It’s not often that we get to see behind the mask of senior players in public health but we got to do just that last night and what we saw was not very pretty.
Hot on the heels of his rude exchange with Robert West on BBC World Service’s ‘Health Check’ programme, and then his disastrous ‘discussion’ (ill mannered rant) with Clive Bates on radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show, Prof Ashton took to Twitter in order to troll and abuse vapers. Some, very kindly, suggested he might like to put the bottle down rather than embarrass himself further, but I think the suggestion that he was drunk is probably too generous, and after all – in vino veritas. Naturally he has tried to cover his tracks this morning by deleting the worst of the tweets.
Fortunately I managed to screenshot a few, and they speak for themselves, so I don’t need to provide commentary, other than to ask whether this attitude is really desirable in the President of the Faculty of Public Health.
Ok, he was baited in this next one but I think the President of the Faculty of Public Health calling a vaper a cunt on Twitter has to go down as my personal favourite..
Update – Redheadfullofsteam has published an open letter of complaint to the Faculty of Public Health, you can read it here.
Update 2 – Vapemestoopid has published an excellent blog on this too, includes links to the radio interviews referred to above.
The Random Vaper 
wow he was actively seeking people out to attack. I think he thinks we are all a tobacco industry front, and his outburst was directed at this bogeyman. So Ashton is either a draconian bully or a paranoid fantasist. Either way not suitable for.his office
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Well on listening to his interview with Jeremy Vine and Clive Bates I felt sorry for the faculty he represents when he was bating Clive and not letting him give proper answers and just trying to talk over all involved he really should be ashamed and the comment about nicotine making you go blind is ridiculous especially with no true evidence
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I suspect his masturbation quips were an attempted subtle attack on Clive Bates who he kept calling Mister Bates on the radio. Really pathetic for a professional.
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I hadn’t considered that. At the time I thought it was because he was trying to highlight the fact that he (with his prof title) is more qualified to speak than Clive. Well we’ve seen what being a professor has done for his people skills, haven’t we.
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I admit I was willing to go with the suggestion that his account had been hacked as it was just so incredulous to believe someone in his position could actually stoop beyond the gutter.
Agree with both Tom and yourself regarding the use and the tone of “Mister Bates” comments during radio broadcast. Appeared to be used both as a put down to Clive re Ashton’s prof status and it was said with almost childish glee every single time he took numerous opportunities to repeat it.
That this man is deemed a senior player (with a CBE to his name – although they see to give these out at the drop of a hat nowadays) and yet has proved himself a complete nincompoop on his chosen subject is further proof that Public Health is just an empty title where harm reduction is concerned.
At exactly what point does the moralistic ideology approach in their aim to eliminate tobacco, coupled with the refusal to even consider the ever growing available evidence and research, constitute negligence?
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So THAT’S why he thinks we’re all going to go blind!! Frankly I’ve only picked up on one wanker in this debate and boy, is he obsessed or what!!!
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The man was an utter disgrace, he acted in a juvenile manner, he was abusive and also childish, any person in a position of power as he is, needs to be far more professional and quash the argument with facts and figures and not resort to name calling and being abusive while trying to be clever. I for one do not hold any faith in a man who acts in such a manner and I would advise all others not to either
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John Ashton needs be TERMINATED as the President of the Faculty of Public Health IMMEDIATELY and without ANY severance package, if the Faculty of Public Health wishes to have any credibility left!
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Throwing a fit, stamping your feet seems to be the modern means of communication for scientists if the actual science doesn’t fit their views. It’s a sad state of affairs for the scientific community.
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