Friday
Nov042011
Mallon on The Morning Show
Friday, November 4, 2011 at 11:05 
Forest's man in Ireland, John Mallon, made his national television debut yesterday.
Click on the image above to see how he got on when he appeared on The Morning Show on TV3. It's the main item at the top of the programme.
Reader Comments (7)
Excellent performance John. I will be very interested to know what the reaction from the audience is (I'm sure we'll be kept up to date)
John did very well indeed. He was cool under provocation. Where did the male interviewer get his figures from? How do these interviewers come to know all the propaganda phrases, like x thousands of deaths from 'smoking related' diseases? (Does that phrase mean 'all deaths, whether smokers or not, which result from any disease which may or may not to connected possibly with smoking'?)
So well done John.
thats what i call a smokers champion, someone who has a balanced view who can see the sense of simple straightforward ideas without the need to go off on misguided hate filled rants about individuals or the government, ASH etc , i liked his comments about him going around schools and that dying comes to everyone.
i had thought the smokers right supporters were all smokerloonies but it appears not...well done john
i agree the smoking ban is well meaning but extreme and thats the way to argue the case in a sensible way which will gain him and the issues support.
As presenters they do have to play devil's advocate and I thought they were fair. Just to pick up on a few points here, John mentioned Allen Carr and "The EasyWay to Give Up Smoking," here is Deborah Arnott's foot in mouth moment.
"Today Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), the public health charity has apologised to Allen Carr’s Easyway Organisation for unfounded comments made by its Director in November 2006.
In November of last year, Deborah Arnott, Director of ASH claimed that specific success rates quoted by AllenCarr Easyway were “plucked out of the air” and “basically made up.” She made these comments whilst on the BBC Radio 4 “PM” programme during a piece concerning the death of Allen Carr, founder of Allen Carr’s Easyway organisation.
Deborah Arnott’s comments referred to two independent studies conducted by eminent experts in the field of smoking cessation which had already been published in peer reviewed journals indicating a 53% success rate for Allen Carr’s Easyway to Stop Smoking Clinics after 12 months.
Following a complaint by Allen Carr’s Easyway International, Deborah Arnott and ASH now acknowledge that it was wrong for Ms Arnott to have made the comments relating to the 53% success rate and have issued an unreserved apology.
ASH has agreed to pay the legal costs incurred by Allen Carr’s Easyway."
http://allencarr.com/133/ash-apologise-to-allen-carrs-easyway
While I am here can we finally put to bed the mistruth that smokers cost the country money. This study was funded by the Czech Health Ministry for the purpose of arguing for for taxation from cigarettes to be funnelled though to them.
"15 AUGUST 2011
Prague, Aug 14 (CTK) – An analysis the Czech Health Ministry has made shows that Czech smokers pay in consumer taxes and VAT dozens of billions of crowns more than what their treatment costs, the Czech Television (CT) public broadcaster Sunday quoted Health Minister Leos Heger (TOP 09) as saying."
“About six billion crowns is spent on the treatment of smokers’ diseases in the system of public health insurance annually while the tax on tobacco products brings in the state budget about 60 billion,” Heger said."
http://daveatherton.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/the-czech-republic-confirms-that-smokers-pay-ten-times-more-than-they-cost-to-treat/
Finally the presenters quoted 10-15 years of early mortality, which is quite untrue. Most studies are about 7 years. Middle class people have smoking rates of about 15% while working class rates are about 30%.. Poorer people are less likely to have access to private health insurance, live in a less salubrious environment and less educated. For example a smoker in Kensington will live longer than a non smoker in Glasgow. This outside of smoking could be an added factor in the earlier mortality. There is no denying the role that smoking plays in lung cancer and COPD and certainly smoking can affect longevity but the anti smoking lobby no doubt exaggerate the numbers.
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/slideshow.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050029&imageURI=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050029.t001
"...i agree the smoking ban is well meaning but extreme and thats the way to argue the case in a sensible way which will gain him and the issues support."
I almost agree with you except that the smoking ban was never implemented as "well meaning" it was implemented out of spite to force people who smoke to become people who don't smoke and the issue is not black and white for lifelong smokers. They know this. They must have seen the same research as I've seen.
Secondly, why would you think that the imposition of a far right extremist piece of legislation would not make ordinary people become quite extreme in their views in the opposite?
What a shame we don't have cash thrown at this cause as the anti-smoker industry does and then we'd all know which media voice and tactics to take.
I have found that what most smokers want is just to be left alone - and that's extremist? Crikey.