Dear All,

If I was hoping for a break this week I was disappointed. Since Christmas we have responded to and been quoted by the media on three separate stories. 

Our first post-Christmas media enquiry was a phone call at 9.47am on Boxing Day about vaping. The Daily Record had reported that the Scottish Greens want to ban or hide the display of “sweet flavoured” vapes in shops to “protect” children. The Times asked Forest to comment and on Tuesday they published this response (which you can read in full below).

On Wednesday the Record then reported that a nurse 'who suffered asthma attacks due to smokers at hospital' was calling for Scotland's hospital smoking ban to be properly enforced. Forest's response was reported by the Scottish Daily Express under the headline, Plea for decent smoking shelters after calls for crackdown on lighting up outside NHS hospitals.

It was then reported that the Government is almost a DECADE behind its target for England to become smoke-free by 2030. According to 'analysis' by Cancer Research UK, the Government's ambition of a 'smoke free' England by 2030 is now unlikely to met until 2039. You can read our reaction in the Daily Mail here (and below).

However the major tobacco-related story in the UK in 2022 was undoubtedly the Khan Review. You can read about it below but it's amazing to think that, having been commissioned by the then Health Secretary Sajid Javid in February, no fewer than three health secretaries, including Javid, have subsequently come and gone with the present incumbent, Stephen Barclay, managing to come and go – and come back again – all in the space of a few months. Bonkers.

What does this mean for the new and long-awaited Tobacco Control Plan? Who knows, but given all the problems that face the Government there's no way that tobacco control should be a priority. Indeed, a poll of 2,000 adults conducted for Forest by Yonder in June found that, when given a list of ten issues for government to prioritise, the issues that were most important were the rising cost of household utilities, tackling rising inflation and improving the health service, and the issues that were among the least important were tackling smoking and climate change. It beggars belief that any prime minister (or health secretary) would prioritise a new tobacco control plan when it’s clear there are far more important issues that need to be addressed.

Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics recently put the smoking rate in England at 13.3% in 2021, down from 14% in 2020, and the lowest since records began. Smoking rates have therefore continued to fall without significant government intervention since 2017 when plain packaging was enforced and there is no evidence that it has had an impact. Instead, most of the evidence points to vaping being the greatest driver of change, with the number of vapers in the UK now estimated to be four million, only 25% of whom are dual users.

Switching to vaping is of course market driven and voluntary, and that's how it should be. The role of government is to inform and educate smokers about the relative health risks of e-cigarettes and other reduced risk products, and let adults make their own choices. So if we have one message for government going in to 2023 it's this: further intervention is neither necessary nor welcome and we will fight any further attempts to force adults to stop smoking.

Simon Clark
Director, Forest

The Khan Review: Commissioned in February by the then Health Secretary Sajid Javid, it was conducted by Dr Javed Khan, former CEO of Barnardo's, and published in June.

Leaving aside the controversial nature of the review process (Forest was denied a meeting with Khan and we still don't know if he read our submission), the outcome was never in doubt. But even we were surprised by some of the recommendations in the report, including raising the age of sale of tobacco by one year every year until no-one can buy tobacco. 

Sadly we didn't get a chance to challenge him directly because our request to attend the launch of the report was ignored but our response was reported by BBC News, Daily Express, Independent, Daily Mail, Mail Online, Telegraph, London Evening Standard, Yorkshire Evening Post, Northern Echo, The National and other media.

Director Simon Clark was also interviewed on BBC Five Live, TalkTV, Sky News, ITV Lunchtime News, GB News, BBC News Channel, BBC Hereford & Worcester, BBC 3 Counties Radio, BBC Radio Essex, BBC Radio Kent, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Radio Scotland.

In January the Mirror reported that the anti-smoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) had calculated that smoking costs society 'an eye-watering £17bn a year, but a 'pro-smoking group' (sic) said the figure was "absurd". Forest director Simon Clark told the Mirror: 

“More than 80% of the cost of tobacco in the UK is tax and the revenue from the sale of legal tobacco is almost £10bn a year - that's a fact. In contrast, the contrived claim that smoking costs society £17bn is based on nothing more than estimates and calculations.

Simon Clark, director of Forest, the smokers’ rights group, said that policies on vaping must be evidence-based and that there was very little evidence that vaping was a gateway to smoking, which carries more health risks. He added that the sale of e-cigarettes was already prohibited for under-18s and a ban would deny consumers access to products that might help them quit smoking.

