Who runs this country, the government or the Advertising Standards Authority?
It was reported this morning that the ASA has banned three e-cigarette ads. Too late (the story had already broken before we were aware of it), Forest issued this response:
Campaigners have slammed a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority to ban two e-cigarette television advertisements that feature a woman exhaling vapour.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, said, "The rules on e-cigarette advertising were relaxed to encourage their use by existing smokers.
"The great appeal of e-cigs to many smokers is the fact that they replicate the act of smoking.
"To encourage smokers to switch advertisers must be allowed to show people exhaling vapour. Failure to do so will greatly reduce their effectiveness.
"Without evidence to support its case, the ASA has no right to ban an advertisement on the spurious grounds that, indirectly, this may encourage people to smoke tobacco.
"Not for the first time an unelected, out of touch quango has sided with public health zealots whose primary interest is controlling people's behaviour and restricting our freedom to choose between a range of legal consumer products."
As readers of this blog know, the ASA has form when it comes to tobacco, smoking and now, it seems, vaping.
Odd though that the ASA took 18 months to adjudicate on our complaint against a Department of Health ad but took no more than a few weeks to fast track a ban on three e-cigarette ads.
OK, the issues weren't quite so complicated, but it's amazing how quickly the ASA can reach a decision when they want to.
PS. I wonder how ASH will respond? My guess is they'll say nothing.