Lord Stoddart of Swindon, 1926-2020
Thursday, November 19, 2020 at 13:42 I was sorry to hear that Lord Stoddart of Swindon had died, albeit at the grand old age of 94.
Born in the year of the General Strike, David Stoddart was Labour MP for Swindon from 1970 to 1983. After losing his seat he was awarded a life peerage and sat on the Labour benches in the House of Lords until 2002 when he became an independent Labour peer after being expelled from the party.
The fallout happened after he supported a Socialist Alliance candidate in the 2001 general election in protest against a former Conservative MP (and defector) being parachuted in to stand as the Labour candidate in the safe Labour seat of St Helens South.
By that stage he was best known perhaps for his unwavering opposition to the UK's membership of what became the European Union.
From 1985 to 2007 he was chairman of the Campaign for an Independent Britain, but I read that his opposition to the UK’s membership of what was then the Common Market began in 1962, ten years before we actually joined.
He was also a staunch defender of adults who wanted to smoke and frequently opposed what he considered to be unfair discrimination against smokers.
A one-time patron of Forest (owing, I think, to his friendship with our late chairman Lord Harris), he remained a member of the Lords and Commons Pipe and Cigar Club long after he quit smoking.
Here are just some of his many interventions in the House of Lords during debates about smoking-related legislation:
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill, March 28, 2001
In my view, the Bill is a continuation of the prolonged witch hunt against smokers. It is a witch hunt that has penalised and demonised smokers for using a legal product – that has been emphasised time and time again during the debate – out of which the Government have made enormous, incalculable profits.
Tobacco Smoking (Public Places and Workplaces) Bill, April 23, 2004
My Lords, like the noble Baroness, Lady Trumpington, I am a member of the House of Commons and House of Lords Pipe and Cigar Smokers' Club — a very congenial club, if I may say so. I say that, although I have not smoked for many years now. But although I am an ex-smoker, I have not become paranoid about smokers, as so many former smokers unfortunately have become.
Health Bill, June 19, 2006
My Lords, Cinderella would be at far more danger from stoking the fire than having a whiff of cigarette smoke.
Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations, March 16, 2015
I am a non-smoker, but I resent the demonisation of people who do smoke. It is not right in a democracy that we should treat such people as pariahs. That is what is happening to them and I believe that that should not be done in a democracy.
In short, we have lost an ally in parliament but one whose contributions were sometimes a little ... unexpected.
For example, at the Grand Committee stage of the 2009 Health Bill, which included the Labour government’s plan to ban the display of tobacco in shops, he said:
I have to tell the Committee that, when I was very young and suffered from a bit of constipation, I went to see the doctor, who said, 'What you should do is sit on the lavatory and smoke a cigarette. That would help a lot.'
No, I don’t know where that story was going either but I’m sure it was well-intentioned!
Baron Stoddart of Swindon, 1926-2020. RIP.
Reader Comments (5)
Lord Stoddart's doctor was probably using observational science or something that was just well known at the time.
"I have to tell the Committee that, when I was very young and suffered from a bit of constipation, I went to see the doctor, who said, 'What you should do is sit on the lavatory and smoke a cigarette. That would help a lot.'
Science caught up with him later.
"Carbon monoxide plays role in orchestrating digestive tract function
2003
"Farrugia and an associate, Dr. Joseph Szurszewski, headed the study, which focused on carbon monoxide's role in orchestrating movements of muscles in the digestive system. The results were published in the prestigious journal of the National Academy of Sciences, which is based in Washington and advises the federal government on science and technology.
They showed that cells in the digestive system manufacture tiny amounts of carbon monoxide, which then regulates muscle contractions. The contractions occur with great precision to properly move food ahead through the stomach and intestines"
https://web.archive.org/web/20200904060951/https://old.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20030617carbon0617p3.asp
Carbon Monoxide Soothes Inflammatory Bowel Disease
2006
"Doctors have long known that smokers rarely suffer from a common form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) called ulcerative colitis, but they didn't know why. A new study in the December 19 issue of The Journal of Experimental Medicine might help explain this apparent resistance. Scott Plevy and his colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh now show that carbon monoxide (CO), a component of cigarette smoke, helps shut down the intestinal inflammation that causes ulcerative colitis."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060103084934.htm
You never know, there may have been a lot of of grateful beneficiaries to his unusual statement in that committee.
The death of a true libertarian.
Maybe his comment on the display ban was meant to suggest that packaging is perceived to be about as glamorous as having a smoke while taking a dump so politicians shouldn't worry about it - or there are some health benefits to smoking however minor they are perceived to be in relation to the harm believed to be caused.
Pat, as a man who knew his subject he would have undoubtedly known about this and you may well be right.
From Australian Antitobacco
Health 'benefits' of smoking?
"Tobacco use confers a small degree of protection against several diseases and conditions, described in the sections below."
"While tobacco use cannot in any way be recommended as a prophylactic for these diseases and conditions, research on the mechanisms by which smoking appears to confer a protective effect against development of certain disease processes may lead to therapeutic benefits."
https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-3-health-effects/3-28-health-benefits-of-smoking-#x1.
That must have really, really, hurt to write.
The smokerphobic bullies know exactly what tobacco is good for in a medicinal sense which is why they want control of the product so it can be marketed as a pharmaceutical drug and not wasted on stupid plebs for reasons of recreation - And why should tobacco companies get rich on making people happy when anti-smokers can make them miserable?
Pat
The problem for Pharma is that you can't patent a natural product, but you can patent the delivery device.
The patent is how you make big money, hence nicotine patches.
Heres one of the latest examples
Patent Issuance allowed for single-use or short-term nitric oxide delivery device
29 May 2020
“Nu-Med Plus, Inc. (OTCQB: NUMD), a medical device company which investigates and develops applications and devices for nitric oxide delivery in the medical field, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has allowed the issuance of a patent for a single-use or short-term use nitric oxide inhaler."
"Typically, nitric oxide delivery devices are large, electronically complex devices that are used primarily in neonatal intensive care units.
The importance of nitric oxide as a treatment is well documented in literature but to date has not seen widespread use because of the bulky delivery equipment designed for hospital use and the high cost of the treatment.
“This patent allowance is a significant achievement for our Company and can help open new patient markets.
A readily available, small, disposable nitric oxide delivery device with no need for electricity to be used by emergency field personnel or available for use in remote regions and/or under the most critical times of need such as combat are currently untapped markets.”
https://www.nsmedicaldevices.com/news/patent-issuance-allowed-for-single-use-or-short-term-nitric-oxide-delivery-device/
I’ve always wondered why you would give a cigarette to a wounded soldier, I thought it must be the comfort, familiarity and antidepressant effect of the smoke.
“A readily available, small, disposable nitric oxide delivery device with no need for electricity to be used by emergency field personnel or available for use in remote regions and/or under the most critical times of need such as combat”
Knowing the plant and it's properties, doesn't that sound a bit like a cigarette to you?