The British Medical Association Pressure Group

The British Medical Association (BMA) is a trade union representing doctors in the UK and was founded in 1832 by Sir Charles Hastings. It has been recognised by NHS employers as sole contract negotiators for doctors, and currently have a membership of 156,000 doctors, along with 19,000 medical students, who have access to expert employment advice. 

The BMA is a sectional pressure group as it represents the common interests of a particular section of society: doctors and medical students who are directly and personally concerned with the outcomes of their campaigns. It is also an insider group because the BMA has had political legitimacy with the government, and have had policy credibility. 

The BMA has played a key role in the drafting and passing of the Medical Act 1858, which established the General Medical Council, and set out a standard for qualified and unqualified doctors and a system of professional regulation. 

It also played a major role in future medical politics, campaigning on issues, such as Poor Law Medicine, quackery, public health, alternative and military medicine, and contract practice. 

The BMA's 'Policy in Relation to Smoking' was published 1971, and recently they called for a ban on smoking in private vehicles to protect passengers, especially children. This was successful because in October 2015, the ban of smoking in cars with child passengers, was enforced. Despite this, the BMA have not stopped here as they want to extend this to banning smoking in cars completely. 

In February 2014, the European Parliament approved the Tobacco Products Directive, aiming to make smoking less appealing to young people by putting health warnings on 2/3 on the cigarette pack, and banning small packs and flavoured cigarettes. 

In the past two years, the BMA have had an input in the new contracts for junior doctors and are continuing to debate on this issue. They have also campaigned for the government to put a 20% tax on sugary drinks to combat obesity, and have recently put out a plea to stop helium being used to fill party balloons because they fear there will be soon none left for medical use (used for MRA scanning machines).