It's All In Your Imagination

If you thought creationists or flat earthers were a bit barmy, you have quite obviously never read ASH press briefings. I've mentioned this particular fantasy pronouncement before, but it's worth revisiting it now and again just to emphasise their hilarious employment of the term "patently false".

[...] the “domino theory” i.e. that once a measure has been applied to tobacco it will be applied to other products is patently false.

Well, ASH started calling for age restrictions on films which contain smoking scenes back in 2001. They still have the same daft view now.

Films depicting people smoking should be given an 18 certificate, according to a report.

The study by the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies and published by the British Medical Journal, said the cinema glamorises cigarettes and encourages young people to smoke.

It wants smoking to be treated like sex and violence.

Anti-smoking group Ash agreed, with chief executive Deborah Arnott saying: "Smoking in films encourages children to take up smoking. And that's no surprise.

"That is why tobacco advertising was banned, because showing images of people, particularly glamorous young people, smoking encourages children to smoke."

It's OK though because, according to ASH, the idea that the same measure "will be applied to other consumer products is patently false".

So this doesn't actually exist. Patently.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to investigate whether the association between exposure to images of alcohol use in movies and binge drinking among adolescents is independent of cultural context.

[...] our findings raise concern about the role popular movies may play in Europe and beyond in the early experimentation with patterns of alcohol consumption in adolescents. These patterns have the potential to have a detrimental influence on individual health and future drinking trajectories and to be costly at a societal level.

It's kinda worrying to think where they might be going with that, isn't it?

However, worry not. You see, ASH have stated categorically that there is no chance of campaigners against other consumer products following tobacco control's lead, which is why anti-food campaigners haven't today been demanding the next logical step for HFSS food advertising.

Television adverts for food high in fat, sugar and salt should not be shown before the 9pm watershed, according to Scotland's public health minister.

It follows recent research which suggests children are still exposed to the same level of junk food advertising despite tighter regulations.

Health groups say further action is needed to tackle the problem.

Which, of course, is completely different to the way tobacco packs were banned from being seen firstly on TV, then in magazines, at sports events, and now in supermarkets.

It's all simply an amazing coincidence.

Those drums are getting closer for many a consumer product. But there is still no domino effect. Oh no, that idea is "patently false".