Plain packaging? No prime minister!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 at 10:47 
Eights weeks ago, on April 3, public health minister Jane Ellison announced the Government was "minded" to introduce plain packaging of tobacco.
Her statement followed the publication of the Chantler Review, a report whose many flaws I highlighted here. Government would publish regulations and there would be a "final short consultation", added Ellison.
Anticipating this outcome Forest built a new micro site that allows opponents of plain packaging to send a letter to David Cameron, the architect of the mess the Government has got itself into.
We intended to launch it to coincide with the start of the "final short consultation". Instead there has been a deafening (and welcome!) silence from government – apart from a brief comment by David Cameron in response to a question from Labour MP Alex Cunningham – which left us with a great campaign tool but no peg on which to promote it.
Well, we can't wait any longer. There is speculation that in order to demonstrate its commitment to plain packaging, appease the Lib Dems and get Labour off his back, the prime minister will include the policy in next week's Queen's Speech.
We are therefore asking you to visit the No Prime Minister website today and send the following letter to Number Ten. It reads:
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to express my opposition to plain packaging of tobacco.
A four-month government consultation in 2012 resulted in over 665,000 responses, with a substantial majority (427,888) opposed to the policy. I urge you to respect the outcome of that consultation which members of the public responded to in good faith.
There is no credible evidence that children start smoking because of the packaging, or that 'plain' packaging will deter children from smoking. Speculation and conjecture are no substitute for hard facts.
Before pressing ahead with legislation I urge you to wait until government has studied the impact of the tobacco display ban, which will not be fully implemented until 2015, and the introduction of larger health warnings which are being introduced in 2016 as part of the EU's revised Tobacco Products Directive.
I imagine you are fed up having your views ignored by the mainstream parties, which is why so many people voted (or were tempted to vote) for Ukip last week.
Nevertheless, I urge you to support this initiative and make your views known – again. We must not give up or other products will surely follow – alcohol, sugary drinks, convenience food – together with more policies designed to denormalise a legal consumer product.
To visit the No Prime Minister website click here or on the images above and below.
Please do it NOW! It takes less than a minute to enter your details and submit the letter.
PS. I can reveal that although the No Prime Minister website is only now being officially launched it has been live and accessible to visitors to the Hands Off Our Packs and Forest websites for several weeks.
In that time THOUSANDS of people have consented to write to David Cameron. Please follow their example and add your name to a list that is growing every day.
Reader Comments (11)
I wish it mattered and I'm sorry that my view here is negative.
Thanks to all those who have signed and will do so but it's too late for me. I've already wasted 7 years on useless petitions that Govt always intended to ignore. I'll be voting UKIP because that carries more impact and will, eventually, bring in the change that's needed.
You could get a million signatures but ultimately the Lib Dems and that Smokerphobic nutter Stephen Williams will kick us in the teeth before they get booted out as a last act of hatred of the consumer and Dave doesn't care. He must be made to see that he should IF he wants to win GE2015.
Backing a minority extremist party like the LibDems can only drag the Tories further down into the electoral wilderness. Their choice.
Labour is corrupt and shoving laws in via the back door just shows how underhand and vile they are.
There is only one way that tobacco consumers will finally get both the respect and consideration they deserve and that is to vote UKIP.
Sorry :(
Did they learn nothing from the UKIP victory? The penny clearly hasn't dropped yet. Get out of lives.
Done, Simon.
Now is a good time to remind Cameron that there are reasons, other than EU migration, why people voted (and will vote again) for UKIP.
Of course, it does help if you agree with pretty well all of UKIPs other policies too!
Done. I've also sent a message to our local UKIP people, of which this is a part:
Rescue our clubs and pubs and their communities by promising to amend the smoking laws to allow separate air-conditioned facilities for people who like a pipe or cigarette when they socialise. It would also help to alleviate loneliness and isolation among the elderly and, given that there would be smoking and non-smoking accommodation, not inconvenience those who want their environment to be without tobacco smoke. In other words, tolerance, live and let live. I have long thought this would be a trump card for UKIP – or any other party.
Headlines > UKIP vows to sack MSPs and scrap the smoking ban
UKIP vows to sack MSPs and scrap the smoking ban
Wednesday 6th April 2011, posted by forest
The UK Independence Party said MSPs should be replaced at Holyrood by Westminster MPs with constituencies in Scotland. It also wants to scrap the smoking ban.
