Smoke ban petition group collects signatures in cyberspace

The group behind a petition to overturn the smoking ban have added another way for peope to register their names.

Until now, petitions have been available to download so licensees could collect signatres from disgruntled customers.

Now anyone who wants to add their support to the campaign can simply add their own electronic signature to a petition in cyberspace.

The online petition is available at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/The_Big_Debate/​.

The group hopes the new tool will help increase the support it has - with estimates it could reach 50,000 signatures.

Spokesman Robert Feal-Martinez, said: "Whilst the hard copy petition is going extremely well we were mindful that thousands of people would only wish to add their name, not actively campaign, this site allows them to do that. ​

"What we are also now doing is sending out pettions to targeted groups such as sheltered housing, nurse's quarters, police stations and any other groups we feel are going to be affected by a ban should there be one."

"We know there are still people out there who have no idea their lives will be touched by this legislation."

To comment on this or any other story email us by clicking this link​

Alastair Elliott​ via email, 25/04/2006This is a fantastic alternative Petition to run alongside the existing one that gives the broader

public other than Pub and Club goers the opportunity to voice their objections too.

David​ viam email, 25/04/2006So the petition against the Smoking Ban in the UK can be signed online now?

Is there anyway of telling where these 'signatures' are based? I can only assume that they feel they have to pad out their original signature list with effectively worthless data to make it appear a greater force than it is.

Bob Williams​ via email, 25/04/2006I thought you were only supposed to sign petitions once. There are loads of prople signing this twice, and I see the usual Forest bunch have signed it too - have they not already put their names on the paper versions?

If these people really need to be double and treble counted then they must be really desperate.

Robert Feal-Martinez​ via email, 25/04/2006The petition like any other online petition is properly constituted by an expert company. As far as I am aware only one signature per email address is allowed. As for being desperate, unlike HMG, ASH and other anti smoking groups, Freedom to Choose are not selecting people to ask. We are allowing them to voluntarily sign if they wish. No one is setting anyone up or attempting to deceive. That cannot be said of anti smoking groups who lie and mis-represent the science to suit their agenda as we proved with the British Heart Foundations claims about 1 in 4 deaths from exposure to passive smoking. They were forced to apologise and remove the claims from their website, we have those letters of apology. As the spokesperson for Freedom to Choose it really does hearten me when we start getting attcked and linked with groups like Forest, because that re-enforces Freedoms resolve, and proves we are winning the war of words. Peers of the realm are entering this debate, some who have not spoken previously and to a man they are supporting choice and sensible resolution. And to finish, as the person who is collecting the Petitions in England and Wales I have to advise those who make claims about Forest, that as far as hard copy is concerned there are none from Forest as an organisation, however that said do the pro ban lobby believe that members of Forest or any other group should not have the right to express their views by signing the campaign. If ASH feel we are being undemocratic why do they not issue our Petition with a slightly changed wording. Alter the the words Smoker Y/N to Agree Y/N. The majority of Petitions are from clubs, pubs, Sheltered housing and many other diverse groups who have one thing in common, the wish to have Freedom to Choose. We are not forcing anyone to sign. One last thing are You Gov a legitimate polster organisation, should we belive their online polls. I am also intrigued as to how anyone has access to the Petitions to know if people have signed more than once?

Donal McCarthy​ via email, 26/04/2006I am intrigued by the cynical comments of the ilk of Bill Williams and "David", above. What is your agenda boys? Afraid of a little truth perhaps.

An independent, unaffiliated group of unfunded citizens are doing a job that this government contrives to avoid - consultation.

There is more than ONE contrivance at play here. HMG shamlessly takes £9bn in smoker-tax, disbursing some of it straight into funding ASH propaganda, the purpose of which is to exclude, humiliate and criminalise people who smoke.

And I bet you don't think you will be personally affected by the State-Control mind-set which is pulling these totalitarian strings in a democratic state either. So what colour would you like your I.D. card to be??

Francis Winner​ 25/04/2006I just want to ask Bob Williams if he can tell us which names on the list are the "usual Forest bunch" as I have no idea who they would be, and his assertion is rather serious if he is not able to prove it to be true.

Bob, your disparaging remarks are an affront to me, as The Big Debate is the ONLY forum I'm aware of which is the true voice of ordinary people, and receives no funding from any source whatsoever. If, in the future, it should become a forum which extends itself to other areas where the freedom to choose is desirable (I'm not saying that it will... this is a hypothetical point)... and if *you* require such a forum for reasons of your own at that time, I'm quite certain you will eat your words - and I will be DELIGHTED that such a forum exists to give you a real opportunity to voice your concerns.

For example, if it were to take on the mantle of the meat-eater in the face of 'vegetarian fascism', I would not be able to speak for the meat-eater, because I cannot morally defend the meat industry. However, I would absolutely defend your right to choose your lifestyle and assume no right to judge you on the basis of my own choices and decisions in the face of the evidence.

Your life choices are entirely your business, not the governments. So are mine. This has nothing to do with Forest or the tobacco companies. It is about freedom of choice, for adults and for business-owners. It is about being *treated* like adults, not like children.

Robert...there is a link to 'signatures' on the petition's web page. You can see the names there.

Alison Piearce​ 25/04/2006It seems as though the anti-brigade are getting concerned that people are exercising their right to vote on an issue of civil rights, something which the Government and their publicly funded pressure group, ASH, would naturally frown upon.

Loraine MacGregor​ via email 26/04/2006"In reply to David and Bob, I would just like to say that we on the side of democracy will hopefully carry on signing the petition in great numbers. In response to your 'location' question many taxpayers would like the opportunity to see exactly how Ash et al conducts their polls. It's just what you call a level playing field. It is now the turn of the opponents of social engineering to speak out in numbers."

Bob Williams​ via email 26/04/2006