I’m not certain where the obscure title of today’s post comes from (it’s often attributed to Jamie Anderson) but I’ve been pondering it ever since I heard it as a throw away comment in the wonderful Three Pines mystery series. “Grief is love with no place to go“. Profound, isn’t it? I think it is […]| Brian Harris
It was once explained to me that there are thousands of students who start off aspiring to be doctors. Those not clever enough to become doctors drift into other public health roles, but those who are not clever enough for that often go into the tobacco control industry. This was in answer to my querying why I regularly read stuff from tobacco controllers which are too stupid for words. Either they lack basic comprehension of concepts such as behaviour and economics, or advance ideas so pue...| Dick Puddlecote
So, the menthol tobacco ban - mandated by the EU's Tobacco Products Directive from 2014 - came in this week and many smokers will have been completely unaware of it until Wednesday when they found that their usual smokes are never to be seen again. However, one thing we did see again was the British tobacco control industry's only supporter amongst retail tobacconists. Not surprising since just about every anti-smoking initiative could have the potential - even if it is not designed, which is...| Dick Puddlecote
So, it seems that the US has decided to stop funding the WHO. For those of us who have been aware of how unaccountable and out of control they are for quite a while, it's not surprising that they have been found wanting when it comes to the only thing we all would like them to do very well. Their failure to cope with epidemics is not just restricted to this one, who can ever forget the former incompetent Director General taking tea with Vladimir Putin at an anti-tobacco and vaping conference ...| Dick Puddlecote
This week, the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, asked for further help from industry to develop testing for the Coronavirus outbreak. He namechecked a few Titans of industry in his daily briefing which had already downed their usual tools and decided that their talents, and financial clout, could be useful to society in saving lives. The week before, Hancock had acknowledged the already admirable efforts that the private sector had put in to redirect their ample resources towards ...| Dick Puddlecote
Forgive me Father, I have sinned. It has been three weeks since my last article, hand me the hair shirt and beads. Real life has been getting in the way like a mofo recently, I'm afraid. Business, family and personal pressures have conspired in such a way that I've had little time to even catch up with what's going on let alone write anything. If you follow me on Twitter too, you may have noticed. But prior to a busy week, I've a window to have a go at some recreational writing and what bette...| Dick Puddlecote
You'd think, wouldn't you, that the US governmental Food and Drugs Administration would be tasked with giving the public information based on rigorous and robust science. Sadly, you'd be wrong. This week - in the face of hysterical panic about youth use of e-cigs - they have produced a poster which they will be sending to every High School in America to be put up in school bathrooms. Now, let's put aside for a moment the laughable idiocy of showing kids the new risky fad that many of their pe...| Dick Puddlecote
A curious piece turned up on the BBC the other day from their 'reality check' team. Health Secretary Matt Hancock wants to encourage people in England to make "better choices" around their alcohol, sugar, salt and fat intake, while getting more exercise. He is promising to spend more on public awareness initiatives to prevent obesity in the latest in a long line of of public health campaigns over the years. Three of the best-known health messages are eating five portions a day of fruit an...| Dick Puddlecote
Just the other day I said this about the pitiful state of tobacco controllers when it comes to safer products made by industry. I don't ...| dickpuddlecote.blogspot.com
