Good week to bury bad news

I can't help thinking that the Department of Health must have breathed a sign of relief last week.

While Britain's media was focussing on the Olympics and 'Team GB', the news that almost a quarter of a million people had signed a petition against plain packaging of tobacco was never going to make much of an impression.

And so it proved.

There is a long way to go though and I would urge you to write to your MP and to your local newspaper pointing out the scale of the rebellion against standardised packaging.

To those who think this is a waste of time because the Secretary of State has already made up his mind about plain packaging, think again. There is everything to play for.

Over the weekend, for example, I was alerted to the headline 'Southampton MP backs plain packets for cigarettes'.

The politician in question is Labour's John Denham but the report also featured the views of another local MP:

Julian Lewis, Conservative MP for New Forest East, said he could see the arguments in favour of the change but warned it was important not to boost the fraudulent cigarette trade.

Julian and I go back a long way. (We first worked together in 1983.) He is not a smoker and in my experience he has very little interest in tobacco issues.

On this issue I suspect he represents a significant number of MPs who are undecided. It is our job to make sure that MPs like Julian have all the information they require before they are asked to vote.

But you can help too by writing to your MP and making sure that they are aware of the strength of opinion against plain packaging.

The consultation may have ended but the battle has barely begun.

And, please, no more defeatist comments. We have enjoyed a fantastic result with our campaign so far. Let's now build on it.

See: A good week to bury bad news? (Forest newsletter)