The People's Republic of South Devon

Stub out: Plymouth Devonport and Sutton MP Oliver Colvile hasn’t been able to stub out his tobacco film hospitality issues

As Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile’s smoking fire continues to spread (geddit?), he has announced that he’ll be spending more time in the constituency, possibly to stub out suggestions of poor time-management while trying to rebuild relationships with his constituents, but questions remain about the £700 worth of hospitality Olly received from Japan Tobacco.

The hospitality issue was raised when it was also revealed that Oliver had voted to lessen the smoking ban. He says there’s no connection.

Oliver has so far refused to donate the equivalent of the money he received in hospitality to a cancer charity, called for by the Cough Up Colvile campaign, defending his stance on smoking saying he is a ‘libertarian’ allowing people to make their own mind up about the dangers of cigarettes.

It would be interesting then to hear if Olly thinks the 500 people in Plymouth who die of smoking-related ilness each year only have themselves to blame. Should any thought then be given to Stop Smoking campaigns?

But before considering the health issue, there is the one of big businsses’s influence. Turns out there’s going to be a parliamentary consultation on plain packaging of tobacco products, where does Olly’s ‘libertarian’ ethos stand on that? And it would be interesting to find out what aspects of cigarette marketing were discussed.

If you want to find out what the fuss about plain packaging is, pop over to the Smoke Free Action site for a bit of an insight from a Brummie perspective.

And check out Ash’s pdf The smoke-filled room: How big tobacco influences health policy in the UK.

While you’re musing on that, check out these couple of paragraphs that we’ve been made aware of:

The UK is a signatory to the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), article 5.3 of which states that: ” In setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law.”  Check out the pdf.

and

The Tobacco Control Plan for England includes a section on protecting tobacco control from the vested interests of the tobacco industry and states: (10.1) “The government takes very seriously its obligations as a party to the World Health organization’s framework convention on Tobacco control(fcTc). The fcTc places obligations on parties to protect the development of public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. ” Here’s a link to the pdf.

• Check out the timeline featuring Japan Tobacco, Malawi and Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile

(image: cigarettes in ashtray Some rights reserved by mamagrrl)

Related posts:

1. Plymouth MP Oliver Colvile, Japan Tobacco and Malawi timeline

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