The ASH propaganda machine has been in action again this morning.
According to a tweet posted at 9.36:
Health Secretary @MattHancock confirmed "it is abundantly clear that smoking makes the impact of #coronavirus worse". Now is a great time to give quitting a go ...
The quote is accurate but when I read ASH’s tweet the use of the word ‘confirmed’ made me think Hancock may have said it in the last 24 hours in reaction, perhaps, to reports casting doubt on claims that smoking increases the risk of severe respiratory disease from Covid-19.
He didn’t. The comment dates back to 16th March and was in response to a question by Bob Blackman MP who, coincidentally, is chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, run by ... ASH.
Since then multiple studies have been published that suggest that smokers are under-represented among hospitalised or critical COVID-19 patients.
ASH knows this yet persist in pushing the claim that smoking makes the impact of coronavirus worse when the jury is clearly out.
Moreover, in a highly fluid situation, they are determined to recycle a four-and-a-half-week-old quote that, evidence suggests, is probably past its sell-by date and could make the Health Secretary appear rather foolish if repeated often enough.
Good work!
Update:
