Taking Liberties

According to the Advertising Standards Authority annual report, published today, the advertisement that received the largest number of complaints in 2007 was a Department of Health campaign showing people with giant fish-hooks in their mouths.

According to the Telegraph, the £7 million (seven million!!) television and poster campaign "prompted 774 complaints from people who found them offensive, frightening and distressing". 

Although the ASA found that the ads were "unlikely to cause serious offence or distress to adult viewers", it upheld the complaints "and ordered the Department of Health not to run the campaign again".

Too late, some might say, but I don't. The fact that it was the most complained about advertisement demonstrates a significant degree of opposition. The government will think twice before embarking on a similar campaign and it gives me confidence that smokers are no pushovers.

So, well done to everyone who took the trouble to write and complain. Now we have to channel that energy in other directions.

The following has just been brought to my attention.
I make no comment other than to speculate that the legal costs incurred will presumably be paid for with money provided by the taxpayer or ASH's principal donors, the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research.

"On 29th November 2006 the Director of ASH, Deborah Arnott, was interviewed by the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘PM’ in the context of a piece concerning the death of Allen Carr of Allen Carr’s Easyway International. During the course of the interview reference was made to Allen Carr’s open letter to Tony Blair which was published on www.allencarr.com and Ms Arnott was asked to express her opinion on the views expressed by Mr Carr who passed away that morning.

"Despite references during the interview to the studies mentioned by Allen Carr in his letter that indicated a 53% success rate for Allen Carr’s Easyway To Stop Smoking Clinics after 12 months, Ms Arnott stated that the 53% success rate had been “plucked out of the air” and “basically made up”.

"Following a complaint by Allen Carr’s Easyway International, Ms Arnott now acknowledges that two uncontrolled, observational and retrospective studies using self-reported abstinence have been published in peer reviewed journals and have reported success rates for the Allen Carr method consistent with an estimate of 53% after twelve months."

Full apology HERE.

A little bird tells me that ASH Scotland is currently the subject of an independent review – standard practice, apparently, for voluntary organisations receiving more than £100k pa of taxpayers' money from the Scottish Executive Government.

As it happens, ASH Scotland receive far more than £100k a year from the public purse. Total funds (from the Executive) for the six years from 1999-2005 came to £1,720,000. During this time, funding rose from £188k to £384k per annum.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg. In August 2007, announcing the forthcoming retirement of chief executive Maureen Moore, a press release boasted that Moore "has built ASH Scotland from a small organisation of six to a professional organisation with a full-time staff of 27".

Twenty-seven! How the hell can they afford 27 full-time staff? Further investigation reveals an organisation with more job titles than is strictly decent. They include:

Alliances Administrator, Alliances Manager, Training & Development Administrator, Training & Development Manager, Director of Projects & Services Development, Director of Business, Director of Information & Communications, Projects Officer, Youth Development Officer, Strategy Development Manager (Inequalities), Development Officer (Inequalities), Senior Policy & Research Officer, Information Officer, Research & Evaluation Officer, Communications Officer, Senior Training & Development Officer (x2), Regional Training Officer (x4).

What, precisely, do these people do all day?! If I was an MSP I would want to be told. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath. Full organisational chart HERE.