How the tobacco control industry works
Monday, September 17, 2012 at 17:46 OK, this won't come as a surprise ...
1. Tobacco programme manager at the Department of Health writes to Forest about Hands Off Our Packs campaign
2. Tobacco control group (or campaigner) submits Freedom of Information request to see correspondence between DH and Forest
3. DH releases correspondence and publishes it online
4. Friends in media publish misleading report about correspondence and fail to give Forest right of reply
5. ASH circulates report to everyone on its daily news mailing list
6. Anti-smoking campaigners tweet and re-tweet misleading information on Twitter
To be continued ...
Update: I have just read a very interesting post on Nannying Tyrants that reveals, among other things, that the tobacco programme manager's name has been removed from the correspondence released under FOI on Friday. How odd. (I hadn't noticed!)
If that is the protocol so be it. (I have made some amendments to my previous post as a result.) But it does beg the question - why?
Update: Dick Puddlecote exposes the hypocrisy and double standards at the heart of tobacco control, He who casts the first stone, and all that. Essential reading.
Reader Comments (4)
IN THE LIGHT OF THIS POST...WHY DON'T WE LOOK AT WHAT A TOBACCO CONTROL GRAVY BOAT LOOKS LIKE THEN.
Well it looks like this. I will understand if you trim this down Simon, but I couldn't resist it.
I’ve taken this from the UKSNCC (smoking cessation conference) site.
Conference planning group
Programme directors:
Andy McEwen, Executive Director, NHS Centre for Smoking Cessation & Training (NCSCT) and Heather Thomson, Health Improvement Manager, Directorate of Public Health, Leeds Primary Care Trust
Programme committee:
Miriam Armstrong, PharmacyHealthLink; Deborah Arnott, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH); Linda Durgan, All Wales Smoking Cessation Service; Trish Grierson, Dumfries and Galloway Primary Care NHS Trust; Peter Hajek, Tobacco Dependence Research and Treatment Centre, Barts and the London Queen Mary\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s School of Medicine and Dentistry; John Hughes, Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology and Family Practice, University of Vermont, USA; Elspeth Lee, Behaviour Research and Tobacco Control, Cancer Research UK; Gerry McElwee, ASH Northern Ireland; Ann McNeill, University of Nottingham; Chris Owens, British Association of Stop Smoking Practitioners (BASSP); Lesley Owen, National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE); David Robertson, Ash Scotland Alliances Manager; Gay Sutherland, Maudsley Hospital Smoking Cessation Clinic; Robert West, Cancer Research UK Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London.
Supporting organisations:
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH); ASH Northern Ireland; ASH Scotland; ASH Wales; Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD); British Association of Stop Smoking Practitioners (BASSP); British Heart Foundation; British Medical Association (BMA); British Lung Foundation; Cancer Research UK; Cardio Wellness; Journal of Smoking Cessation; No Smoking Day; Pharmacy Health Link; Pip Mason Consultancy; QUIT; Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation; Royal College of Nursing; Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH); Smoking Cessation Service Research Network (SCSRN); Society for the Study of Addiction; The Stroke Association.
Uncle Tom Cobley and all!
But wait...what's this...well, besides the crew on this gravy boat – there’s a few barnacles as well. Sorry, I’ve only listed a few though, there's many, many more...and I know just how tickled pink you are that your hard earned taxes are being squandered on this monumental bilge-pump!
Consultant Stop Smoking Specialist
Health Promotion Specialist
Stop Smoking Service Manager
Professor of Health Specialist
Hospital Stop Smoking Sister (ha, ha ha)
Professor of Socio-Management (what the hell is that?)
Live Healthy Specialist
Research Assistant/Smokeless Tobacco Advisor
Senior Stop Smoking Specialist (yes, senior, with with a legion of junior ones)
Smoking Cessation Liaison Sister (does she have a brother on the payroll?)
Research Associate
Specialist Advisor
Stop Smoking Specialist
Health Improvement Practitioner
Behaviour Change Intervention Officer (like this one)
Stop Smoking Services Manager
Smoking Cessation Advisor…so on and so forth…
Now...that's what I call a real gravy boat!
Anchors' away!
2013 Great Depression strikes:
Former tobacco control smoking cessation specialist degreed in 6 weeks. I am currently seeking employment in my profession or as closely related as can be made. I have recieved notice from my current employer that my services are no longer required due to Government economic cuts.
It is my understanding that your deptartment is in need of professional marketing strategies in pro-tobacco campaigns.
As a former task manager of any plan that came to mind,my services should help in growing your companies business and customer base.
Best regards, Martin Pion
Former Director of Missouri GASP
Psst Ive also got a buddy Gene Borio and he is also starving.
Well there you have it.
A whole industry of anti smoking jobsworths has sprung up, feeding off the backs of smokers.
As the Banksters would put it
We're too Big to Fail!
Behaviour Change Intervention Officer : This office cannot exist in a free society.I suggest that you send all these odious people a copy of "On Liberty"