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Get Involved - Quick Campaign Guide
What are we calling for and why?
Quick Campaign Guide
Health Bill 2009: Campaigning Guidance
Download a PDF version of this page
Why local advocacy is important
People working at a local and a regional level are in a strong position to influence the political process. MPs, Lords and the media pay more attention to what local people say than national campaigning organisations such as ASH so local advocacy will be crucial in the forthcoming campaign.
There are many ways in which you can influence public and political opinion.
- In a professional capacity - you can give advice and information to councillors and MPs, and encourage others in your area (health professionals, Directors of Public Health etc) to speak out.
- Through your tobacco control alliance - this gives you the scope to speak as a coalition of informed professionals to politicians and the media.
- As an individual - everyone can write a letter to their MP as a constituent or visit their surgery and explain why these issues are important to you as their constituent.
- Write to your MP or better still turn up at their surgery and get them to sign
- Point of Sale Display of tobacco products EDM 189,
- Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products EDM 554 and
- Sale of Tobacco from Vending Machines EDM 768
- Your local MP can be contacted via www.writetothem.com
- Brief all DPHs, PCT chief executives and all relevant councillors, officers, on the legislation and seek their support in contacting MPs and Lords
- Write a letter to your local newspaper explaining why the legislation is important
- Get Local people involved. Encourage quitters and members of the public to write to their MP and tell their story.
- Let the Smokefree Action Coalition know what you’re doing and what response you’re getting: info@smokefreeaction.org.uk
What is in the proposed legislation?
In December last year the Government announced a Health Bill including tobacco control legislation. On the 16th January the Bill was laid before the House of Lords and following its passage through the House of Lords it is now being debated in the House of Commons.
The Health Bill will receive its final vote on 12th October. As campaigners this means we need to work hard to keep the issue on the agenda and remind politicians why these measures are so important.
The legislation contains two measures and we are pushing for a third:
1) Removing tobacco from display at the point of sale
- This will remove one of the remaining loop holes allowing the tobacco industry to advertise their products.
- Advertising has been banned in the UK since 2002, but since then point of sale displays have become larger and used much more aggressively to market the product.
- The effect of the legislation would take time to show, as did the ban on advertising, it is only when children have grown up without exposure to tobacco marketing that it will fully impact on smoking prevalence among young people.
- There is no evidence that it will increase smuggling or injuries as the tobacco industry claim
- The Government has acknowledged that with the recession this is something which worries small businesses so have staggered the implementation of the law with larger shops having to comply by 2011 and smaller shops by 2013.
- More information can be found in ASH briefing sheet http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_701.pdf Cancer Research UK's report http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/images/pdfs/tobcon_pointofsalereport1
2) Ending sales of tobacco from vending machines
- This is currently being taken as a reserve power in the bill (which means that the Government could use the power at a later date) and the Government is first proposing to restrict access to vending machines for those who are underage.
- 17% of child smokers say vending machines are a means of regularly purchasing tobacco compared with less than 5% of adult smokers who said they had purchased any tobacco from a vending machine over the last 6 months.
- 22 countries in Europe already ban the sale of tobacco from vending machines
- It is a proportionate response to the risks posed by children accessing tobacco underage.
- More information can be found in the ASH briefing sheet http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_700.pdf and the British Heart Foundation report http://www.bhf.org.uk/publications/view_publication.aspx?ps=1000651
3) Plain packaging for tobacco packs
- This is not in the current legislation although it was consulted on in the Department of Health consultation in the summer. ASH will be supporting amendments to have it included.
- It would mean that all tobacco industry branding would have to be removed from tobacco products.
- This would remove the personally endorsed advert that every smoker carries with them every day, remove the misleading health signals indicated by branding (e.g. that gold is 'healthier' for you than red) and prevent branding and brand imagery from undermining health messages.
- We would be the first country in the world if we were successful in introducing plain packaging. Where it has been tried elsewhere the tobacco industry has effectively lobbied to quash it.
- More information can be found in the ASH briefing sheet http://www.ash.org.uk/files/documents/ASH_699.pdf
You can read our line by line response to industry arguments in relation to these proposals which is available on the member's zone of the Smokefree Action Coalition website http://www.smokefreeaction.org.uk/. It's easy to become a member by clicking in the blue box at the bottom of the screen.
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