THE HEALTH secretary has come under fire for suggesting that smoking is one of the few pleasures available to poorer people. Speaking at a “Big Conversation” event organised by the Labour Party, John Reid called for caution before imposing a ban on smoking in public places.
“All I say is be careful, please be careful that we don’t patronise people,” he said. “As my mother would put it, people from these lower socioeconomic categories have very few pleasures in life and one of them they regard as smoking.”
“I note the forcible representations on banning smoking, particularly banning smoking to overcome the difficulties that the lower working class get out of the ailments of smoking,” he added. “I just worry slightly about the unanimity of the medical and professional activists in taking that view.”
His comments attracted criticism from opposition parties.
“It is impossible to see how the government can promote a consistent public health strategy when with one hand it is funding the British Heart Foundation’s ad campaign against smoking and with the other John Reid makes remarks like these,” said shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley.
“To suggest that for a poor mum with three kids to be smoking is anything other than damaging, coming from the health secretary, is regrettable.”
The cabinet minister’s comments were also condemned by the Liberal Democrats. “John Reid’s message to those in deprived areas is not ‘let them eat cake’ but ‘let them smoke fags’,” said health spokesman Paul Burstow.“This is yet more evidence that the health secre-tary has no clue when it comes to public health. His statement is patronising, dam-aging, and based on weak assumptions.”
Downing Street later supported the minister. “We want everybody to pursue a healthy lifestyle,” said a Number 10 spokesman. “There are warnings and eve-rybody knows the dangers of smoking. At the moment we are having a discussion and people are expressing different views. The advice is there, the health secretary has made his comments and the consulta-tion will continue.”
Reid’s comments came days after the Prime Minister insisted that a ban on smoking in public places was under consideration.
However, Tony Blair stressed that there was “a difficult balance” to strike.
“You have got to have some balanced decision making in this, and it’s a difficult balance,” he told the BBC. “On the one hand it’s something that does damage your health – you’ve got to be careful you don’t end up with a [nanny state]. In the end, though, you have also got to have some local decision-making in this.”
Smoking bans have already been introduced in New York, Ireland and Norway.
“There’s no doubt about the damage that smoking does and also I think for a lot of people who aren’t smokers they would actually prefer to be in an environment where there’s no smoking taking place.”
His comments were welcomed by anti-smoking campaigners.
“Second-hand smoke in the workplace causes about 700 premature deaths every year,” said ASH director Deborah Arnott. “And we know that ending smoking in workplaces and enclosed public places is the single simplest and most effective thing the government could do to en-courage more smokers to quit.”
But pro-smoking groups called on the Prime Minister to oppose any ban. “Any attempt to ban smoking in all public places will be fiercely resisted,” said Forest director Simon clark. “People are sick and tired of being told how to live their lives. There are 13 million smokers in Britain, some of whom want to quit, but a great many enjoy smoking and have no intention of giving up just because Nanny Blair says they should.”
