Further to my previous post ...
Click here to listen to the You and Yours item about the smoking ban, broadcast on Radio 4 at 12.30 today.
Although it was recorded 'as live' it's been edited quite a bit. At one point I launched into a diatribe against politicians like Patricia Hewitt. That's gone.
Without mentioning Enstrom and Kabat by name I also referred to their study, published in 2003, that found that the impact of long-term exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in the home may be considerably weaker than generally believed. (I may have used the word "insignificant" instead.)
That's gone too, possibly because Hewitt said she was unaware of it. Why am I not surprised? It may have been the largest ever study into the effects of 'passive' smoking but if she was 100 per cent reliant on the anti-smoking industry for her information you can be sure they kept quiet about it.
I praised her predecessor John Reid for trying to find a compromise but that didn't make the final edit either.
And without listening to it again I think they also omitted my reference to Office for National Statistics surveys that in the years preceding the legislation repeatedly found that only a minority (approximately 30 per cent) supported a comprehensive ban.
Instead, Hewitt justified the legislation by referring to the cross party support it had among MPs, as if their views were more important than the general public. That's when I had my little rant against politicians!
To be fair, Hewitt's contribution was also edited. She spoke far more than is evident in the programme, which is one of the reasons I became a bit tetchy and argumentative. They've toned that down as well!
Finally, email to Forest from a listener following the programme:
I’ve just caught the discussion on [You and Yours], including comments by one of your supporters / officers, about public smoking not necessarily affecting others.
I couldn’t disagree more. I have lost count of the times I have had to cross the road to avoid the deeply unpleasant smoke from someone walking ahead of me, with a cigarette on.
Smoking outdoors does have an affect on others as smoke drifts. My wife and I have on several occasions left outdoor areas – eg the sitting area outside a café – because of drifting smoke.
Smokers should have a responsibility to keep their habit to themselves, and not inflict it on others. I therefore fully support any proposals to extend the ban on smoking outdoors.
Spare me.