“A ban on flavoured vapes would be a massive own goal because it would deter many smokers from switching to a far less harmful product,” Clark said. "Adults like sweet flavours too so restricting their choice of vapes is not only illiberal, it could be counter-productive in terms of public health because the banned flavours will almost certainly appear on the black market, where unregulated and potentially more harmful products could be sold to children as well as adults.”

On 28 December a report by Cancer Research UK estimated that the Government's ambition for a 'smoke free England' (5% or fewer of the population smoking) by 2030 would not be met until 2039 and more must be done to help smokers kick their habit. In response Forest told the Daily Mail:

"The Government should never have set a target for England to be smoke free. 2030 was always unrealistic and it’s become an unnecessary distraction from the fact that smoking rates in England continue to decline in all age groups, albeit at a slower pace than the tobacco control industry would like.'

"Smoke free targets are odious because as long as tobacco is a legal product adults have every right to smoke without further harassment or discrimination. Smoking is a choice and if you are an adult that choice must be respected."

Full story here.

IRELAND

2002 kicked off with a report that the Health Service Executive (HSE) was considering a complete ban on the sale of tobacco and a sharp reduction in the number of outlets allowed to sell such products. The idea was condemned by Forest's John Mallon who told the (Cork) Echo that any form of prohibition would “drive consumers underground and into the arms of criminal gangs ... Ireland already has a huge problem with illicit trade. This would make it far worse." See 'Campaigner condemns reports that HSE considering ban on sale of tobacco in State'.

A few days later an article in the Irish Independent reflected on how New Zealand could inspire an Irish tobacco ban. The feature included comments by Forest's John Mallon.

In February the Joint Committee on Health resumed its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Public Health (Tobacco & Nicotine Inhaling Products) Bill. Members heard from the Irish Vape Vendors Association, Vape Business Ireland, the Royal College of Physicians Ireland and the Institute of Public Health. Although the Bill will impact smokers in a number of ways the Committee declined Forest's offer to given verbal evidence.

One witness suggested that the sale of tobacco should be banned to under 21s. The idea was strongly rejected by Forest whose spokesman John Mallon was interviewed on Clare FM on 2 March. (Note: it was subsequently reported that the Health Committee wants to ban flavoured vapes and introduce new age restrictions.)

In May it was reported that the Covid-19 pandemic had lead to a rise in smoking in Ireland after years of falling rates. Forest's John Mallon discussed the issue with Pat Kenny on Newstalk, Ireland's leading independent radio station.

In September doctors in Ireland called for the age of sale of tobacco to be raised to 21. John spoke to LMFM Radio and Limerick Today on Live 95.

Prior to the Budget Forest spokesman John Mallon shared his thoughts with Newstalk, Limerick 95FM and LMFM. After the Budget, responding to a further 50c increase in the price of cigarettes, he was quoted by the Irish Mirror:

"Targeting smokers, many of whom are on the lowest incomes, with yet another tax hike is unforgivable, especially during a cost of living crisis. A 50c increase will push the cost of cigarettes to around €15.80 for a premium pack and €13.80 for an average pack. More smokers will buy tobacco on the black market and that will lead to more smuggling and an inevitable loss of revenue for the government.”  

Forest's response was also reported by the Irish Sun and Checkout.ie while John's post Budget comments were also heard by listeners to Newstalk, Cork 96FM, and Classic Hits. 

In October it was reported – erroneously as it turned out – that the Irish Government was considering a ban on smoking on beaches and in parks. The story nevertheless got some traction in the media.

Forest's fierce objection (“There is no evidence of harm to non-smokers if someone smokes in the open air so the policy would be based not on science but on prejudice and intolerance.”) was quoted by the Irish Post and Breaking News.ie. Our spokesman John Mallon was also interviewed on Newstalk, Today FM, Cork 96FM, Classic Hits and KFM Radio.

Newstalk later reported there were 'No plans' for national park and beach smoking ban: 'In a statement, the Department of Health said its Tobacco Free Ireland programme aims to promote “tobacco-free environments” in parks, beaches and children’s playgrounds. It said it aims to do so by encouraging local authorities to introduce by-laws and voluntary measures.'

In November Forest rejected calls by the Royal College of Physicians Ireland to ban flavoured vapes. Mallon told BreakingNews.ie:

“There is very little evidence that vaping is a gateway to smoking, so it’s important not to fuel unnecessary fears about a product that is overwhelmingly used not by teenagers but by adults who are trying to quit smoking."

He repeated this message on East Coast FM and Phoenix FM.

