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Chairman's Message
A damned fine day was had by all f2c members who travelled to London to the Save our Pubs and Clubs reception hosted by Greg Knight (C), Roger Godsiff (Lab) & John Hemming (LibDem). In all, sixteen MPs were invited by f2c members with apologies being received from Edward Garnier (Mkt Harborough), Andrew Bridgen (Leicester North), Andrew Robathan (South Leicestershire) & Karl McCartney (Lincoln). Jon Ashworth (Leicester South) responded and met with me at the reception but unfortunately, with the exception of Joe Benton (Bootle, Liverpool) the others failed to respond at all. For the record, Joe Benton is an ex smoker and now declares the ban to be the 8th wonder of the world! Karl McCartney and Phil Wilson are being met locally by f2c members.
MPs failing to respond were:- Liz Kendall (Lab), David Tredinnick (C), Mark Garnier (C), Jim Cunningham (Lab), Geoffrey Robinson (Lab), Bob Ainsworth (Lab), Louise Ellman (Lab), Kieth Vaz (Lab), David Ruffley (C), Peter Bone (C), Edward Leigh (Con).
Our sincerest thanks go to Simon Clark of FOREST (SoPaC) for organising this event as more than 200 people travelled to support the campaign, including a dozen representatives from
freedom2choose - well done to all!
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Lincoln Protest
Saturday 2 nd July saw a small but seriously-peeved band of protesters gather inside Lincoln city’s bus station to break the law. Cigarettes were lit, literature handed out and, despite pre-protest doubts, the whole event roused interest and encouragement from all but one passer-by. Thanks to Pat Nurse for organising the event, and to everyone who travelled some distance to attend. Meeting others of like-mind, and the warmth with which we were met by ordinary members of the public, was tremendously uplifting in these otherwise 'denormalising' times. Freedom2Choose is proud to announce that Pat is now a full f2c member with responsibility for media advice.
Well done Pat and welcome!
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More Demands
"It would be safer to have your exhaust pipe on the inside of your car than smoke cigarettes…" This is the BMA’s reasoning behind banning smoking in cars, and serves to remind us why doctors should never be allowed near the levers of power. What a relief, then, to read that Motion 527 was ‘unlikely to be reached’:
| Motion by WEST MIDLANDS REGIONAL COUNCIL: That this Meeting proclaims its intention to form a social enterprise to bid for the business of governing the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, including its National Health Service. |
This (presumably) tongue-in-cheek proposal failed to shame the BMA into scaling back their demands for more controls: besides banning smoking in cars, the BMA would like tighter licensing restrictions on alcohol, including a minumun unit price of 50p.
*** Banning smoking in cars was the subject of a Ten Minute Rule bill introduced by Stockton North Labour backbencher Alex Cunningham. Although the bill was approved (by 78 to 66 votes), it is unlikely that time will be given to debate the proposal further. Our thanks, as always on these occasions, to Philip Davies MP for leading the opposition to the bill. *** Sheila Duffy, of ASH Scotland, thinks she knows the pub industry better than the Scottish Licensed Trade Association. Sheila is concerned that Scotland is losing its world-leadership status in tobacco control and is demanding ‘a new comprehensive and robust strategy’ to rectify the matter.
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Stony Stratford
When Councillor Paul Bartlett announced his intention to impose a New York style outdoor ban on the small town of Stony Stratford, he probably thought he was speaking for the majority who are, after all, non-smokers. In fact, the proposal has been widely condemned as a step too far by smokers and non-smokers alike.
‘An unintended consequence of the indoor smoking ban is that more smokers are on the streets dropping litter and this ban would prevent that.’
… as would welcoming smokers back into society, of course.
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International News
USA
Confusion surrounds the proposal of yet another discriminatory employment law. The incongruously-named Mercy Medical Centre in Des Moines, Iowa has decided to hire only non-smokers, but may be in violation of State Law if it goes ahead with the policy.
Elsewhere – good news!
1st June: Louisiana. A democrat senator’s third attempt to ban smoking in bars is defeated by 22 – 15 votes.
17th June: Nevada. A bill is signed off that will allow bar owners to serve food to their smoking customers, and give family restaurant bosses the freedom to install enclosed smoking areas. While not a complete repeal, these are two small steps in the right direction and warmly welcomed by American freedom-lovers.
AUSTRALIA
Just two weeks after Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon receives a World Health Organisation award for "unwavering leadership" in the field of anti-smoking, news is leaked of her past links with Big Tobacco. Invitations to a fund-raising dinner were sent ‘in error’ to tobacco company executives in 2005, as part of Ms Roxon's re-election campaign.
