Wednesday 15 December 2010

Tobacco Control: Nazis, Hypocrites AND Terrorists

Now, I've argued before with reference to a BBC radio debate that there are anti-smokers who can quite legitimately be termed as Nazis, but via Taking Liberties we find a post by Dizzy where he was astonished by a claim made by Cecilia Farren of ASH (that's the jolly gal on the left).

You can listen to the short Radio 4 article by scrolling to 50mins 30secs on iPlayer here, but in case that is time-limited, the relevant quote from Farren is as below:

"On the other side is long campaigning by the tobacco industry for, you know, frightening businesses. It is, it's an absolute terror campaign."
Of course, being part of ASH, she is on the moral high ground here. Because frightening businesses is a tactic that ASH find appalling! They would never even consider such a method suitable for their own ends. Oh no. Never!

ASH has sent a registered letter to all the UK's leading hospitality trade employers, warning them that the "date of guilty knowledge" under the Health and Safety at Work Act is now past, and that employers should therefore know of the risks of exposing their staff to secondhand smoke. Employers who continue to permit smoking in the workplace are therefore likely to be held liable by the courts for any health damage caused. ASH and Thompsons intend to use the letters in any future court cases as evidence that employers have been fully informed of the issue.

ASH and Thompsons are also planning further steps to encourage employees who believe their health has been harmed by smoking in the workplace to seek legal advice on making a claim for compensation. These will be announced shortly.
Oh, that? That's just threatening pub owners with an avalanche of crippling no win no fee claims, and pointing out that if the hospitality industry were to resist smoking bans, then ASH would actively encourage employees to sue. That's not 'frightening businesses' at all. Not really.

Shall we move on?

There was something else Cecilia talked about too, namely that Holland's sensible smoking ban amendment had been engineered by ...

"[...]vested interests of the tobacco industry."
See, that's another thing that ASH really hate ... people profiting from political campaigning. Cecilia would never dream of doing anything so gauche.

Oh, hold on.

"I started smoking at university," confesses Cecilia Farren, founder of GASP, a highly successful mail order company stocking everything and anything connected with stopping - or not starting - smoking.
So successful, in fact, that they incorporated earlier this year. But I'm sure Cecilia takes no salary from such a profitable venture because that would tend to suggest that she was a 'vested interest' in yesterday's debate, and she is definitely against that sort of thing.

Of course, this is all leaving aside the fact that the Dutch case was brought by small bar owners, not the tobacco industry. In fact, to illustrate exactly who was involved in a more user friendly way, I thought a pie chart might help.


Oh dear. It looks like the only vested interest yesterday was Cecilia herself. Someone who personally profits by the demonisation of tobacco, whilst also being a member of an organisation which is quite happy 'frightening businesses' with financial 'terror campaigns'.

Since it's nearly Christmas, perhaps it might be timely to send her a gift-wrapped dictionary with Rank and Hypocrisy highlighted in dayglo orange.


32 comments:

Witterings from Witney said...

That is a gal? Hell!

Anonymous said...

I would like to know how she thinks that anyone that says they have a work related health problem due to passive smoke could prove it.They cannot even prove that passive smoke is harmful.I know they believe their own Propaganda but it gets more foolish by the day.


Tug.

Anonymous said...

Haven't EU courts already thrown passive smoking cases thrown out?
PS. Why are members of ASH so ugly?

Smoking Hot said...

l wish l was on a terror campaign ... l know damn well what my targets would be and they's all go up in smoke!

Mr A said...

It's the vile odiousness on the inside seeping out through their wrinkled, saggy flesh.

They usually die earlier, too. It must be all that bile and hate poisoning them.

Eddie Douthwaite said...

Cicelia Farren was interviewed in a smoke filled bar in the Netherlands.

Obviously she doesn't believe their own propaganda that just one whiff of cigarette smoke is a killer.

OWN GOAL CICELIA.

Dick Puddlecote said...

Anon @ 21:18: Indeed the EU has. In the Labate case concerning a claim for compensation by the wife of an official who worked for 29 years at the EU and contracted cancer. She claimed it was caused by secondhand smoke.

The judgement concluded:

"The claims for compensation submitted in the letter of 25 October 2007 by Mrs Labate are dismissed as manifestly unfounded"

The problem is that the UK hospitality industry lacks a spine.

The witch from Essex said...

My God, what an ugly bitch she is. I imagine her part time job must be 'haunting'
If I thought that I would ever look like that I would treble my cigarette intake immediately.
I wonder what sort of man would fancy that scrawny, bitter face ? I bet that she is a bundle of fun.
Some of GASPS new products include:
Tar Tainted Teeth and Cough Up A Lung Model.
http://www.gasp.org.uk/index.php?cPath=what-s-new-in-2011&filter_id=12

Who the fuck buys this stuff ?

Dick Puddlecote said...

Witch: Don't forget the £55 pickled liver, or the £25 fatty food models.

Being a professional anti-smoker opens up so many profitable avenues in righteous scaremongery, you know. ;)

Anonymous said...

IF. I repeat, IF there was ever such a claim against publicans, would they be covered under their third party insurance?

Dick Puddlecote said...

Anon: I expect it would fall under employers' liability insurance. It's not expensive at all and covers huge sums (mine, in transport with around 100 employees, is £10m)

Ashtrayhead said...

'Don't forget the £55 pickled liver,'


mmmmmmm....does it come with pickled onions?

Anonymous said...

Smoking conference urges change - 2004

"Trade publication the Publican is feeling decidedly bruised and sorry for itself as, a result of a smoking in the workplace conference organised by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).

The Publican claims that the conference, whose purpose was to discuss the impact of passive smoking on employees in pubs and bars, turned into "an assault on the hospitality industry".

