Failure Is Success; Real Success Must Be Banned

On the same day that the BBC hailed the NHS stop-smoking service as its 'jewel in the crown' despite spending just under a billion smackers on an appalling success rate, comes this ... also from the BBC.

Merthyr Town Football Club is to rename its ground the Cigg-e Stadium after its sponsor, an electronic cigarette firm.

Great! A company selling products with a far superior track record than patches and gum are giving something back to the local community. The story has win/win daubed in bright red paint all over it!

But a doctors' professional body said the marketing, sale and promotion of E-cigarettes should be restricted.

Which makes said 'doctors' professional body' a collection of repulsive monsters, in my opinion. But then, that's precisely what we have come to expect from the BMA.

But BMA Cymru Wales, responding to the renaming of Merthyr's ground, said the sale and use of E-cigarettes needed to be regulated urgently "to ensure they are safe, quality assured and effective at helping smokers to cut down or quit".

Smokers are already cutting down or quitting - in unprecedented numbers - as a result of using e-cigs, they are 'helping' like a motherfucker.

And, err, they need to be regulated urgently? Too late sunshine, they already are, under 21 - count 'em - 21 different EU directives.

General safety
General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC 

The RAPEX system – notification and alerts of dangerous products

Technical Standardisation under Directive 98/34/EC  (an option not so far used, but could be used to set performance or design standards) 

Packaging and labelling
Dangerous Substances Directive 67/548/EEC 

Dangerous Preparations Directive 99/45/EC 

Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Substances and Mixtures – the CLP Regulation 1272/2008 applies from 2015. 

Chemical safety
Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 

Electrical safety
Low Voltage Directive 2006/95/EC  

Electro-Magnetic Compatibility Directive 2004/108/EC

Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive 2011/65/EU (where appropriate) 

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2012/19/EU 

Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC 

Weights and measures
Making-up by weight or by volume of certain prepackaged products – Directive 76/211/EEC 

Nominal Quantities for Prepacked Products Directive 2007/45/EC 

Commercial practice
Sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees 99/44/EC 

Distance Selling Directive 97/7/EC 

Directive on Electronic Commerce 2000/31/EC 

Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive 2006/114/EC 

Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC 

Data protection
Protection of Personal Data – Directive 95/46/EC

If this is an 'unregulated' product, the OED must have redefined the word 'unregulated' quite dramatically without our knowledge.

Remember that, with 1.3 million users in the UK and growing - pulling tens of millions of cigarettes out of the market, as in the USA - e-cigs have had a massive hand in the paltry 1% decline in smoking prevalence since 2007 mentioned in Nick Triggle's pathetic NHS proselytising exercise today ... again on the BBC site.

So while the BBC have been loudly praising - on every platform available to them - what is, actually, utter failure of a state-funded operation, the real reason for declining smoking rates is quietly being undermined on their South East Wales pages.

You see, in BBC circles, this isn't really happening ...

Source: ASH .. yes, ASH!

... while their disgusting chums at the BMA are desperately scrambling to stop e-cigs helping any more smokers to quit.

It's never been about health, you know.