Just Stop Oil protester Indigo Rumbelow was interviewed on Sky News last night.
Aside from the ‘shrieking’ and the ‘shouting’ (which wasn’t as bad as some reports have suggested) it was Rumblelow’s analogy with smoking that most interested me.
Speaking to presenter Mark Austin she said:
“So the way I see it is, we’re completely addicted to fossil fuels. Have you ever tried to ask someone to stop smoking? I’ve asked my dad to stop smoking and that’s because I loved him and he was told that if he keeps smoking he’s going to get cancer, and the scientists will tell him, you know, he’s going to get cancer, but it’s not a very pleasant process …”
At that point she was interrupted by Austin, who was struggling to control his errant and slightly eccentric guest, but what I think Rumbelow was trying to say was that, while the ‘process’ might not be nice, disrupting motorists’ lives (like asking her dad to quit smoking) is necessary because it’s for our own good.
That wasn’t the last reference to smoking because when Austin asked why she and her fellow protestors weren’t making their point at COP27 in Egypt she replied, somewhat obscurely:
“Yeah, and back to this idea, isn’t that disgusting? Imagine that. Think about my dad when he was smoking. Imagine if the Cancer Research [sic] invited Benson & Hedges [sic] into their debate on what they’re going to do about lung cancer …”
At this point she paused. Then, her voice rising to an even higher pitch of indignation, she screeched:
“It’s disgusting!”
If that final primal scream doesn’t become a meme I’ll be very disappointed but on a half serious note what are we to make of an eco warrior who sees a connection between her father smoking and the health of the entire planet?
Indigo is 28 which means she was 15 when in 2009 the Department of Health launched a new anti-smoking campaign with this press release (What children really want for Christmas):
Children are so concerned about the impact on their parent's health that they'd go to considerable lengths to get them to give up, including going without Christmas presents; giving up their pocket money; and even committing to complete their homework every night, according to new research ...
The research, which was conducted on behalf of Department of Health, reveals the anti smoking stance of a new smokefree generation of kids [sic] who are so opposed to cigarettes they've labelled smoking stupid, say they will never try a cigarette and that they wish that nobody in the world smoked …
Anne Milton, Public Health Minister, said: "What's clear from the research is that children really want their parents to give up smoking ..."
According to Campaign magazine (September 14, 2009):
The Department of Health will tonight launch its latest anti-smoking campaign, featuring children urging their parents to quit while they watch their favourite TV show.
According to the NHS Stop Smoking Services, a generation of children are growing up to be anti-smoking but are increasingly concerned about the health of their parents who smoke.
The campaign featured a series of TV advertisements. In one ad that ran during Coronation Street ‘Molly from Hammersmith’ said:
Hi Mum, I know you're watching Coronation Street. I don't want you to smoke because I don't want you to go through what your mum went through. Because it will just make me really, really sad and because I don't want you to die. I don't know what I would do without you.”
I’d love to know what happened to Molly and whether she’s now a member of Just Stop Oil or Extinction Rebellion because if you’ve grown up under governments that have encouraged you to question your parents’ lifestyle what are the odds that you’ll be drawn to a campaign that questions the lifestyle of your parents’ entire generation?
Anyway, it’s just a thought. As scientists like to say, more research is needed.