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
{Taps microphone} Is this thing still on? Well, well. It appears so. Everything from the inside of this looks very different though, a bit snazzy even. I must admit it looks a hell of an improvement, I'm knocking on the walls in a virtual sense to see how robust they are. Forgive me, reader, for I have sinned. It's been two years since my last blog submission. I shall submit myself to 12 Hail Mary Poppins and see where posting random thoughts gets me for now. I've still been writing elsew...| Dick Puddlecote
You'd think, wouldn't you, that after the damning political and media criticism the World Health Organisation has rightly been subjected to over fucking up the health of every nation on Earth - with their pitiful and incompetent response to the Coronavirus - that they would have learned a lesson on getting their priorities right. Well, it seems not. This week, they were celebrating the "defeat" of e-cigarettes in Finland, as if this is in any way a good thing. Strong legislation helps defeat ...| 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
Today saw an announcement from the World Health Organisation that their biennial anti-nicotine shitfest has been postponed by a year. In light of the COVID-19 global pandemic and its impact on the conduct of international global conferences and travel, the Bureaus elected by COP8 and MOP1, after consulting the host country, have decided that convening the Ninth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC (COP9) and the Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol...| 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
We are living in extraordinary times, as bad as I can ever remember. I thought that Diana dying in 1997 would be the biggest news story in my lifetime but then it was eclipsed by 9/11. There are some stories that literally take over the entire news agenda so that everything else is rendered irrelevant. The Corinavirus story, though, has hijacked news outlets in every country around the globe, there is literally no other game in town. But I have been massively encouraged that so many are turni...| Dick Puddlecote
If you wanted evidence that humanity has departed from the NHS in favour of elitist zealotry and pointless ignorant bullying, you couldn't find a better example than this. Smoking to be banned on all hospital grounds from next April Next year’s NHS contract with hospitals will say no-one should be allowed to smoke in any areas such as car parks. Car parks. You know, where cars spew out deadly exhaust fumes that can kill in minutes in the wrong circumstances. Remember when it was about ...| Dick Puddlecote
Today saw a lot of media coverage over a new report from the World Health Organisation claiming: Number of males using tobacco globally on the decline, showing that government-led control efforts work to save lives, protect health, beat tobacco It further boasts that ... [P]ositively, the new report shows that the number of male tobacco users has stopped growing and is projected to decline by more than 1 million fewer male users come 2020 (or 1.091 billion) compared to 2018 levels, and 5 mill...| Dick Puddlecote
We reached a significant milestone recently which should not go unmarked. It was just over a decade ago that legendary blogger Devil's Kitchen and his co-author The Filthy Smoker began the fightback against the widespread abuse of government funding being handed to lobby groups to lobby government. 2009-01-19T03:47:08Z That was the date and time that your humble Devil first registered the fakecharities.org domain—19th January 2009. I built the first fakecharities.org site that night, u...| Dick Puddlecote
In answer to a parliamentary question tabled by Liz Saville-Roberts of Plaid Cymru yesterday, the government's Home Office spokesperson, Victoria Atkins, gave us a small glimpse into how the choices of staff and the public are treated with contempt by the elites, and how they really only have themselves to blame for some of the abuse they receive. Saville-Roberts asked which Home Office premises do not operate a no-smoking policy. It turns out that not only is the answer none, but that the H...| Dick Puddlecote
Oh frabjous day! Long time readers may remember when the sugar tax was installed by a timorous, erm, 'Conservative' government quaking in their boots under pressure from a gullible TV chef. I called it "a triumph for repulsive anti-social snobbery". The sugar tax is born out of the same vile and scum-infested middle class base as the smoking ban. The only difference being that back then it was smokers, now it is the overweight. The precedent was set a decade ago, a precedent which gave a gree...| Dick Puddlecote
A Telegraph 'expert', pictured yesterday Like Clive Bates who has blogged about this today in an article entitled "Anti-vaping activists pitch unscientific fringe positions to a national newspaper", I also saw an email detailing how the Telegraph is planning on publishing a massive load of bullshit about vaping tomorrow (Feb 29th apparently) in one of "a series of articles". "We have spoken to the experts listed below and sought their views on the following topics: the medical concerns surrou...| 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
If you have half an hour to spare, you could do worse than watch the two excellent films by YouTuber Grimm Green embedded below Long-time readers here will remember the history of anti-smoking legislation and how it developed from an aspiration in the 1970s with the Godber Blueprint. Specifically: The 3rd World Conference on Smoking and Health (“The Worldwide Campaign Against Smoking”) was held in New York from June 2 June 5, 1975. Sir George [Godber, raging anti-smoking UK CMO,] noted...| Dick Puddlecote
A vile elitist snob, pictured in 2015 Still plenty up in the air in Puddlecoteville for a number of reasons, hence the radio silence recently, but Puddlecote Inc closing for the holiday gives me a breather. Of course, while most of us are breaking up for a relaxing Christmas period of enjoyment and pleasure, it is about this time of year that rancid 'public health' nags are at their most frustrated. They simply can't bear to imagine people enjoying themselves, so every festive period sees som...| Dick Puddlecote
No matter how many times tobacco controllers claim that plain packaging has been an overwhelming success, the facts stubbornly refuse to adhere to their fantasies. I've often amused myself with articles on this subject and it's great to see that the failure continues into its sixth year, according to Australian Channel 9. Shocking statistics have shown more men are becoming smokers despite all the health warnings. #9Todaypic.twitter.com/Qa1td0j9rr — The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) November 3...| Dick Puddlecote
Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of this little corner of the internet. As long-time readers will have noticed, the last year has been considerably lighter on content than previously, and in recent months very sparse indeed. This is because, sadly, a lot of real life has barged its way in - both business and personal - and has left me little time (and sometimes inclination) to write much here. I'm afraid to say that this will be continuing for the foreseeable future so it might be worth su...| Dick Puddlecote
Be afraid, be very afraid! On Friday evening, I went to Maxwell's in Covent Garden for a pre-theatre meal with a friend. The place has been in business for over 30 years that I know of and describes itself as "the home of the freakshake". I'd never heard of a freakshake before I booked a table and I didn't eat one, but plenty of healthy-looking young things around us did. Today, a vast number of other people found out what a freakshake is for the first time thanks to those hideous health fa...| 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
If you live in Dundee, I'd be very afraid if I were you, because your council is run by weapons grade idiots. Now, I run a business and have to ensure that my staff are as competent as they can be or else the business fails, but it appears that you don't require even the slightest semblance of intelligence or awareness of what is going on around you to run Dundee Council. You also don't need to have any empathy with any of the nearly 8,000 employees that have to pitifully work for the vile bu...| Dick Puddlecote
A few years ago a friend of mine who travels incredibly regularly for business wrote some guest blogs here. You can see them on the Bear Tripper tag. Having recently tried an iQos for the first time after not having heard of it until earlier this month, Bear sent some interesting initial thoughts as a blog article. Note: I am not Dick Puddlecote. I am a stalwart smoker of cigarettes. Years ago I tried e-cigs when they were new on the market, in fact I was the one who first introduced DP t...| 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