Yes, this is a real quote from an MP!

Addiction Economy Thought for the Day

Yes, this is a real quote! According to MP Adam Afriyie it seems tobacco and vape companies are in the healthcare business now, because they can be used help smokers quit (though luckily the many non-smoking vapers will remain addicted to nicotine - phew, say the shareholders!).

Got this corker of a quote from new edition of the UK Tobacco Interference Index from Raouf Alebshehy the great team at the University of Bath. Worth a look to see how the Addiction Economy works and only imagine what it’s like in sectors without strict international laws and treaties and this sort of forensic scrutiny about lobbying!

2023 Tobacco Interference Index

Among many other things it gives all the detail of how the current All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping and a number of its members have been criticised for inappropriate association with the vaping and tobacco industries.

The behaviour of Afriyie and MP Mark Pawsey, chair of the APPG (who got Parliamentarian of the Year award at the same event!) led to the former Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Sir Alistair Graham, calling for a review of the rules governing APPGs “to prevent lobbyists from buying influence at the heart of Government”. The new rules came out on October 18th 2023, no change yet. Let’s hope it’s soon as they should not be in charge of it.