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by Steve Beasant on 20 January, 2012
Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West Stephen Williams and Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health, has joined public health professionals from around the UK to launch a campaign to raise awareness about the harmful influence of tobacco packaging.
Stephen Williams has welcomed the news that, from April, the Coalition Government will ban the open display of tobacco products at supermarket kiosks, where they act as a temptation to existing smokers and impressionable teenagers alike. Now, Stephen Williams wants the Government to go further, by banning the use of the colourful packaging that tobacco companies use to entice new smokers.
This campaign is being led by Smoke Free South West and you can sign up to show your support at their website here: http://www.plainpacksprotect.co.uk. Stephen Williams has written more about the launch of this campaign at his blog here.
2 Comments
Hi Steve,
I have posted this on Les Bonner’s blog. It awaits moderation. I see it is also relevant to your blog too.
It seems that this entry (your blog) appears to be responding, in turn, to a cry for help from smokefree SW, but has not inspired many to respond over at Stephens blog. (Correct me if I’m wrong, but that IS the reason you have blogged this isn’t it?) By the way, are smoke-free SW lobbyists ‘leading’ or ‘directing’ our MPs?
Stephen has been unable to respond with any reasonable rebuttals to any of the points outlined by some very well informed INDEPENDENT commentators. The cry for help has attracted the top anti-smoker ‘expert’ /activist / adviser to govt from Australia ,simon chapman, but he has been suitably humiliated and despatched. The response by anti-smokers has been dismal. I think there is a growing awareness in anti-smoker ranks that their case is fatally holed – only SOME of the people can be fooled ALL of the time! They probably realise that any response will further damage their cause as it is without credibility, and their failings will be exposed. There are over 300 comments and those who support Stephen add up to no more that around a dozen of them!
Why don’t YOU pop over yourself and engage in the debate. Please be aware however that you may find yourself humiliated if you support the anti-smoker debase campaign, do not know what you are talking about, and are unable to back up any ASH type propaganda slogan etc that you may repeat! (There is a growing distrust and loss of respect of politicians, doctors and scientists as more and more lies relating to the anti-tobacco agenda are exposed but blatantly denied )
As you will be aware, only those who support more and more restrictions on smokers, are allowed a voice in parliament. Anyone who opposes EU ‘voluntary directives’ (dictated edicts) is automatically and fallaciously labeled a tobacco stooge, but this is a tired response, sounding more desperate each time it is utilized. The debate over at Stephen’s blog is a good opportunity to find out some TRUTHFUL information, and get to see some of the evidence you have been denied, rather than the pseudo science which is fed to MPs by the anti-tobacco industry and the morally corrupt medical scientific (in the anti-tobacco field) community.
Many MPs have been, and continue to be, fooled by the anti-smoker industry using their well established propaganda machine that seeks to de-normalise and stigmatise around a quarter of the UK population, including YOUR constituents. They have only one goal; exterminating tobacco use (and filling their pockets with their ill gotten gains, looted from smokers, in the meantime). It is a myopic campaign that takes no account of the real collateral damage/injury and death that is being caused in the process (not the false, computer generated, mythical, grossly exaggerated, illnesses allegedly caused by tobacco use)
It is a sad fact that many politicians, scientists, doctors etc. dare not speak out against the anti-tobacco industry as they will be subjected to smear campaign and can find their careers prematurely curtailed so I understand if you are reluctant to make any comment that is not ‘on message’. At the very least I urge you to read ALL the comments. If you read them with an open mind, you will find some valuable information and experience a depth of feeling and disgust that is representative of far more people than is attributed to the smoking community.
Have you got the courage to fight the powerful anti-smoker lobby and represent those decent people whom you were elected to represent? It is time that the peoples representatives started to represent the people NOT a very small but very loud, very rich, fanatical group of anti-smokers. I don’t like telling granny how to suck eggs but please also re-confirm traditional Liberal values as outlined by John Stuart Mill – His views on liberty and the role of the state are VERY relevant to this issue!
Should you still think that it is alright to immorally demean ANY minority and treat them with such despicable disdain in pursuit of an unattainable and debase objective, then I fear for EVERYONE and the future of this country. This is not about health nor is it about saving ‘the children’, please do not insult anyones intelligence by claiming it is!
Kin_Free
actually, I’ve responded to lots of the comments. As is in the nature of blog comments, they develop a life of their own with full and frank debate going on between the contributors.
If you check out my record you will see that I have been a strong advocate of tobacco control for over a decade, long pre-dating any contact with ASH or smoke free south west…