Pub protest needs proper planning

Forest has been asked to support/publicise what sounds like a pub crawl in London on June 30th to protest against the smoking ban. We'd like to help but we need more information. I'm all for spontaneous, organic protest that develops a life of its own, but - privately at least - there has to be a clear goal and a clear plan of action.

If media coverage is the objective (with a view to conveying, to as wide an audience as possible, a strong anti-ban message from as many people as possible), the media will need the name/phone number of the principal organiser. There should be an agreed route (with estimated time of arrival at each venue), a start/finish time, estimated numbers etc etc.

Frankly, it would make sense to forget the pub crawl and choose a single smoker-friendly pub in central London and stay there all day, building up numbers from midday onwards. (Logistically, a pub crawl is fraught with difficulty, not least because the organisers will lose people from one pub to another and it will be difficult if not impossible to stick to a schedule.)
 
Media-wise, it would be far more effective to advertise an 'event' and invite journalists/broadcasters/photographers/camera crews to a single venue. (Again, logistically, it would be very difficult to arrange meeting times if everyone is moving around.)
 
Whatever happens, the organisers must confirm in advance that the media has permission to film inside or even outside the pub. You don't want to find that cameras crews, for example, are barred from the premises. (Many is the time that I have gone into a pub with a TV crew to be told that we can't film there. Sometimes we are allowed to film but the owner/manager doesn't want the pub identified or the faces of staff to be caught on camera.)

Best to find an independently managed pub where the owner can make that decision without deferring to a higher authority who will more often than not say no. Check the views of the owner/manager and the bar staff who may be working on the day. (It would be an own goal if organisers found that the manager/bar staff are overwhelmingly in favour of the ban!)
 
Location is important. It needs to be easy for the major news channels to get to. Type of pub is also important. Ideally, it should have good ventilation. A very smoky pub, while atmospheric, would be a hostage to fortune and would obscure the argument that good ventilation - not a total ban - is a solution to the problem of ETS.

Good luck to anyone planning an anti-ban protest. If you want our help or support, get in touch.

World No Tobacco Day: stats life

Tomorrow (May 31st) is World No Tobacco Day. No surprise, then, that "new research" should appear today predicting "major lifestyle changes when England goes smokefree". According to the press release that has just landed on my desk:

The report by the British Thoracic Society and Action on Smoking and Health finds that one quarter of smokers aged 18-24 are intent on giving up smoking before July 1st 2007 and a further 25% plan to quit by July 2008 ... London is leading the drift away from smoking as 40% of smokers in the capital say they intend to quit within a year of England going smokefree.

The report also forecasts a change in the atmosphere in pubs that goes beyond air quality. One adult in four expects to go to the pub more often after the change in the law and the trend is highest among women and 25-45 year olds.

Martin Dockrell, lead author of the report said, "We are only just beginning to understand some of the health and social benefits that will come with smokefree legislation. This is developing a real head of steam with support edging up towards 80%. Even smokers are coming round to our way of thinking with almost 40% supporting the ban and only 42% opposing it."

According to Mikis Euripides of Asthma UK:

"Smokefree legislation is clearly great news for people with asthma and good news for business too. 82% of the 4.1 million people with asthma in England tell us that other peoples cigarette smoke triggers their asthma and many cannot go out to pubs and restaurants without the fear of a serious asthma attack. For these people, 1st July cannot come soon enough and many will be counting down the days."

I've spent the afternoon responding to these claims in a number of interviews. Now, I'm interested to hear what you have to say.

Allen Carr: blast from the past

The Independent gave away a two-part booklet by quit smoking guru Allen Carr at the weekend. We can expect a lot more stop smoking articles in the coming weeks because, as we all know, millions of smokers are going to quit (not!) when the smoking ban comes in.

Anyway, it reminded me of my one and only meeting with Carr (left), in Manchester, in January 2004. We were appearing on BBC One's Heaven and Earth Show and after some initial frostiness (on his part) we got on OK. He was quite different from the smooth-talking salesman I had imagined. He was like an elderly, slightly curmudgeonly, relative. Although he had given up his 100-a-day habit 20 years earlier, he was still addicted to smoking, albeit in a different way. Apart from their house in Malaga, which they clearly adored, he and his wife found it difficult to talk about anything else, on and off screen.

