ASA Complaint

Hello, I made a complaint to the ASA yesterday about the EU advert saying "Every year tobacco kills 19,000 Europeans who don't smoke". I said I didn't believe the EU could provide the evidence to support this figure.

I've received a marvellously contorted reply, that essentially says, oh well, we all know passive smoking is bad for people, so we don't think it's misleading and won't be challenging it.

Can you imagine if I brought out a new variety of brocolli and said, this will save 19,000 European lives a year? Do you think they'd require some evidence to back that up??!

The ASA also said there had only been 4 complaints about the ad, which was "a useful indicator as to whether ... viewers are being misled".

I'm sorry if I've posted this in the wrong place - I can't find now where the original thread on this topic was!

Best,

Rose

Hello Rosie

I too received an answer in the post this morning, saying basically the same, apart from the "fact" that in my letter, they said thay had only received 2 other complaints.

I find this very strange, as I know quite a large number of people have now complained about this Ad, and the very first one that I knew of, which was some weeks ago, also said that their letter (also received some weeks ago) said that there were only 2 other complaints.

Is the ASA supposed to be the guard-dog, which is protecting us all from misleading Ads? If it is, then why have they removed its teeth?

I am going to try and investigate further, to see if there is anyone else, higher that we can complain to.

Excellent. If you find someone to complain to, I shall write again making the point above about the specific figure!

rosiew wrote:Excellent. If you find someone to complain to, I shall write again making the point above about the specific figure!

I have found another section on the ASA site, under the heading The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988

It gives a variety of regulations which govern the way a TV advert should adhere to their rules. You can see it here http://www.cap.org.uk/cap/codes/broadcast_codes/tv_code/Section+5+-+Misleading+Advertising.htm

I am going to use their regulations, as close to word for word, as I can, against them, in re-submitting my complaint.

Have a look and use it as you wish.

I have now re-sent my complaint to ASA, using their guidance and regulations. I have pasted my wording here for anyone to use, copy, mess around with, and use in any way they wish. Let's hope this does the trick?

____________________________________________________________

This advert states that 19,000 deaths a year occur throughout Europe, caused directly through passive smoking.

This statement contravenes the regulations, set out (below), under section 2 of Interpretation.

The advert makes claims which are very misleading. It deceives the persons whom it is aimed at and who it reaches by way of a deceptive nature, claiming that 19,000 deaths a year occur throughout Europe, caused directly through passive smoking.

Under Definitions of Misleading Advertsing, section (4) states: Scientific terms or jargon, statistics and other technical information should not be used to make claims appear to have a scientific basis that they do not possess. Equally, statistics of limited validity must not be presented in such a way as to mislead, for instance by implying that they are universally true.

This advert uses statistics in a very misleading way. It implies that the figues quoted, i.e. 19,000 deaths, are "universally true", when in fact they have never been proven.

The simple facts, are that these figures are not true, and have never been proven true by any scientific body. There has never been any death certificates, ever issued, anywhere in the world, showing the cause of death, due to passive smoking.

Given these facts, this advert should be banned from television immediately.

Statutory Instrument 1988 No. 915
The Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988
Interpretation(2) For the purposes of these Regulations an advertisement is misleading if in any way, including its presentation, it deceives or is likely to deceive the persons to whom it is addressed or whom it reaches and if, by reason of its deceptive nature, it is likely to affect their economic behaviour or, for those reasons, injures or is likely to injure a competitor of the person whose interests the advertisement seeks to promote.

I really do believe that these jerks are in the pay of the government.

How can they possibly throw your objections out like that otherwise?

I am going to register and see what happens. I will keep you posted.

There seems to be a lot of disinformation regarding the smoking ban, arbitary numbers seem to be plucked out of the air. It is about time that they actually told the truth.

It make you wonder if large cash payments are being made to these organisations to pedal the propaganda message.

B7

Protest at www.freewebs.com/botswana7

I have now registered my complain with the ASA and from what I have seen on the Forest website, so have a lot of other people, so we should not get the same old answers which they have been palming everyone off with, about they have only received 2 other compaints.

But what can we do if they do come up with this old crap again?

botswana7 wrote:There seems to be a lot of disinformation regarding the smoking ban, arbitary numbers seem to be plucked out of the air. It is about time that they actually told the truth.

It make you wonder if large cash payments are being made to these organisations to pedal the propaganda message.

B7

Protest at www.freewebs.com/botswana7

botswana7, you are not kidding about the figures used etc. Take a look here http://www.thesmokermagazine.co.uk/Page6.html

We need a lawyer who will take this on. Does anyone know a lawyer who will take it on for us, cheap I am talking about?

I would be willing to contribute. If we all did, I am sure we could do something to force them to listen and admit the truth.

Do we need a lawyer, there must be some redress though the adversiment standards procedure for telling falsehoods.

Anyone know.?

Regards
B7

Protest at www.freewebs.com/botswana7

botswana7 wrote:Do we need a lawyer, there must be some redress though the adversiment standards procedure for telling falsehoods.

Anyone know.?

Regards
B7

Protest at www.freewebs.com/botswana7

I have checked everywhere on ASAs site, and I cannot find any details of who the ASA are responsible to, or even who actually funds them. From what I can see, they seem to be, like most bodies which are associated to this Government, a law unto themselves.

I have appealed everywhere for help on this, including F2C and Forest, but both have decided to ignore the issue.

It is no wonder we are all going nowhere fast isn't it? We have groups like ASH pushing out lie upon lie, almost every day, and yet we cannot even get any support from people who are "supposed" to be on our side.

This ban will not be overturned or ammended, until we all start pulling together. Seems to me that there are too many chiefs and not enough indians.

I would imagine that they are what the government would describe as one of their stakeholders.

In other words a non elected body that is doing the governments bidding, and receiving some nice fat grant cheques.

All honest non stakeholder chiefs and indians can Protest with B7 @

www.freewebs.com/botswana7