Who's putting words into Jeremy Hunt's mouth?
Thursday, November 8, 2012 at 8:17 I was interviewed by BBC Radio Oxford yesterday.
In advance they sent me a press release. Here's a flavour:
There is an "urgent" need to reduce the number of teenagers taking up smoking, the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) said, after experts estimated that the cost of lung cancer to the UK economy is £2.4 billion each year.
The figure, which is to be presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Liverpool later today, is higher than the cost of any other cancer, researchers said.
There are quotes from research author Dr Jose Leal, Oxford University; Dr Jane Cope, director of the NCRI; Dr Siobhan McClelland, head of evidence of Macmillan Cancer Support; and Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control.
According to King:
"This research highlights the stark economic impact of different cancers. But it's important to remember the very real human impact of cancer - the lives lost to, and affected by the disease.
"It's vital we prevent more young people from becoming addicted to a product that will kill half of all long term smokers.
"Putting an end to the silent salesman of the slickly-designed, colourful tobacco packaging is a crucial step towards making cigarettes less appealing to children."
There is alo a quote from Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
"Too many people die from killer diseases like lung cancer and this study shows that quitting smoking is the best thing you can do to cut your risk of dying early.
"Last month our Stoptober campaign saw more than a quarter of a million people signing up to our 28-day stop smoking challenge. Stoptober may be over but people can still join in and be supported."
This was obviously written for him, which I understand (he's a busy man). But it's sad that politicians are so easily used and manipulated by civil servants allied to a powerful interest group.
Likewise Anna Soubry. I am slowly becoming a fan of the new health minister whose views on euthanasia, for example, echo my own.
I also like the fact that she has allegedly banned her office from using "frigging jargon" (Anna Soubtry's NHS clean-up operation).
Yes, I like the sound of her very much. On the subject of smoking, however, she sounds just like every other health minister. The following quote, for example, is virtally identical to Jeremy Hunt's:
"Stoptober may have been a great success but half of all smokers will die because of their habit. We know most smokers want to give up, which is why we must keep encouraging them to make that step."
Who's writing this stuff? It certainly isn't them.
PS. For an alternative view see A licence to smoke (The Free Society)
Reader Comments (2)
I can't find this research on the web. In yesterday's Times the authors claimed that the cost to the health care system for each lung cancer patient is 9K a year compared to 1.1K for breast cancer. leaving aside that aquote of costs per year is meaningless without any information on the average duration of treatment, these figures don't seem plausible. Any breast cancer treatment will cost more than 1.1K just for the first year; even without a mastectomy. Then there is chemotherapy, radiotherapy, constant checks and frequent recurrence of the cancer. Why is lung cancer ten times as expensive? I thought you died pretty quickly and they pumped you with heroin and left you to it. The authors also claom that lung cancer costs more to the economy because of potential lost wages due to premature deaths from people in employment. This makes no sense. The proportion of lung cancer occurring before retirement is small and if someone dies in service, they are replaced either by an immigrant or someone claiming benefits. Neither can be be counted as a cost. There is, however, a very large saving on pension payments. One fewer benefit claimant and one fewer pensioner.
If any one can find a link to this research, please put it up here.
Here's the abstract, but that's not much help. http://www.ncri.org.uk/ncriconference/2012abstracts/abstracts/Para70.html