The stop smoking brigade will never be happy so let’s not give them another inch
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 at 9:00 Some people are never happy.
When I mentioned yesterday that ASH had called for a ban on non-menthol cigarette brand names that are similar to prohibited menthol brand names, I forgot to mention two previous complaints by those perennial party poopers.
In January, when Imperial launched its Rizla Flavour Infusion cards that can be inserted in packs of ‘ordinary’ cigarettes to give them a menthol flavour, ASH CEO Deborah Arnott cried foul, complaining:
“We believe this breaks not just the spirit but the letter of the law and we’ve informed the Department of Health so they can stop it happening.”
(I love that word ‘informed’. So 2020.)
I don’t know if ASH took legal advice but if they did they wasted their money because Rizla Flavour Infusion cards are still on sale so I guess even the Department of Health had to tell Deborah that, regretfully, there was absolutely nothing they could do.
The following month (February) it was JTI’s turn to launch a new product, a mentholated cigarillo. This too was completely legal and, guess what? ASH didn’t like it.
Since the turn of the year these ghastly po-faced puritans have tried to stop the sale of flavoured infusion cards, put the government on alert that the menthol ban should be extended to cigarillos, and called for a ban on non-menthol brand names that sound similar to prohibited menthol brand names.
During that same period the world has been fighting the most serious pandemic for a century. A large proportion of the workforce has been furloughed, thousands of businesses could go under and millions may lose their jobs.
But don’t worry. Remove the merest hint of menthol from every cigarette and cigarillo in the country (by law!) and all will be well.
Reader Comments (2)
But even removing the merest hint of menthol won't satisfy those bullies. They would just look for another tobacco product to ruin or contaminate or ban.
Meanwhile cheers, Debs. I'll be sure to tell my menthol loving mates about your cigarillo recommendation. You make it sound so appealing. It seems the only people allowed to advertise and promote cigarettes and tobacco to children and adults is the antismoker industry that ASH is part of. Mind you, we always said those hypocrites need new smokers as much as the tobacco industry otherwise their fat salaries and special privileges would end.
No, the 'stop smoking brigade' will never be happy. Their goal is incremental prohibition of smoking and tobacco in all forms. They periodically claim that they only want the next thing (i.e., separate non-smoking areas, bans of airplanes, bans at restaurants, bans in bars, total outdoor bans, etc. They never stop their relentless bigotry and persecution of smokers.
Not only should we not give them another inch; we should reclaim ground. Amending the smoking ban in bars and pubs to allow designated indoor smoking areas is a good first step.