TICAP, The Hague, March 15th 2010

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Passive Smoking TV Adverts

Open letter to the Secretary of State for Health

Dear Mrs Hewitt

I wish to compliment you and your government department for the excellent use of national and specifically NHS funds on the new Television "Take The Piss Out of Scientists" Comedy campaign you have recently launched.

It is so reassuring that satire is now recognised as such an important part of British Culture and I have no doubt that the production quality will result in a place in the nominations for a British Academy of Film & Television Arts Award.

It would be just indeed if this attracted sponsorship and became self funding through further exposure. Hopefully you have secured intellectual copyright and will soon be receiving royalties, inevitably leading to tax cuts. As a suggestion I might propose a reduction in tobacco tax especially as smokers will now be rushing to vote labour at every opportunity.

Thank you for exploding the myth that proclaims that cigarette smoke smells and can be seen. My sympathies are with the poor misguided fools that believed coughing and waving their arms was indeed protective. The scaremongers that instilled this fear of smoke should surely be hanged or made to serve their community in smoke filled bars. At least now the overstretched health service will see far less overuse injuries of the arms in asthmatics, and maybe less anaphylaxis from wasp stings this summer, as the flailing is more appropriately directed towards our yellow and black striped nemesis. I am sure it is the logical conclusion that short clips will soon expose the fraudulent science behind the erroneous link between environmental tobacco smoke and harm in non-smokers.

The scientific community will forever be indebted to your extreme intelligence and I wish you well in developing your unique style of presentation. You never know with this pivotal success you may indeed be seen as a credible politician. Best of luck with that.

Yours ever so sincerely

Dr PD Button