ARTICLES AND STUFF

In June Forest director Simon Clark wrote an article for the online magazine Spiked. Entitled 'The creeping prohibition of smoking' it argued that:

The plan to make England ‘smoke-free’ by 2030 is insanely illiberal. This is prohibition by another name. Smokers already know the risks. They choose to smoke because they want to. The government needs to butt out.

Another article, for Tobacco Reporter, covered similar territory. In 'Back choice, beat prohibition', Clark argued that there are millions of adult smokers who don’t want to quit. Their preference, he said, should be respected:

The health risks associated with smoking have been well known and widely understood for decades. As a result, millions of people have stopped smoking. Many more have chosen never to smoke. Nevertheless, many adults still enjoy smoking and don’t want to quit, and everyone – the tobacco industry, vaping advocates, public health campaigners and politicians – should respect their choice. Instead, a key stakeholder, the adult smoker who doesn’t want to quit, is increasingly marginalized and ignored.

The article also took a pop at the tobacco company Philip Morris:

One company that wants to eradicate combustible tobacco is tobacco giant Philip Morris International. In 2018, the company said it wanted to phase out cigarettes as soon as possible. In 2019, the then managing director of Philip Morris UK said, “There is no reason why people should smoke anymore.” Last year, the company even urged the UK government to ban the sale of cigarettes within a decade. While I applaud and support PMI’s commitment to developing reduced-risk products, this represents an outrageous attack on consumer choice – never mind rival companies – and is an insult to the many adults who enjoy smoking, don’t like vaping and don’t want to quit smoking.

Following the publication of the Khan Review (see above) Clark also went head-to-head with Deborah Arnott, CEO of ASH, in the Daily Express. 'Should we be getting tougher of smoking?' asked the paper. 'Yes' said Arnott. 'No' said Clark.

'Freedom of choice and personal responsibility are being sacrificed on the altar of public health,' he wrote. 'Ministers must think carefully they adopt prohibition and coercion as tools to achieve their smoke-free goal.'

WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC SAY?

Forest commissioned several polls this year. One, conducted by Yonder in June, found that 15 years after the introduction of the smoking ban in England, 36% of adults would still allow separate, well-ventilated smoking rooms in pubs and clubs, while just over half (52%) wouldn’t. (The rest said ‘Don’t know’.)

Another Yonder poll, also put to 2,000 adults in Great Britain, asked: 'Thinking about government priorities in the aftermath of the pandemic, how important or not important do you think it is that the Government:

• Tackles rising inflation
• Tackles the housing shortage
• Tackles climate change
• Tackles misuse of alcohol
• Tackles obesity
• Tackles smoking
• Helps businesses recover from the impact of the pandemic
• Addresses care for the elderly
• Tackles the rising cost of household utilities such as electricity and gas
• Improves the health service by providing more beds, frontline staff and cutting waiting lists  

The issues that were considered most important were tackling the rising cost of household utilities, tackling rising inflation and improving the health service. The issues deemed least important were tackling smoking, tackling misuse of alcohol, tackling obesity and tackling climate change.

Note: We've asked the public a very similar question for several years and 'tackling smoking' is always one of the least important issues respondents want the Government to address.

BAN SMOKING FOR GOOD? 

The creeping prohibition of smoking and tobacco has been a recurring theme of ours for years. On No Smoking Day in March 2022 VPZ, the UK's leading vape retailer, went full tonto and launched a campaign in Scotland called 'Ban Smoking For Good'.

Forest led the condemnation and we were joined by smokers and vapers plus prominent commentators and activists such as Rob Lyons, former deputy editor of Spiked; Daniel Pryor, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute; and Alex Clark, CEO of the US-based Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA).

Having failed to generate much support, the 'Ban Smoking For Good' campaign quickly ran out of puff. A petition to 'Ban smoking in Scotland and develop a strategy for vaping', posted on the Scottish Government website by the CEO of VPZ, attracted a miserable 103 signatories. 

In June the campaign suffered a further blow when the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee 'agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders on the basis that the Scottish Government is not currently considering an outright ban on smoking in favour of vaping'. Not the result VPZ was hoping for.

FOREST SUMMER LUNCH

After confining ourselves to online events in 2020 and 2021 it was great to meet people in person again in 2022.

Our 'comeback' event in July was a Summer Lunch & Awards for 60 invited guests at Boisdale of Belgravia in London where we had exclusive use of the main restaurant and smoking terrace.

After lunch Mark Littlewood, director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, interviewed Forest director Simon Clark about the current challenges facing Forest and liberals in general. 

