You Scratch Our Back ...

Over the weekend, Simon Clark has been highlighting the pathetic and incestuous obsession that the tobacco control industry has with awards.

From the ASH PR.

Responding to the Minister’s award, Deborah Arnott, chief executive of ASH, said: 

“Despite relentless tobacco industry lobbying the Public Health Minister made sure that the government proceeded with the introduction of standardised ‘plain’ packaging of cigarettes. Her commitment to tackling the harm caused by tobacco is unquestionable and we are delighted that her work has been recognised by the World Health Organisation.”

So, here we have ASH declaring that they are "delighted" that the World Health Organisation - who wish to ban e-cigarettes - is honouring Jane "addiction to nicotine, we would consider harmful" Ellison with an award.

Hmmm.

Others honoured by the WHO include French Health Minister Marisol Touraine who wants to ban e-cigs in public; vaper-hating Mike Daube, an anti-smoking lunatic who was denounced by the entire Australian establishment for closing down a production of Carmen because it is set in a tobacco factory ... and then lying about it; and Melanie Wakefield, for producing a review of plain packaging in Australia that the government down there couldn't go on record as endorsing because they know it was incredibly biased bullshit.

This, in 2016, appears to be the best that the tobacco control industry have to offer. Ignoramuses, crooks and liars.

But it shouldn't come as much of a surprise because, as you can see above (and in Clark's blog on Sunday), it's just the same old names being circulated over and over. Instead of being a measure of success, these awards simply prove that the tobacco control trough is populated by a tiny handful of elite extremists for whom rigour and truth are irrelevant. It doesn't matter how shite their output is; how astonishingly inept, transparently biased, or openly mendacious they are; they'll still get a slap on the back from their small clique of chums. An echo chamber within an echo chamber.

Clark also makes an interesting point.

Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't ASH who nominated Ellison for this award. They're pretty good at lobbying government so lobbying WHO to give an award to the minister they lobbied to introduce plain packaging in the UK seems a pretty natural thing to do.

He's only a few degrees off because it was CRUK - another organisation in the tobacco control circle-jerk - who nominated on this occasion, but it's exactly how it works.

Let's dip into the ASH emails again, shall we?

If you're a tobacco controller and you want a bit of adulation, do you wait for gushing praise from your peers? No, of course not, you ask for it (October 2013).

How better to fully utilise a direct line to Andrew Black than by chivvying him along for praise from his boss, eh?

Of course, this doesn't come for free. The Department of Health will obviously want something in return, but that's OK because Deborah is quite happy to provide it (March 2015).

"You scratch my back, Andrew, and I'll scratch yours. Shall we share a bath and a loofah too?"

Yes, I regretted that the moment I wrote it, do feel free to bill me for the mind bleach. {shiver}

So it seems that - judging by how long these things take - another 'award' is on the way for some tobacco control trouser-stuffer to reward their services to the intolerant, anti-social and vile. I wonder who it will be this time? The tobacco control glitterati consists of so few people that they would fit into a single-decker bus if they ever held a global get-together, so I'm sure the name won't be someone we haven't heard of before.

Place your bets.