The Publican also drew attention to how few representatives from the trade were present - eight compared to over 100 from the medical profession and local authorities.

Licking its wounds the Publican reported that the conference only provided one slot for a trade speaker, Peter Linacre, Managing Director of massive Pubs."
http://www.ash.org.uk/media-room/news/ash-daily-news/ash-daily-news-for-02-06-2004


ASH Political Bulletin 2004 Page7
Letter to the Publican

Peter Linacre

"We all need to be forwarned that the next growth area for the legal system will be prosecutions of publicans for not protecting staff from the dangers of ETS.

Since April 27 cases have been taken on - this is the start of a tidal wave - in my view"
http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_405.pdf

Rose

TW York said...

She openly admits that she doesn't go to pubs very often so why should we have to put up with her crap.
Thanks for the photo - it has been put on the 'Most Wanted List' - and if she ever comes near any pub that I drink in it won't be SHS that kills her - it will be the punters stood outside refusing her entry - oh sorry, I forgot - she doesn't go to the pub !!!

Anonymous said...

Nice digging on her business interests.

They LOVE us smokers really dontcha know?

We pay their fucking mortgages.

Anonymous said...

There is something important here that is being missed.
Many of our pubs are 'magnificent edifices' dating back to the cart and horse days. Perhaps their days have gone. But no entrepreneur with any sense would open a small bar while the smoking ban is in place.

I do not know whether or not the lady can be considered to be physically ugly or not. To me, that does not matter. What is important to me is the ugliness of her mind.

Anonymous said...

Gillian Mckieth's sister.

Neal Asher said...

Slightly off topic here. I watched a QI the other night during which one of the contestants pointed out that one character in the picture they were looking at seemed to be smoking an invisible cigarette. Stephen Fry pointed out that the cigarettes had probably been photo-shopped out, since these objects mustn't be seen on the BBC.

That's bad enough, but last night I was watching Edwardian Farm. It only occurred to me when they were sitting in a pub talking about how the institution of a pub should last forever, that I realized what was completely missing from this 'historical reconstruction'. It's also completely missing from the previous series 'Victorian Farm'. No prizes for guessing what it is.

Anonymous said...

Actually Neal if you watch again the goalie in the red shirt had a fag in his mouth at the end of the football scene.
Dissention get's slipped in sometimes even at Pravda.

Found A Voice said...

If it's any consolation, as non-smoker, you opened up my eyes and changed my mind...

http://foundavoice.blogspot.com/2010/12/non-smoker-writes.html#more

Keep on keeping on...

Cheers
FAV

Anonymous said...

great pie chart Dick!

Anonymous said...

This SHS Fraud needs heard in a true court of law, unlike the ones in the US who keep throwing the science bit out and only taking into account the anti-smoking propaganda. But I doubt there is a true court of law of justice remaining anywhere in the world at this point. The corruption has spread so far.

This idea of the pubs and others accomodating the public being called the hospitality trade is also quickly becoming a misnomer.

Thanks to the smoking bans, instead of calling it the "hospitality" trade, they need to start calling it the "hostility" trade - where customers aren't welcome unless they fit a certain mold, to a tee and that includes no smoking anywhere, anytime, anyhow, ever.

The world's gone mad. ASH should be ashamed, but they are too full of pride to ever admit their fallacies.

Dr. Brian Oblivion said...

Steady on lads, dehumanisation is their game. There's little need to make nasty remarks about someone's appearance given the ugly philosophy on display.

The temptation is entirely understandable though, so I'll bite my tongue at that.

Dr. Brian Oblivion said...

Welcome aboard, Found a Voice. Voices are certainly required.

Ian R Thorpe said...

They never give up do they Dick.

I was gratfied to se yesterday a group of carol singers in our local Teso deliberately pissing of Muslims (?) and Hindus (?) and pagans (not> and politically correct busybodies by singing seasonal songs that mention Jesus and Christ and stables and wise mean and all sorts of offensive, subversive stuff.

I felt quite triumphant as I stolled out with my trolley of booze and mince pies.

Anonymous said...

Yep - heard it live on Toady. I was astonished that the ASH mouthpiece could get away with the accusations that she made, without being challenged in any way by the BBC presenter. The Dutch commentator pointed out that the challenge was funded by an annual 150 euro voluntary subscription from bar owners, which prompted another accusation that was never challenged by the BBC, or allowed to be refuted by the Dutchman.

It's easy to invoke Godwin's Law, but what I heard struck me even at the time as McCarthyite (and I don't even smoke).

Found A Voice said...

Dr. Brian @18.03

My pleasure. There's no greater dignity for a man than to understand his truth.

I just regret it took me so long!

Cheers
FAV

Anonymous said...

Some background that we will not get from mainstream media or industry-serving officials may be found at
http://fauxbacco.blogspot.com

See what's left out of the discussion.

And, here's a current article on the new Surgeon General's report.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/U-S-Surgeon-General-Strik-by-John-Jonik-101209-826.html

Anonymous said...

The lady needs a gentle tap on the shoulder,Schhhhhh,for some of us
patience has run out.
Playtime is over.






The Watchman

Angry Exile said...

Er, novelty pickled livers and fat chunks, courtesy of GASP, purveyors of 'smokefree solutions'? And they're related to smoking how? Ah, of course, they're not supposed to be. It's just GASP expanding their self appointed bullying remit, isn't it? Not enough smokers so it's time to take aim at drinkers and salad dodgers.

Strength through joy!

Cunts.

Anonymous said...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/12/17/supermarket-workers-sacked-for-smoking-in-store-car-park-115875-22788921/

Cheers
Olly

Styx said...

Celia's eyes are too close together: beware!

God! Did anyone ever look more like a non-smoker?