Our autumn newsletter brings you up-to-date with recent news and events. 

But first, a quick word about the 2023 Forest Summer Lunch & Awards that took place at Boisdale of Belgravia in July.

A full house enjoyed drinks on the smoking terrace followed by a three-course lunch and some post lunch entertainment.

Awards were presented to political commentator Reem Ibrahim, historian Alwyn Turner, and journalist Kara Kennedy who couldn't be with us but sent a short acceptance speech.

(Alwyn was so delighted to be given an award 'for the first time in my life', he even wrote an article about it.)

Special thanks to comedian Simon Evans (above) who entertained guests with a very funny speech and seemed to enjoy the event just as much as we did!

Finally, thanks to our host Ranald Macdonald, MD of Boisdale Restaurants, who has been a great friend of Forest for almost 20 years. 

A full gallery of photos can be viewed here.

Simon Clark
Director, Forest

Good news, bad news

Good news. A second attempt to ban smoking in licensed pavement areas appears to have failed. You may remember that in July 2020 a group of anti-smoking peers tried to hijack the Business and Planning Bill by tabling an amendment that would have banned smoking in the new licensed pavement areas that were springing up after the first Covid lockdown.

The emergency Bill was designed to reduce red tape to help businesses recover from lockdown, yet the amendment would have added to the burden of regulation. Thankfully, following fierce opposition by Forest, the bid failed although the Government was forced to introduce its own amendment that gave the power to ban smoking in outdoor licensed areas to local authorities.

To date only eleven councils have done so, which is no doubt why Lord Young of Cookham tabled a very similar amendment during the recent report stage of the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill. The Sun ran the story here (Smokers face BAN outside pubs and restaurants under major rule change demanded by officials), with a quote from Forest that read:

“There is absolutely no justification for the government to ban smoking outside pubs and restaurants because there is no evidence that smoking in the open air poses a significant risk to non-smokers.

“At stake is the ability of small businesses, including cafes, pubs and bars, to choose policies that work best for them and their customers. Government should be reducing red tape, not adding to it with arbitrary regulations that can only hurt the hospitality industry.”

Fair play though to the Government which stuck to its guns and refused to support Lord Young's amendment. Which brings us to the bad news. Labour not only supported the amendment but hinted, in its response, that smoking in beer gardens could also be targeted under a future Labour government.

Guido has the story here. See also: 'Inside out'.

Consultation on cigarette pack inserts

The Government is currently holding a consultation about 'mandating quit themed information messages and advice (also called pack inserts) inside tobacco packets to help more smokers quit'.

If you have any thoughts about pack inserts that are specifically designed to encourage smokers to stop, you can respond online here. Closing date is 10th October.

Banned wagon – the threat to single use vapes

Commenting on a report last week that the Government is preparing to announce a ban on the sale of disposable vapes in the UK, Forest director Simon Clark said:

“If the Government’s aim is to reduce smoking rates, banning disposable vapes would be a significant own goal.

“Vaping has been a huge success story, with millions of smokers choosing to switch to a product that is far less risky to their health. Part of that success is due to disposable vapes which are convenient and easy to use.

“The answer to the problem of children vaping is not to ban a product many adults use to help them quit smoking, but to crack down on retailers who are breaking the law and selling e-cigarettes to anyone under 18.”

Guido has the story here.

Meanwhile the Scottish Government has said it will consult on banning single use or disposable vapes 'in the next year'. According to First Minister Humza Yousaf, “Disposable vapes are a threat to both public health and the environment.”

Watch this space.

Media matters


BBC Radio Five Live, Phone-In, 14th August 2023 ... Forest director Simon Clark with presenter Nicky Campbell, and Deborah Arnott, CEO of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH)



GB News, The Live Desk, 14th August 2023 ... Forest's Simon Clark with presenters Tom Harwood and Pip Tomson.



GB News Breakfast, 15th August 2023 ... Simon Clark with presenters Isabel Webster and Stephen Dixon, and Hazel Cheeseman, deputy CEO of ASH.