We then invited on to the small stage a succession of guests who were either presented with a trophy or accepted awards of behalf of those who couldn't attend. Star guest was Daily Mail columnist Tom Utley but there were also awards for David Hockney (accepted on his behalf by UnHerd's Will Lloyd) who sent a message apologising for his absence which was understandable since he lives in France.

Also recognised (for services to the nanny state) was Dr Javed Khan, author of The Khan Review. Sadly Dr Khan didn't attend. Instead the trophy was accepted on his behalf by Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the IEA. 

Presentations were also made to two 'Unsung Heroes', Pat Nurse and Liz Barber, who have been supporters of Forest for many years.

Another guest, journalist George Gay, reviewed the event for the trade magazine Tobacco Reporter: 

Clark said that for him Forest had never been just about smoking.“It’s always been about personal choice and personal responsibility,” he said. “They are the principles that we have been fighting for, and those principles don’t age.”

To read the article in full click here.

CONFERENCE CALLS

Some of Forest's party conference events are remembered years later. This is very unusual but if you were there who can forget David Hockney's appearance at a Forest fringe event in Brighton in 2005 when he took the Labour conference by storm.

Or 'Politics and Prohibition', a speakeasy-themed party at the Conservative conference in Bournemouth attended by 400 delegates in 2006. Or the Save Our Pubs & Clubs party at the Cavern Club in Liverpool during the 2011 Labour conference.

Or the 'Stand Up for Liberty' events at the Comedy Store in Manchester in 2011 and 2013. Or the 'Eat, Drink, Smoke, Vape' party in Birmingham that was nominated for 'Best Conference Event' at a public affairs industry awards dinner in 2016. 

This year at the Conservative conference in Birmingham we hosted a panel discussion in the Think Tent, a joint venture between the Institute of Economic Affairs and the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

Inspired partly by VPZ's 'Ban Smoking For Good' campaign (see above), we asked 'Should smoking be banned for good?' and invited three guests – Baroness Fox (director, Academy of Ideas), Chris Snowdon (IEA) and Mark Oates (director, We Vape) – to take part in an informal discussion. (Mark was a last minute replacement for Lord Moylan, the Conservative peer and former advisor to Boris Johnson, and a very welcome addition to the panel.)

The discussion was filmed and is available on the TPA YouTube channel. We've had some positive feedback so if you have a spare moment you might like to watch it. Click here or on the image below.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

In 2022 we submitted several Freedom of Information requests with varying degrees of success. (See 'The art of sending a successful freedom of information request'.)

Perhaps the biggest thing we discovered, although it wasn't a surprise, was the information that the anti-smoking group ASH has been awarded over £700,000 of public money since 2018.

In the last year (2021-22) ASH received £192,000 from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). This follows grants of £140,000 in 2018-19, £140,000 in 2019-20 and £191,680 in 2020-21.

In addition ASH was recently awarded a grant of £95,000 by NHS England. Full story here and here.

GLOBAL NEWS

In September Forest's Simon Clark (above) attended the annual Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum (GTNF) which this year took place in Washington DC. The welcome reception was on the top floor of the Hay-Adams hotel overlooking the White House but the main conference venue was the Four Seasons hotel in Georgetown.

Simon was one of five speakers who took part in a discussion on (what else?) prohibition. He argued that prohibition has never gone away. Extending smoking bans to outdoor areas and social housing, banning the sale of menthol cigarettes, or raising the age at which you can legally buy cigarettes to include young adults, are all examples of creeping prohibition. 

You can read his report, 'Is Prohibition back?', here.

RUSSELL LEWIS

Sadly Russell Lewis died this year. Russell, 95, had been a non-executive director of Forest for 30 years. He is pictured above with his son Dan on the terrace at Boisdale of Canary Wharf prior to Forest's 40th Anniversary Dinner in 2019. 

Simon Clark wrote a tribute to Russell here, noting that he was a leader writer for the Daily Telegraph, then the Daily Mail, acting general director of the Institute of Economic Affairs, and director of the Conservative Political Centre. 

A founding member of the Bow Group, ‘Britain’s oldest conservative think tank’, Russell was also Margaret Thatcher's first biographer, writing ‘Margaret Thatcher: A Personal and Political Biography’ in 1975.

Our condolences to Russell's wife Alys and the rest of the Lewis family.

QUOTE OF THE YEAR 

"I’m on the left and I’m far more pro-freedom than anyone I’ve met in the Conservative party … What has happened to you lot? You’ve lost your bottle, in my opinion."

