The Guardian view on smoking and public health: the fight against big tobacco continues | Editorial
SAlso years ago, the British government recognized that smoking caused lung cancer, thanks to a breakthrough in medical science. In an interview to mark the anniversary, Sir Richard Peto, a pioneer in the field, highlighted one way in which the discovery was important. It led, he said, to a public health boost comparable to 19th-century improvements in sewerage and water quality.
The change in attitudes towards smoking did not happen suddenly. The Tobacco and Vaping Bill championed by Rishi Sunak, which fell as he called an election, was the culmination of a decades-long process. If the law is resurrected by the next government – which seems likely given the inclusion of similar measures in the new government The Labor Manifesto – it will become illegal to sell tobacco to anyone born since 2009, and vaping will be more strictly controlled.
It seems extraordinary now, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that millions of people accepted that smoking was harmful. Sir Richard said smokers “didn’t believe it emotionally” – they were so committed to their habit and unwilling to think the government would allow a dangerous product to be advertised. For decades the British government (along with others) has chosen voluntary agreements over laws. In one notable episode, tobacco company Philip Morris issued an injunction against Thames TV after objecting to a documentary that used footage of cowboys with lung disease to challenge the image of the ‘Marlboro man’.
Between 1951 and 1964, about half of doctors in Britain who had smoked quit. But ten years later, almost half of all adults were still smoking, and as the death toll rose and evidence emerged of the harm caused by passive smoking, the pressure mounted. The World Health Organization started talking about a smoking epidemic. Gradually, advertising became more limited and health warnings increased. The last Labor government ended tobacco sponsorship of the sport (although Tony Blair played a role in securing an exemption for Formula 1) and banned smoking in indoor public spaces in 2007.
In the United Kingdom, about 13% of adults Smoking and tobacco (six million people) are linked to 80,000 deaths annually. Sunak’s decision to push for tougher controls was not in line with his own party’s instincts. But Chris Whitty, Britain’s chief medical officer, lent support and drew attention to the hypocrisy of right-wing language around freedom and choice in relation to a harmful addiction.
It’s been 25 years since a Hollywood film, The Insider, dramatized the big tobacco industry’s attempts to muzzle its critics. Since then, awareness has grown about how oil and gas companies used the same playbook in their attempts to sow doubt about the science that threatened their profits. But in Britain the tobacco industry lost a crucial argument this year.
The Conservatives’ record on public health is appalling. Low points included the deferred limit on betting at fixed-odds betting terminals, which saw Tracey Crouch resign in 2018; and Boris Johnson’s rejection of a national food strategy. Increasing malnutrition and poor dental health among children are a consequence of rising poverty and are a grim legacy. The tobacco and vaping industries will continue to lobby politicians and promote new products. But if pre-election promises are fulfilled, people growing up today will likely have more protection from this deadly habit, 70 years after the risks of smoking were identified.