Tuesday 23 March 2010

Tobacco Promotion, Courtesy Of ASH

"I'll thqueam and thqueam till I'm thick!": Amanda Sandford, pictured yesterday

ASH spokeswoman, Amanda Sandford, appears to have thrown a bit of a tantrum.

Prosecute Damon Albarn over on stage cigarette urges anti-smoking charity

Sandford said: "There can be no excuse for that as it is an indoor place and the law is very clear. We are not allowed to smoke on stage unless it's relevant to the act. They should be fined. It's not just the artist, it's the premises where the act is held. I would expect the local authority to take the appropriate action. It's not just illegal but more importantly it's about the message it sends out to fans. People in the public eye have a duty not to promote smoking. It's very irresponsible - I suppose they think it's rebellious and they may get some extra kudos from it and maybe some extra publicity."
It seems that, following on from Paul Weller, Lady Gaga and Lily Allen, Albarn is yet another rock star who refuses to do as Sandford commands.

There is an element of desperation in her righteously indignant shrieking. Because, again, not a single member of the audience felt the urge to lodge a complaint ... no-one cares except Amanda and her fellow socially-retarded misfits at ASH. And even they only complain because they are paid, out of tax receipts and the marketing budgets of big pharma, to do so.

Blur smoking on stage is a knife to Sandford's granite heart as, no matter how illegal or 'denormal' she and her colleagues have contrived to make the humble cigarette, rock stars still don't consider smoking to be damaging to their image or reputation.

In fact, the more Sandford thqueams, the more ASH denormalise, the more government legislates ... the more cool cigarettes become to the young.

Nice job, 'Manda. The cheque from Imperial Tobacco is probably already in the post.


13 comments:

Angry Exile said...

Do you know what? The ASH bansturbators are starting to make me feel guilty for fucking giving up smoking. I feel like I ought to be sparking one up out of defiance every time I read or hear about them, but even if I was going to it's been so long that we can't remember where we put the emergency 'giving up fags' fags. Why can't they just shut the fuck up instead? Cunts.

Anonymous said...

It seems that, following on from Paul Weller, Lady Gaga and Lily Allen, Albarn is yet another rock star who refuses to do as Sandford commands.

Add to that Josh Homme of "Them Crooked Vultures" as well. When he walked out on stage at Hammersmith Apollo last December, he was defiantly smoking too.

BHJ

Sue said...

I'd love to stuff a whole pouch of bacci down her stupid throat!

Christopher Snowdon said...

I press 'publish post' and pop to Puddlecote's and he's written about the same damn thing. Small world.

http://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.com/2010/03/targeting-celebs-ash-versus-albarn.html

Anonymous said...

Same old same old. It is vital for ASH to keep smoking in the news. Most people don't really care if other people smoke, even in the same room. The only way for ASH to survive is by being ever more extreme in it's demands and pronouncements. If ASH had shut up and the rate of decline in smoking had continued as it was through the 70's and 80's smoking and non-smoking venues would have emerged in response to social change all by themselves without acrimony and without descrimination. These bloody people NEED smoking, without it they would be jobless.

JuliaM said...

"I feel like I ought to be sparking one up out of defiance every time I read or hear about them..."

I've never smoked, but feel like starting!

lenko said...

It was well known, back in the day, that Violet Elizabeth Bott (from whom your quote is drawn) used to enjoy a gasper with William Brown and his chums behind the bushes. And that's not all...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_Elizabeth_Bott#Violet_Elizabeth_Bott

Anhd the more she sthqueamed, the thicker she got.

Angry Exile said...

"I've never smoked, but feel like starting!"

Isn't she supposed to be a promotional tool (emphasis very much on 'tool') for the gum and sticky patch manufacturers? Since she seems to be annoying an ex-smoker and a non-smoker to the point of wanting a smoko just to spite her I can't help wondering if she ought to get a few quid from Philip Morris.

Dick Puddlecote said...

AE & Julia: It's quite telling the number of non-smokers who have expressed that kind of view in the past couple of months on comments threads. More and more of the public appear to be genuinely irritated by constantly reading ASH's bleating, and are waking up to what hideous people tobacco controllers are.

Anon@12:25: Ta for that. Didn't see that band in any papers, but perhaps Sandford didn't feel they were well known enough for her to gain publicity lol.

Sue: Likewise. ;-)

Lenko: Yes, I was going to say that Sandford had thrown a 'Violet Elizabeth' but played safe with tantrum. Interesting regarding the 'gasper' :-)

Angry Exile said...

I've known for years, mate. Lost count of the number of health warnings I've seen and ignored. When I moved to Oz I found they were doing the scary picture variety - have you got them in the UK yet? The tobacconists chuckle when you tell them you'd prefer a pack with Emphysema so you can complete the set, even though I'm sure they've heard it before. The bansturbators just hang up when you phone them to try to exchange your set for a carton of B&H. Fucking miseries. Even if I do die sooner because I used to smoke I'll fucking bet I laughed more.

On the bright side you can tell ASH that smoking is less harmful than videogames. It must be true because an Aussie politician said videogames were more dangerous than smoking last month. Unfortunately he's mad, but shhhh. I won't tell Amanda Sandford if you don't.

Anonymous said...

They are terrified that we all flout the law on masse.
This is why they want to stamp out even the slightest dissention.
Sounds like the bloody NKVD does it not.
If we do the ban is finished.
And they damn well know it.
Tossers.

Standard-Issue State-Funded Troll said...

I hate it when I'm standing at Highbury Corner waiting for a bus, and a selfish smoker insists on forcing everyone else at the bus stop to breath his deadly smoke. It gets in my hair and on my clothes and I worry about the health of my cat when I get home as she likes to have a cuddle.

Pubs are great now and you can get really nice meals, at gastropub prices, at those that are left open. I went to a pub quiz last week, but it was ruined by all the selfish smokers rushing out for a fix between questions. You selfish smokers wouldn't be so smelly and selfish if you'd seen a loved one die of second-hand cancer, blah blah blah...

Angry Exile said...

Standard Issue State Funded Troll, that made my afternoon.