'Smoking must be stamped out in the UK within 11 years, according to timeline set out in ambitious new Government plan'.
That wasn't the headline I wanted to read at 23:00 last night, just as I was going to bed.
According to the Daily Mail, 'The target to make the country smoke-free by 2030 will be announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock next week as he unveils a Green Paper looking at how prevention is better than cure.'
I do wonder if this is Hancock's attempt to leave a 'legacy' (Hancock's half hour of fame?) before he departs the Department of Health, as he might under a Boris-led government.
Then again, it doesn't really matter who the Secretary of State for Health is. Labour or Conservative, they all fall under the spell of the unelected, anti-smoking civil servants at the Department of Health.
ASH of course enjoys a hotline to the DH so I'm not surprised by the news, or that it follows a YouGov poll (commissioned by ASH) that suggested public support for the very policies the DH is now proposing in its Green Paper.
Anyway, having read the Mail's report, I sent out Forest's response.
It was picked up this morning by the Press Association and an edited comment has been reported on hundreds of news websites throughout the country including the Mail Online, Mirror Online, Metro, Sky News, ITV This Morning and many more:
Simon Clark, director of smokers' group Forest, said people have the right to light up "without being harassed to quit".
"It's not up to government to dictate people's lifestyle," he said.
We have now issued a longer statement that reads:
Campaigners have urged the government to delay the publication of plans to stub out smoking by 2030 until a new prime minister and Cabinet have been appointed.
According to leaked documents reported by the Daily Mail, the government wants to create a smoke free society within eleven years. During that time smokers will be urged to quit or switch to harm reduction products like e-cigarettes.
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said:
“It makes no sense for these proposals to be published before the appointment of a new prime minister who may want to adopt a less hectoring, more liberal style of government.
“It’s great that smokers now have the option of switching to reduced risk products like e-cigarettes but adults have every right to smoke without being forced to quit by government and anti-smoking campaigners."
He added:
“We welcome a full and frank discussion about the government’s plans to tackle smoking but it has to include all stakeholders, including adults who have made an informed choice to smoke and don’t want to quit.
“It is frankly offensive that in a so-called liberal democracy unelected civil servants are conspiring with the tobacco control industry to force adults to give up a legal habit many of them enjoy.”
See 'Forest urges government to delay plans to stub out smoking'.