The ‘independent review into tobacco control’ led by Javed Khan is to present its recommendations on May 25.
I’ve questioned just how independent the review is (’Independent review’ adopts tobacco control hymn sheet) and the list of speakers doesn’t fill me with confidence.
According to a tweet posted by Khan last night speakers at the presentation will include health minister Maggie Throup, chief medical officer Chris Whitty, Bob Blackman MP and Mary Foy MP.
‘Other speakers TBC.’
Blackman (Conservative) is chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health which is run by ASH.
Mary Foy (Labour) is a vice-chair of same group.
Whitty is arguably the biggest beast on the list and we know precisely where he stands. According to a Guardian profile published in March 2021:
In a Gresham lecture on lung cancer last month, he was clear where blame lay for the most common cancer death in Britain. “This is cancer entirely for profit,” he said.
“Almost all of the people who get this cancer … have got the cancer, because an extremely wealthy, incredibly sophisticated marketing industry – the cigarette industry – has got them addicted to cigarettes at a young age and kept them addicted the rest of their lives, and then they die. This should never be a cancer blamed on individuals. This is a cancer created by industry for profit.”
See also ‘CMO targets tobacco’ (Taking Liberties, May 2021).
Frankly I wouldn’t surprised if Khan’s recommendations aren’t leaked to the media in advance.
However, given his very public pronouncements in recent months it doesn’t take a genius to conclude that they will include raising the legal age of sale of tobacco and introducing an annual levy on tobacco companies to fund the anti-smoking industry.
The latter has always been rejected by the Treasury and the former will be extremely contentious so I hope health secretary Sajid Javid knows he’s in for a fight if he adopts either proposal in the new Tobacco Control Plan.
Expect too a big endorsement of vaping as a quit smoking tool.
If Khan was to adopt the mantra of choice, advocating reduced risk products as an alternative to smoking while publicly respecting those who prefer to smoke rather than switch or quit, there wouldn’t be a problem.
Unfortunately anti-smoking campaigners don’t recognise smoking or even vaping as a genuine choice. It’s an addiction, pure and simple, even if one is significantly less harmful than the other.
As I have long argued they see vaping as a means to an end, the endgame being a world beyond nicotine.
Vaping advocates may celebrate Khan’s endorsement but be careful what you wish for. Nothing will destroy the appeal of vaping as much as the ‘support’ of the anti-smoking industry.
