Simon Clark - Taking Liberties

It's Valentine's Day so welcome to the inevitable report that Smoking 'is a big turn off' in the dating game.

The BBC is quite restrained in its coverage of this "new research". The original source, the Department of Health, held nothing back:

New research from the Department of Health shows that if you are looking for a date this Valentine’s Day then be sure to keep away from cigarettes if you want to increase your chances of success.

Among people polled, it was the 18-24 year olds who were most put off by the smell of cigarettes.

Seventy four per cent claimed they would not kiss someone who had just smoked; seventy six per cent agreed that smoking makes people less attractive; and sixty four per cent of 35-44 year olds said they would refuse a kiss from a smoker.

As well as leaving a bad taste in the mouth of your date, 47 per cent of those polled said that if they knew someone was a smoker they would think twice about starting a serious relationship. So, people who want to stay one step ahead of the game this Valentine’s Day should put an end to their habit and quit today.

Shameless.

The BBC asked me for a quote so I responded to the press release as follows:

"What really leaves a bad taste in the mouth is the use of taxpayers' money for research like this. To then use it to denigrate a substantial minority of the population with cheap personal jibes says more about the Department of Health than it does about smokers and their attractiveness to other people.

"There's no love lost between smokers and regulators and if it continues to hurl insults at ordinary people the government can kiss goodbye to millions of votes at the next election."

The BBC have toned down the DoH's press release so only an edited version of this quote appears in their report.

Quite what it says about the Government's war on smokers when even the BBC decides to dilute the message, I'll leave you to judge.

Update on Tuesday, February 14, 2012 at 10:21 by

Simon Clark

More fan mail:

I've just read yet another of your regular but ridiculous pronouncements – this time on the ‘smoking and dating’ poll which the DOH have just carried out, and which is merely confirmation of something which is blindingly obvious to anyone with a glimmer of intelligence.

It has prompted me to write to you to ask you this: can you really not see what a complete & utter fool you make yourself appear in the eyes of most people? Do you not hear the collective groan which emerges from the lips of millions of UK citizens every time you appear in the media with a predictably stupid opinion on anything to do with the issue of reducing the harm done by smoking?

For heaven’s sake, stop prostituting yourself to the tobacco industry and get yourself an honest job.

I came to Cornwall this week to get away from all this!!