Launching its manifesto in Edinburgh, the party also said it planned to restrict immigration, repeal the Human Rights Act and end subsidies for “monstrous, climate-irrelevant, cost-ineffective wind farms”.
Source: UKIP manifesto calls for MSPs to be abolished (Daily Telegraph)
V Ellis
Posted on Apr 6th, 2011
I had not considered UKIP, But giving back the right to smoke or not, smoking pubs or not,
Will get my consideration,
It would be nice to have a party in power, Giving a freedom of choice, not a dictatorship,
How nice to have the community Pub back.
Pat Nurse
Posted on Apr 6th, 2011
I’ve left three comments on this now over at Simon’s blog including this one which is honestly how I feel : “A vote for UKIP for smokers is, if nothing else, making a statement. That’s how I see it. I honestly feel it is my duty as there is no point in moaning about smoker discrimination if at the end of the day when the time comes to give politiicians a message, I vote LibLabCon (or SNP) and say I don’t care how much you denormalise me.”
Arkwright
Posted on Apr 7th, 2011
Freedom to choose to smoke or not, as a publican to allow smoking in your pub or not. simple really, only one party give you that choice.
dont let the SNPLIBLABCON control yeu
Smokers vote UK I P in the elections
Stanley Kerr
Posted on Apr 18th, 2011
I agree that a message has to be sent to politicians that we are supposed to be living in a democracy. Nobody in the UK was allowed a vote on this extreme smoking ban i.e. NO SMOKING anywhere except in peoples homes or certain places on the streets. There was a marginal support (52%) for a partial ban but 82% were against the existing TOTAL ban.
Considering the enormous (negative) affect it has had on jobs/society – bars/restaurants/bingo halls etc. closing down – especially in small towns/villages and that NOBODY was allowed a vote except 650 MPS (not one of whom asked their constituents for a vote) is nothing short of a total breakdown of demecracy. The irony of this is that the Labour Party stated in their manifesto that it would NEVER ban smoking! Well done Tony Blair (sic)!
David Copeland
Posted on Apr 25th, 2011
Do UKIP want to scrap the smoking ban in the whole of the UK, or just in Scotland?
I’ve already begun to spread the word, and a lot of smokers I know are now going to vote for UKIP!!
Adrian Brown
Posted on Apr 29th, 2011
When I saw lefty “activists” smashing things up in London and heard little Ed Miliband getting swept away in his own rhetoric by seeming to compare these thugs and mugs with the suffragettes, I remembered Labour’s own shame: their broken promise of a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and their imposition of a blanket smoking-ban in defiance of their much-publicised manifesto “commitment”.
I tackled Labour MP Paul Flynn on this a few years ago and was told, rudely, that I was politically naive to expect politicians to stand by such promises.
And Labour didn’t even have the excuse of a coalition agreement. These charlatans did it because they wanted to and because they reckoned by their numbers in parliament that they’d get away with it.
http://www.forestonline.org/news/headlines/ukip-vows-to-sack-msps-and-scrap-the-smoking-ban/
Simon, the need to confirm their email will put many 'spontaneous' signers off-I feel. Truth be told I almost said 'blow that for a game of soldiers' (or words to that effect) myself. Yes I know that it was just sheer lazyness on my part but having to call up gmail/log off/log back on in a different account etc will probaly dissaude some smokers...or had you not noticed that we're a bit hard to rally to a cause , to make an effort or even just be proactive?
BD, it's a security feature to discourage people from submitting fake email addresses or signing someone up without their consent. If it means some people won't bother it's a small price to pay.
Simon, I filled in the form but the confirmation email never arrived so mine won,t be counted?
Wonder if this is happening to anyone else.
Sheila, we'll check the database tomorrow.
I too was initially concerned that I should have to provide my identity in order to sign the petition, and that it might put off others.
I then realised that this is a sorry state of affairs. For too long we have avoided standing up to be counted. Voting UKIP is a start, but we must not be afraid to make our voices heard, and defend ourselves openly.
Politics is not a game of 'knock down ginger', where we can bang on the door then run away and hide! We have not reached the point (yet) where we will be arrested for expressing an opinion... oh yes, I forgot, that's already happening! Maybe we should carefully check the room for microphones, moan quietly amongst ourselves, and wait passively for our last liberties to be stripped from us by venal or just plain stupid politicians.
Like Sheila, I've had a couple of goes at filling in the form, but I didn't receive any confirmation email - aaargh!