Mark Daniels: What Freedom2Choose needs is a Joanna Lumley… but then again, don’t we all?

http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?storycode=64194

IN an attempt to be objective with my Fair Pint hat on:

The smoking ban is the smoking ban. It's part of progress in health promotion inititiatives rolling out across the world and it's not going to be lifted, no matter what sort of public relations work is done to try to influence change. Repealing it would be a political and social step backwards no party who can actually get into power would dream of taking no matter how popular it might be with smokers.

Fair Pint is lobbying for positive change using arguments and evidence that can't be easily dismissed except by providing proof that its position is flawed. Saying it's wrong is one thing but providing evidence to back it up is a benchmark no one seems able to reach. That's a challenge for anyone and why behemoths are beginning to make noises about looking again at their model and seekign transparencey.

They have no intention whatsoever of implementing change; it is not their way but, inexorably, they will have to because, as the BEC report said: 'maintaining the status quo is not an option'.