ASH Scotland: the bully state in action
Monday, May 9, 2011 at 19:18 The following was posted in the comments on the previous thread.
I removed it because it was off topic but I don't want my anonymous correspondent (or anyone else) to think that I want to hide the story.
Far from it. I intend to do everything I can to expose ASH Scotland for what they are - state-sponsored bullies who are happy to organise a conference about alcohol and tobacco without inviting representatives of either the drinks or tobacco industries, but are quick to complain and cast aspersions when a section of the hospitality industry has the initiative to organise a small event of its own to discuss the impact of the smoking ban.
Anyway, this is what ASH Scotland posted on their website earlier today:
Last week, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association publicised an event to discuss proposed retrograde moves for Scottish pubs, including reintroducing smoking areas, and using ventilation to tackle second-hand tobacco smoke. Unsurprisingly given these backwards looking, expensive and unworkable proposals, the event is part funded by the Tobacco Manufacturers Association; an organisation of just three member [sic], British American Tobacco, Gallaher Ltd (a member of Japan Tobacco), and Imperial Tobacco. It is also being organised by Oliver Griffiths who was involved in promoting the tobacco industry’s AIR (Atmosphere Improves Results) campaign. AIR targeted retailers, presenting the discredited and expensive solution of ventilation as an alternative to the smoking ban
My informant (who goes by the name of, er, 'Informant') commented, a little unfairly I thought, "ASH Scotland on the attack but the SLTA remain silent".
Truth is, the SLTA were probably unaware, until a short time ago, that ASH Scotland had even issued this statement.
Far from "publicising" their event, the SLTA had kept it low-key. To the best of my knowledge, invitations were issued only last week and only to a handful of interested parties. No fanfare, no press release, nothing.
This is a small private event, not a political rally, and if the SLTA need a helping hand to pay for it, who can blame them? Thanks in part to the smoking ban, neither the SLTA nor their members have a pot to piss in.
Under attack from a bully state that is now rampant north of the border, Scotland's pubs are defenceless. They need all the help they can get.
Anyway, I really didn't expect to be commenting on this but if ASH Scotland want a fight, bring it on.
Simon Clark
From a Forest report, published last October and updated in January 2011.
ASH Scotland is the leading charity campaigning for tobacco control legislation in Scotland. It was set up in 1973 under the auspice of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, and became a separate organisation to ASH United Kingdom in 1993.
ASH Scotland is a member of the Scottish Tobacco Control Alliance and the Scottish Coalition on Tobacco. It employs approximately 28 staff.
Direct income from the Scottish Government has risen steadily: £364,869 in 2004-5, £353,120 in 2005-06 and £403,800 in 2006-07.
Scottish Government funding for ASH Scotland in the financial year 2008-09 was composed of the following:
Core Grant, £255,000
Local Alliances Project, £60,000
Tobacco and Inequalities Project, £60,000
ASH Scotland Information Service, £62,950
Capital Grant, £30,737
Partnership Action on Tobacco and Health, £453,150
Total £921,837
NHS Health Scotland also provided £34,172 of funding in 2008-09.
ASH Scotland’s income for the financial year 2009-2010 was £1,053,909. The charity chooses not to publish its annual accounts – although these are available on request.
ASH Scotland’s Annual Report 2010 provides some evidence of the breakdown of funding sources – in descending order:
Government funded projects
Core funding from Government
British Heart Foundation
NHS Health Scotland
Cancer Research UK
The BIG Lottery
Donations, interest and earned income
By far the largest tranche of funding (somewhere in the region of 60%) comes from government funded projects. In December 2009, ASH Scotland received a £500,000 grant from the BIG Lottery to fund a major three year research project into smoke-free homes in Scotland.
It is understood that ASH Scotland has widened its funding portfolio since an external review was undertaken and published in August 2008.
Full report, including sources for the above information: Government lobbying government: the case of the UK tobacco control industry.
You couldn't make it up.
Reader Comments (17)
"I really didn't expect to be commenting on this but if ASH Scotland want a fight, bring it on."
About time.
Simon,
I accept my initial comment was "off topic" but my aim was to bring it to your attention and I thank you for this new article.
Doesn't it say something about ASH Scotland and Sheila Duffy that they do not allow any comments on their site.
On the question of vested interests have a look at the sponsors of the UK National Smoking Cessation Conference 2011.
http://www.uknscc.org/uknscc2011_exhibition_sponsors.php
We are all in this together, we must expose the misinformation that ASH Scotland and for that matter ASH UK and to pressure those who are in control of the Government Purses to remove the funding enjoyed by these organisations.