BAT and Philip Morris are campaigning against Roxon’s plans for plain packaging, the very measure that the WHO describes as "a 'bold and breakthrough' approach that is inspiring political leaders in other countries."
NEW ZEALAND
June 1st marked the beginning of a total ban on smoking in New Zealand’s prisons. Prison guards are understandably twitchy, although Professor of Sociology and ex-lag Greg Newbold is confident that, despite ‘strung out inmates’ and other teething problems, there will be no serious protest.
CHINA
Bill ‘philanthropist’ Gates dropped in on China last month, on a mission to spread the word of second-hand smoke. The day after his appearance in a news conference, Reuters released a report on serious lead poisoning cases in eastern China, a country of ‘unfettered industrial toxins’.
ICELAND
Late news from Iceland – a proposal that would see smoking phased out of existence over the next ten years is to be discussed when the Althingi (Icelandic parliament) reconvenes in the autumn.
Under the scheme, cigarette prices will increase by 10% each year, doctors will enforce stop-smoking sessions and, “smokers who are given prescriptions [for cigarettes] will be diagnosed as addicts.”
The overall aim is to cut the current tally of ‘smoking-related’ deaths from 300 to 100 annually.
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Imperial Speaks Out
At long last - signs of life from the tobacco companies. Undeterred by its recent defeat in appealing against the Scottish vending machine ban, Imperial Tobacco is still pursuing a case against the Scottish display ban, which is now on hold.
Even more heartening is Imperial’s ‘plain speaking’ response to the Welsh Government’s plans for the future of tobacco control. Unlike recent government commissioned reports, Imperial is well aware of the plight of its otherwise-satisfied customers and is finally speaking up for those who have no intention of ‘quitting’.
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Fame at Last!
Freedom2Choose members Dave Atherton and Pat Nurse were both active in media debate last month.
Dave went head-to-head with arch-nanny Deborah Arnott, who can't see what's wrong with 'denormalising smokers', while Pat gave a spirited response to Mail journalist Anna-May Mangan's advice that we all have a personal, moral duty to bully pregnant women out of smoking.
Our congratulations to both for their confident, informed performances and our hopes for many more to come!
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OTHER NEWS...
Despite what many would consider to be ethically difficult trading times for Big Tobacco, British American Tobacco (BAT) continues to offer good returns to investors.
BAT is also expanding its ambitions beyond traditional tobacco: its subsidiary company Kind Consumer is developing an e-cigarette and has signed a funding agreement with Tesco entrepreneur Sir Terry Leahy. Competition comes from rival Phillip Moris who recently bought a patent for e-cigarette manufacture from, “the same scientific team that discovered the potential for commercial nicotine patches in the 1980s.”
Sir Terry’s marketing skills may prove more useful to Kind Consumer than his money if more states choose to follow the example of New Jersey in banning this novelty ‘nicotine delivery’ device.
New research from the American College of Cardiology finds that prolonged sitting is linked to increased risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer and even early death and could be just as dangerous, if not more so, than smoking.”
Graphic new warnings are to appear on cigarette packets in the USA. Intended to shock smokers out of their habit, the most shocking revelation about the images is that they have all been faked.
Latest stop smoking figures reveal that only 34% of self-proclaimed ‘quitters’ are subject to confirmation tests at the usual 4 week period. Of those 34%, carbon monoxide measurements confirm that one in three is fibbing.
Nevertheless, Lincolnshire Pheonix stop smoking services confidently announce that over half their would-be ‘quitters’ successfully kick the habit - a result somewhat higher than the national average.
Tayside and Lanarkshire, meanwhile, languish at the bottom of the Scottish NHS stop-smoking league, with or without CO validation.
WARNING! Princess Cruises is banning smoking entirely from its fleet of cruise ships from January 15th 2012.
Another scary Champix story makes the news in the same month as a new study suggesting that the stop-smoking drug may be linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Chris Snowdon examines the evidence and isn't convinced.
Pet owners in Doncaster are being targeted in a new stop-smoking campaign. According to Vets4Pets, our pets are as susceptible to 'second-hand' smoke as our human companions.
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And finally ...our apologies for the very late delivery of July's issue. We hope to restore our only slightly late standards of service next month.
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Freedom2choose:
c/o John H Baker 22 Glastonbury House, Priestfields, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TS3 0LF
Tel/Fax 0845 643 9469
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Freedom2choose (Scotland):
c/o The Dalmeny Bar, 297 Leith Walk,
Edinburgh EH6 8SA
Tel 0845 643 9552
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