Pete Robinson: Scottish smoking ban "has cured death

In a recent study of just nine out of 100 hospitals 'north of the border' a Glasgow research team claims a spectacular and unprecedented reduction of up to 20% in emergency admissions for premature heart attack in the first year of the ban.

Now any competent researcher will tell you a single year's statistics, the first since records began, can tell you absolutely nothing. It's about as conclusive as saying Pete Doherty has given up 'smack' for good.

A decade would provide reasonable grounds for certain assumptions, 50 years before concrete conclusions could be drawn.

Yet in a press release that has received extraordinary media attention Professor Jill Pell of the University of Glasgow said: "What we were able to show is that among people who are non-smokers there was a 20% reduction in heart attack admissions. This confirms that the legislation has been effective in protecting non-smokers."

But hold on a minute.

The same Professor Jill Pell, a few days earlier in a parallel Glasgow University release, claimed Scotland's high rate of heart attacks had a genetic cause, stating: "Families with a history of heart disease account for 72 per cent of all premature heart deaths".

Prof Pell said there were an estimated 1,500-2,000 premature heart attacks in Scotland each year. The researchers calculated 42 per cent of these and 8 per cent of all heart attacks could be prevented if close relatives were screened and treated following a heart attack in a family member.

So which is it Jane? 'Passive smoking' or family genes?

Well I'm guessing that Prof Pell discovered the genetic link through genuine, dedicated hard work. Then applied 'spin' to produce the SHS connection, published just in time for a two-day anti-smoking summit at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

Let's briefly examine Ms Pell's credentials. She is the leading light of a government funded organisation called 'STOPIT' (STudy Of Public place Intervention on Tobacco exposure), a proactive anti-tobacco outfit instrumental in pushing through the smoking ban. The name of this 'quango' says it all really.

It seems the only reason for STOPIT's existence is to convert English taxpayers' money into Scottish statistics supporting the smoking ban. As part of a long-term collusion between a broad network of anti-smoking groups they gathered statistics pre-ban and had already determined to prove it's success - before it was introduced.

Take a look at the document "Legislation on smoking in enclosed public places in Scotland: how will we evaluate the impact?", although I warn you it's a little heavy-going for bedtime reading.

It's part of the antis' bible, a manual on how to bend public opinion of SHS and create statistical evidence, all for the common good of course. You'll find Prof Pell's proud moniker amongst its authors.

Jill Pell is the worst kind of anti, a well-paid 'career-anti'.

Scotland does have an appalling rate of heart disease with many worthwhile medical projects aimed at reducing that burden. This side-show is not one of them.

It's a smoke screen likely to shift medical focus away from areas where genuine reductions have been achieved, promoting the use of anticholesterol drugs like Statins for example, possibly costing lives.

Not to mention the social and economic impact of bankrupt pubs and social clubs, increased drinking and smoking at home affecting the families concerned, together with consequently higher rates of domestic violence, alcoholism and clinical depression.

But hey, that's just collateral damage. Why allow the mere health needs of the Scottish public to get in the way of a headline-grabbing story?