Forest Ireland slams proposal to raise age of sale to 21

John Mallon (above), Forest's spokesman in Ireland, criticised a recent call by Fine Gael’s health spokesman Colm Burke to raise the age of sale of tobacco from 18 to 21.

“At 18 you are legally an adult and you should be treated like one. Raising the legal age of sale of tobacco to 21 will infantilise young adults who should be encouraged to make informed choices for themselves, not be mollycoddled by the state.

“Raising the age of sale won't deter young adults who want to smoke. If they can't buy tobacco from legitimate retailers they will buy it from other sources including the black market. The only winners will be illicit traders who don't care who they sell tobacco to.”

John was quoted by both the Irish Sun and the Irish Independent. He was also interviewed on The Hard Shoulder, Newstalk's afternoon drive programme.

A few weeks earlier he denounced Cork County Council after councillors supported a motion to ban the use of e-cigarettes in enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants.

“There is no evidence that being exposed to e-cigarette vapour is a significant health risk, so banning vaping in public places would be excessive, disproportionate, and counter-productive.”

He added, “Bars and restaurants are private businesses so proprietors must be allowed to decide their own vaping policy, without government intervention. The smoking ban did enormous damage to pubs and bars. Banning vaping will drive even more customers away.” 

James Leavey, 1947-2023

'James Leavey, who has died aged 75, fought a valiant but ultimately unsuccessful campaign against “born-again puritans trying to drive forward a nanny state” by editing quirkily humorous travel guides for smokers ....'

So began the recent Telegraph obituary for the editor of The Forest Guide to Smoking in London, and The Forest Guide to Smoking in Scotland, both of them published in the late Nineties.

A keen cigar smoker, James wrote for a number of magazines including Cigar Journal and World Tobacco. He edited JJ Fox's occasional cigar newsletter, The Humidor, and The Harrods Pocket Guide to Fine Cigars, and for three years, before the magazine ceased publication in 2002, he wrote a column, ‘Sharing an Ashtray’, for Punch that featured conversations with celebrity smokers.

In 2009 he spoke at a party to mark Forest's 30th anniversary, an event recalled here by Forest director Simon Clark who adds that, in December 2007, James claimed to have been the first person to smoke a cigar aboard Cunard's new ship, the Queen Victoria.

RIP James, and condolences to his family.

Passive smoking and public health

In May 2003 a paper by Geoffrey Kabat and James Enstrom was published in the British Medical Journal. Looking at the impact of environmental tobacco smoke on the non-smoking spouses of long-term smokers, it concluded that the link between 'secondhand' smoke and coronary heart disease and lung cancer - at any level of exposure - 'may be considerably weaker than generally believed' (BBC News).

Widely reported in the UK, where smoking in public places was becoming a hot political issue, headlines included: 'Passive smoking risks in doubt, study says' (The Times), 'Passive smoking may not damage your health after all, says research' (Daily Telegraph), 'Passive smoking "doesn't kill"' (Daily Mail). 

Forest's response, widely quoted at the time, was to say:

"Given the state of the scientific evidence it is immoral for politicians and anti-smokers to use passive smoking as an excuse to justify a complete ban on smoking in public places, especially pubs, clubs and restaurants. Restrictions yes, prohibition no."

Twenty years later Professor Kabat has reflected on the controversy which included 'an immediate outpouring of vitriol and indignation, even before [the study] was available online'.

Dogmatism, Data, and Public Health is a long read but worth the effort. The reaction of the public health industry when cherished beliefs are challenged is especially interesting. Warmly recommended.

And finally ...

Party conference season is almost upon us and we will shortly be heading to the Conservative conference in Manchester where we are hosting a fringe event on Monday 2nd October entitled 'Smoking Gun: The infantilisation of Britain'.

Chaired by Forest's Simon Clark, panellists are Reem Ibrahim, communications director at the Institute of Economic Affairs; Mark Oates, director of the campaign group We Vape; and Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the IEA.

If you're going to conference, do join us.