Give it a rest!
Monday, December 30, 2013 at 16:39
Simon Clark

Followers of Forest on Twitter may have noticed that we haven't been tweeting over Christmas.

That was deliberate. Less is more and we all deserve a rest from the subject of smoking and tobacco control.

In contrast I have been driven up the wall by the persistent tweets from Tobacco Free Futures - three or four a day over the Christmas period - promoting their latest anti-smoking video.

Here are some examples:

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 18h
Smoking with the window half open won’t protect kids from breathing in 4000 toxic chemicals. Stop #smokingincars http://bit.ly/1kP4SiZ

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 29 Dec
Why should kids be forced to breathe in other people's cigarette smoke? Support a law on #smokingincars http://bit.ly/1kP4SiZ

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 28 Dec
8,500 kids in England go to hospital every year due to passive smoking. Support a law on #smokingincars carrying kids

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 27 Dec
Watch our #smokingincars viral & vote to keep kids safe from breathing in 4000 toxic fumes http://bit.ly/1kP4SiZ

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 26 Dec
Thousands of kids in England are exposed to cigarette smoke daily. Support a law on #smokingincars to keep kids safe http://bit.ly/1kP4SiZ

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 24 Dec
Adults are safe from secondhand smoke in public places & work vehicles, but kids aren't protected from #smokingincars

Tobacco Free Futures ‏@tff4kids 23 Dec
Secondhand smoke has more impact on kids as they have smaller lungs. Support law on #smokingincars http://bit.ly/1kP4SiZ

Today Tobacco Control has something else to tweet about - a new public health campaign "highlighting the toxic damage tobacco smoke does to vital organs such as the brain, as well as the lungs".

There's quite a lot I want to say about this but I'll leave it for another day.

In the meantime, and to paraphrase Danny Baker (also on Twitter but in response to something completely different), I'll settle for:

SHAAADDDUUUUP! It's Christmas!!

Normal service will be resumed very soon, but not just yet.

Enjoy.

Article originally appeared on Simon Clark (http://taking-liberties.squarespace.com/).
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