Did plain pack campaigners target Olympic torch spectators?

I am told that Smokefree South West were asking people to sign their pro-plain pack petition when the Olympic torch arrived in Bristol last week.

"Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Bristol on Tuesday evening", reported the local paper, and what better opportunity to get signatures for a petition in favour of plain packaging!!

Can you imagine the furore if the Hands Off Our Packs campaign had petitioned spectators? Cue faux outrage and public health officials railing against the "evil" tobacco lobby.

Even if we had wanted to (we didn't), I don't imagine for one second that we would have been allowed to promote our campaign anywhere near an Olympics-related event.

What interests me is whether Smokefree South West were given permission to petition spectators because London 2012 - including the Olympic torch relay route - is such a tightly managed event.

Nothing, for example, must compromise those all-important sponsorship deals which is why the Government introduced legislation to ban ambush marketing.

Personally I see little difference between private businesses employing ambush marketing at an Olympic event and campaigners using similar tactics to target crowds on the Olympic torch relay route.

The only significant difference is this: Smokefree South West is funded not by the private sector but by the taxpayer via the same government that introduced legislation to outlaw ambush marketing!!

Thankfully the plain packs consultation ends on July 10 and the Olympics doesn't start until July 27 otherwise I could well imagine pro-plain packs campaigners outside every stadium and arena.

The government missed a trick there.