“This is my life, not your life. It's my life and whilst I'm a free person I will do things that none of you would approve of, probably. But that's the way we get along in a democratic free society. I don't need to be looked after. If I wanted to be looked after by those who know better I'd move to China or some other authoritarian regime."

Claire Fox (aka Baroness Fox of Buckley, above), a smoker, pulls no punches at Forest’s fringe meeting at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham in October. You can watch the video here.

WHAT NEXT?

We know that the tobacco control industry led by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) won't rest until the Government has committed itself to a new Tobacco Control Plan. Even then they won't take their foot off the pedal because although smoking rates are the lowest since records began anti-smoking zealots are never satisfied. They want smoking banned in more outdoor areas and social housing with even higher rates of taxation on cigarettes and rolling tobacco.

Top of their current list of priorities however is raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 and introducing a levy on the tobacco companies to pay for more smoking cessation services and quit smoking campaigns.

In the new year Forest will launch a new initiative that will challenge calls to raise the age of sale of tobacco to 21 on the grounds that doing so will infantilise young adults, and drive more smokers to the black market and unregulated products.



In 2023 we will continue to support smokers who want to quit by switching to e-cigarettes and other reduced risk products, as well as former smokers who have already switched and don't want to stop vaping. (Long-term the public health industry wants everyone off nicotine, even reduced risk products, a point that vaping advocates often overlook.)

In practise that means pressing government to educate and inform consumers about the relative risks of all nicotine products so adults can make an informed choice whether to smoke, vape or stop using any nicotine product.

However, while we will defend an adult's right to vape and purchase reduced risk products without excessive restrictions on the product or their habit, we will NEVER abandon adults who enjoy smoking and don't want to quit.

The debate about smoking and vaping in not just about health. It's also about choice and personal responsibility and if adults choose to take greater risks with their health (by smoking, for example) that choice MUST be respected by government and public health professionals.

Our goal in 2023 is to challenge any excessive and discriminatory measures that may be included in a tobacco control plan, and persuade ministers to abandon a smoke free target that cannot be achieved without punitive measures designed to force smokers to quit combustible tobacco.

See also: Nicotine Wars – The Fight for Choice

FOREST ONLINE

On Facebook we have a Friends of Forest group where we post nicotine-related news and invite comments. If you're a member of Facebook and would like to join the group click here.

On Twitter you can follow us via @Forest_Smoking. If you want to follow Forest and the smoking/vaping debate more closely Twitter is probably the best way to do it because our account is pretty active most days.   

AND FINALLY ...

Taking Liberties is a blog written by Forest director Simon Clark. Launched in 2007 it features thousands of posts (over 240 this year alone). Not all of them are about smoking or Forest but a great many are and they provide a running commentary and record of our work. If you'd like to have a browse click here. Otherwise here is a selection of posts from 2022 that might interest you or serve as an introduction to the blog:

Social impact of smoking bans (10 January)

Will Sajid Javid's 'vaping revolution' bring us closer to the nicotine endgame? (16 January)

Huge study finds current smoking associated with reduced risk of severe Covid-19 (28 February)

World Vapers Alliance – stoking up a stink about smoking (4 March)

Tobacco control review invites views but possibly not your views (7 March)

No Smoking Day stunt or premature April fool? (10 March)

Tobacco control – levelling up or dumbing down? (21 March)

E-cigarettes and consumer choice (1 April)

Philip Morris study finds smokers less likely to get a job or find love (22 April)

'Independent review' adopts tobacco control hymn sheet (25 April)

Review after endless frigging review – how government works (6 May)

Ban cigarettes to force smokers to vape? Good luck with that! (14 May)

Article 5.3, the DHSC, and the 'independent' Khan review (28 May)

Vapefest was the future once (8 July)

Is the Khan review toast? (10 July)

Smoking and climate change low on public's list of government priorities (11 July)

'Tobacco and Me' – review (15 August)

Liberty and law - smoking banned within 15m of hospital buildings in Scotland (5 September)

Does Make Smoking History want to make vaping history too? (16 September)

GTNF 2022 (1 October)

Rod Liddle and the stopped smoking brigade (7 October)

Free speech and harm reduction sacrificed on the altar of petty doctrine (9 October)

The hypocrisy of ASH (14 October)

Chris Whitty wants to “destroy” the cigarette industry - my TalkTV response (5 November)

Where our money goes – ASH awarded over £700k by government since 2018 (7 December)

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading to the end! Your interest and support is greatly appreciated. Have a very happy New Year!