ASA WITCH HUNT

I complained to the ASA about the wording used in a EU advertisement, which states quite categorically that 19,000 Europeans die each year through the causes of passive smoking.

I said that there was no proof of this, and as such, the advert would mislead viewers into believing figures which could not be substantiated. But instead of offering me proof, they state that the general consensus on this issue, supported by a significant majority of research, is that second-hand smoke is harmful and can, for example, increase the risk of coronary heart disease, which can lead to death.

I didn't ask them for "the general consensus" I asked them for absolute proof!

Are these people honestly telling us, that they now base their decisions on "general consensus" rather than hard evidence?

Four hundred years ago, the "general consensus" stated that certain women were believed to be witches, and the only way to be certain of this, was to tie them to a seat and immerse them into the water of the local village pond. If they died after being under the water for twenty minutes, this surely proved that were witches. So three cheers for the general consensus then, proven right every time eh, just like the bigots at the ASA?

 Read More: http://www.thesmokermagazine.co.uk/Page26.html

Admin wrote:I complained to the ASA about the wording used in a EU advertisement, which states quite categorically that 19,000 Europeans die each year through the causes of passive smoking.

I said that there was no proof of this, and as such, the advert would mislead viewers into believing figures which could not be substantiated. But instead of offering me proof, they state that the general consensus on this issue, supported by a significant majority of research, is that second-hand smoke is harmful and can, for example, increase the risk of coronary heart disease, which can lead to death.

I didn't ask them for "the general consensus" I asked them for absolute proof!

Are these people honestly telling us, that they now base their decisions on "general consensus" rather than hard evidence?

Four hundred years ago, the "general consensus" stated that certain women were believed to be witches, and the only way to be certain of this, was to tie them to a seat and immerse them into the water of the local village pond. If they died after being under the water for twenty minutes, this surely proved that were witches. So three cheers for the general consensus then, proven right every time eh, just like the bigots at the ASA?

 Read More: http://www.thesmokermagazine.co.uk/Page26.html

I also received a ltter back from them. It didn't say exactly the same as yours but it did say that they had only received a few complaints, and more or less that they had made their minds up, so that was that.

I don't believe they can get away with this. There must be something we can do. Have you tried getting in touch with Forest, to see what they have got to say about it?