoking-laws-115875-20941637/
I also saw this in the Mirror - how can they post this next to the tragic story of the tax-man. I guess the Mirror's opinion speaks for itself. What has this country become?
This made me laugh: "stopping the spread of lap-dancing clubs will be widely backed". So no plans to stop the illegal UNREGULATED brothels then? I've only ever been to a lap dancing club twice and can say with the greatest of pride that I wuld have no hesitation of visiting one again. Surely this can't be about protecting the health of the public. Well as you guessed of course it's not! My theory is that it has now become a damn religious crusade ( or was it from the beginning? ), and when religion is involved you can bet your bottom dollar the damn Catholic church isn't very far behind.
This made me laugh: "stopping the spread of lap-dancing clubs will be widely backed". So no plans to stop the illegal UNREGULATED brothels then? I've only ever been to a lap dancing club twice and can say with the greatest of pride that I wuld have no hesitation of visiting one again. Surely this can't be about protecting the health of the public. Well as you guessed of course it's not! My theory is that it has now become a damn religious crusade ( or was it from the beginning? ), and when religion is involved you can bet your bottom dollar the damn Catholic church isn't very far behind.
The Mirror. Another case of mind-numbing ignorance from the media, following the Anti-Smoking Crusade into the realms of fantasy, and giving more importance to cigarette machines, than bringing to the the publics' attention the incredibly dangerous development of politicizing the police. A very real Big Brother move. Unprecidented.
Investigative journalism is being stamped on and not rewarded as it should be, that is why they are a mouthpiece for the State now, spouting doctrines that have come from fanatics, and making them out to be moderate policies that everyone should applaud without question. This is extremism portraying itself as the norm, and burying the freedoms of the past as though they never exsisted. Now where did I first read about that.......Oh yes, some book called 19 something or other.
How in these "regrettable recessionery times" can the likes of these wankers employed by Ash and their ilk be allowed to pull down such outragous salaries. Its about time that regulations were put on govt spending itself for a change by some investigative journalist to show what could be saved by abolishing these non government organisations like Ash.
We should all start lobbying our local reps for accountability of these NGO's before the next elections.
We should ask for a balancing of the books between how much was saved by what percentage of smokers who gave up, against how much is being spent on advertising and what proof that even one life has been saved. And how much is being made by the likes of Ash and the other NGO's against how much is being paid out on wages for their employees.
And most important of all the hugely negative impact and loss of revenue they have had on the hospitality industry.
And also the isolation and lonliness they have incurred on decent older people.
I am utterly convinced that Ash and the other NGO's are partly responsible for the mess we now find ourselves in. Just look at the state Ireland is in, once heralded as the trendsetters of europe with the smoking ban etc.
Oh No !
Id never seen a picture of DA before !
If thats what a lifetime of non smoking makes you look like i'm going to smoke even more!