If it's private, how did ASH Scotland find out about it? Have they got double agents?
After the recent election I fear for what Scotland will suffer over the next few years BUT watching 'the spawning Salmon' is no substitute for his destruction of something so many of us value - our life choices.
Yes Belinda - I do believe our group has been infiltrated by Ashites and others from Tobacco Control but as yet we don't know who they are. I am sure we will find out in time.
of course the only problem with what ASH says is that bigoted Govts both north and south of the border are only listening to one side of the debate funded by Big Pharma companies but to their peril they are not listening to the ordinary man or woman, or pub licensee, on the street.
That will come back to bite them harder and harder at each election. Voting out those who refuse to listen to us is the ONLY way, I honestly believe, that we can make them listen.
ASH are liars, this current Condem party and the current Conservatives, must be shown that backing bigots and liars will lose them support. Continuing to vote for them is saying you accept the ban and the whole smoker denormalisation. Labour is so arrogant and intellectually challenged that there is no point in engaging with them further.
OT - anyone in London on Thursday for a drink and smoke (hopefully not in the rain) as I am there for the day and would love a catch up.
Ash gets to impose its dictatorship of tobacco control and no one else, ever gets a look in never mind being fairly represented at review. Their tactic is to claim that anyone opposing their views must be the tobacco industry.Im sure there are groups from all number of backgrounds, that oppose tobacco control and smoking bans. Isnt it about time that everyone affected bythese measures from smokers through to those in the hospitality industry be fairly represented,; not just the strategies put forward by the bullies at Åsh Uk and Scotland?
It'll be easy enough to flush out any ASHites... they'll be the joyless, ill-looking ones.
Oh and when talking about ASH Scotland's income, don't forget the most eye-catching one - the income from donations. Last time I looked that accounted for 0.2% of their income. That usually makes most people realise what a joke that organisation is and what a disservice they do to the concept of "charity" by hiding behind that artificial, "exempt from Freedom of Information Act" status.
ASH Scotland is corrupt and hypocritical. In other news, bears shit in the woods thereby surprising a public which had never considered the possibility before.
Bring it on. Tobacco control has so jumped the shark now that even formerly sympathetic voices are starting to notice. Time to encourage them at every turn since their rantings are becoming ever more embarrassing to their erstwhile supporters.
Being a ridiculous anti-smoker bigot is starting to be frowned upon greatly. :)
Readers maybe interested to read on my blog a couple of articles on ASH. The first is "ASH and its relationship with pharmaceutical companies" a letter written by the then Director of ASH Clive Bates to the Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) how ASH own shares in GSK and helped market their NRT to the NHS. NRT costs the taxpayer £50 million a year.
The second URL is correspondence and data ASH have lodged with pharmaceutical company the Welcome Foundation not to be release for 60 years, what do they have to hide?
The last URL is the SCOTH Committee Register of Interests. The SCOTH Committee are an adjunct of the Department of Health and it is the medical "evidence" that politicians and MPs made their decision to ban smoking inside. Pharmaceutical junkies, Labour luvvies and WHO employees.
http://daveatherton.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/ash-and-its-relationship-with-pharmaceutical-companies/
http://daveatherton.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/what-have-ash-got-hidden-away-until-20778/
http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@ab/documents/digitalasset/dh_098507.pdf
Dave Atherton: We're very interested (and not surprised). The question is why MP's aren't.
I have some other research which you may want to review on ASH England's relationship with GSK.
http://daveatherton.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/ash-and-glaxo-smithkline/
This is what happens when Government connives, isn't it? Since Government is the last line of defence against corruption, once Government connives, it becomes the ultimate corruption. The same can be seen with respect to Global Warming. Government seems to be conniving with the wind power industry to raise prices. Where then is the last line of defence against corruption in the power industry?
Once Government started to connive with ASH et al, it is hard to see a way out. The Gov is open to a sort of blackmail. Is there no Minister in the Government with the courage to point this out to Clegeron? It is not too late to terminate the connivance.
@Chris - your fear is misplaced. The SNP won in Scotland because they have actually done a pretty good job over the last four years. You don't get an endorsement like that if the public don't respect you.
Nothing will happen with the smoking ban in Scotland. There's no votes in it, and parliamentarians are very proud of the fact that this was a bill brought not by politicians but by the people - a concept alien to Westminster. If memory serves it started with a group of primary school children.
It's often said that educational standards are higher North of the border; but evidently not in the area of Staistical Inference taught to primary school children.
The SNP largely did well out of disillusionment with Lib Dems.