paid tobacco Control operatives. Given that it is known that various people were asking anti-smoking 'sister' groups as far away as South America to get on-line and sign the petition, multiple signatures are easy-peasy. Could the same be said of HOOPS? I don't think so. For a start, there is no similar organisation to the private 'linked-in' group of paid anti-tobacco zealots. Many thousands of signatories must have been private individuals. But, I do not know how HOOPS did manage to get 250,000 signatories (plus the other 250,000 from wherever). I can only guess that the small shopkeeper associations spread the word among their members and their families. Also, it is worth bearing in mind that many small shops are owned by people of Asian origin, who, I'm told, have considerably greater community and family cohesion. Also, it is not unreasonable that tobacco company employees would be alert to the danger to their jobs. Certainly, there would have been multiple voting, but not in the same sense as deliberate, organised multiplicity. Overall, it is hard to see how the experts in the DoH can proceed, without great difficulty,  in introducing standardised packaging. I suspect that a lot depends upon to what extent the Media is still under control. But I feel sure that they will still go for it. It is too important to them. But why is it so important? In the first place, as I have said before, it TC get control of the SIZE of the packets,