Out With ASH - In With CAT!

Gentle reader, bear with me until l come to the bit where I disclose the amazing revelation that recently came upon me.

Now, the following is from the website of ASH (Action on Smoking and Health), quoting the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE):

While recognizing that quitting smoking is always the best option for smokers, the NICE guidance supports the use of licensed nicotine containing products…to help smokers not currently able to quit to cut down and as a substitute for smoking, where necessary indefinitely.

Unfortunately, this doubtless well-intentioned advice is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of smoking and thus does smokers a disservice.

Here’s why. The talk of ‘smokers not currently able to quit’ fails to recognise that all smokers are unable (or think they’re unable) to quit – that’s why they’re smokers. Further, the qualification ‘currently’ implies smokers may be able to quit at some point in the future, but until they reach that happy state they have tacit official approval to carry on smoking for the time being – which often means a long time.

Today a smoker is unable to quit, but sometime in the future he has a Road to Damascus moment, the scales fall from his eyes and the cigarette from his lips – and suddenly he’s able to quit! So he does. Or does he?

In any case, on what evidence does NICE talk of smokers being unable to quit? Are there any? It’s indulgent and even collusive with smokers to characterize them in this way. ‘There, there, don’t worry if you can’t quit at the moment, but I’m sure you’ll be able to quit sometime in the future!’ This merely gives smokers an excuse and a reason to feel less bad about smoking while they carry on doing it.

Further, NICE really ought to know better than to imply that cutting down the number of cigarettes smoked daily will do any good for a smoker’s health. It won’t. It merely creates a false sense of security: ‘I’m cutting down – so that’s all right then.’

But here is the real bummer, if you’ll pardon the expression.

NICE seems to think it’s fine for smokers to use, not just any old nicotine products, but licensed (!) nicotine-containing products (gum, patches, suppositories, etc.) as a substitute for smoking, where necessary indefinitely.

You don’t need a substitute for smoking! And, under what circumstances, would NICE be so good as to explain, is it necessary to use licensed nicotine containing products at all, let alone indefinitely.

This nihilistic thinking seems to be, among the NICE people and many involved in so-called tobacco control, that it will never be possible to get all smokers to quit and so the best compromise is that those who can’t or won’t stop should be encouraged to continue their nicotine addiction, where necessary indefinitely, in a possibly safer way than by smoking.

ASH’s policy contributes to this weak approach. As mentioned, the acronym means Action on Smoking and Health, but the only action that needs to be taken to deal once and for all with the smoking epidemic, it to abolish tobacco. Unfortunately, ASH doesn’t agree with this.

And now, my amazaing revelation. I propose that instead of more and more effort going into tobacco control, a new organisation, of which I would volunteer to be the honorary secretary and president, should be set up, dedicated to closing down the cigarette factories.

I would call it the Campaign for the Abolition of Tobacco (CAT).

I am also in the process of setting up the Anti-Nicotine Alliance which interested readers can learn about here.