The titans of tobacco control who are still waiting to be honoured

Bit late to this but worth noting all the same.

The Queen’s Birthday Honours were published on Friday night and still nothing for the current CEOs of ASH and ASH Scotland.

Fiona Andrews (Smokefree South West), Andrea Crossfield (Tobacco Free Futures) and Ailsa Rutter (Fresh North East) have all received recognition in recent years but Deborah Arnott and Sheila Duffy are still waiting for their invitation to the Palace.

Someone suggested to me that Deborah may be holding out for a peerage (he wasn’t joking!) but they aren’t mutually exclusive to the best of my knowledge.

Perhaps Deborah and Sheila are republicans but if Elvis Costello can accept a gong that shouldn’t be an impediment.

Given Prince Charles’ well-known aversion to smoking you would think he would welcome the chance to pin a medal on these titans of tobacco control but the waiting continues.

I’ve been writing about this every year for six years and some of you must think I’m obsessed. I’m not, just curious.

New Year Honours: Arnott and Duffy overlooked again (December 2013)