Interestingly, Allen Carr was opposed to banning smoking in the workplace. Far from helping people quit, he argued, it makes things worse because heavy smokers have such a craving for nicotine that when they finish work they 'binge smoke', rapidly devouring one cigarette after another.

He was also fiercely independent. He had no time for Big Tobacco but was equally critical of Big Pharma and groups such as ASH. Last year, before he died, aged 72, he wrote a letter to Tony Blair in which he claimed that his cessation clinics enjoyed a success rate of 53% after 12 months. The fee, he wrote, is £220, and if smokers don’t quit, it costs nothing. In contrast:

It costs the taxpayer more than £400 to treat a smoker at the NHS Stop Smoking Clinics which use nicotine products. According to ASH they achieve a success rate of 20% after 12 months; ie a FAILURE rate of 80%. Your government, aided by the medical establishment, the NHS, ASH and QUIT, under the powerful influence of the pharmaceutical industry, is pouring hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money each year into the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies which are, in effect, competing with the tobacco industry to supply the nicotine addicted market and perpetuate nicotine addiction.

Full letter HERE.

Saturday night at the movie

On Saturday, having missed an earlier screening in London, I finally caught up with Taking Liberties (the movie). Venue was Warwick Arts Centre, on the university campus. Director Chris Atkins, a graduate of Warwick, was there too, taking questions from the audience.

Taking Liberties is a Channel 4-style documentary that examines the way that New Labour has ruthlessly restricted some of the civil liberties we take for granted: freedom of speech, the right to protest etc. It explains how our privacy can be invaded, how we can be detained and even extradited without trial (even when the alleged offences have been committed in this country).

It goes on too long and is less focussed than it might have been, but that's understandable because there is so much more that could have been included (and isn't). Editing all that material into a simple narrative must have been very difficult. (Don't forget that Labour has introduced 3,000 new criminal offences, more than any other government, since 1997.) However, it's thought-provoking, never boring, and there are some very funny moments that disturb and entertain in equal measure. 

Taking Liberties is released on June 8th, but only in a handful of cinemas. If you want to see it, before it comes out on DVD or is shown on television, you will almost certainly have to lobby your local cinema. If you want others to see it, you MUST support it on its opening weekend otherwise it won't get a wider distribution.

PS. None of those watching the film on Saturday will be the least bit surprised by the lead story in today's Daily Telegraph. Full story HERE.

Hockney: Brighton breezy

Another excellent article by David Hockney (see HERE). Hockney first came to our attention as a protagonist in the smoking debate when the New York Times published a letter of his attacking the NY ban. That was in 2004. A short while later I wrote to him in California, inviting him to attend a private dinner hosted by Forest - and heard nothing. In fact, I forgot about it.

Cometh the day, cometh the man. Halfway through the evening, an elderly man with a distinctive white cap and two companions wandered in, sat down, and lit up. It was Hockney, arguably Britain's most famous living artist. Apparently, he had just flown in from Sicily where he had been on holiday. His manager met him at Heathrow, showed him my letter, which had been faxed to London, whereupon he ordered the cab to drive straight to the restaurant.

He didn't say much (he's partially deaf, which is why he's not a huge fan of large public events) but he later declared the evening to be a "life-enhancing experience". The following day he was sufficiently inspired to fire off a letter to the Guardian. This in turn led to a feature on Newsnight and, subsequently, a series of high profile interviews on radio and television.

Together, our greatest 'success' took place in Brighton, at the 2005 Labour party conference. Forest had planned, months in advance, a fringe meeting at the Metropole Hotel where many of the Cabinet were staying. The event was to be chaired by Claire Fox of the Institute of Ideas, and confirmed speakers included Joe Jackson, Sue Carroll of the Daily Mirror, and Sue Brearley, co-author of The Joy of Smoking. David was interested but couldn't commit. We took a chance and printed 3,000 flyers featuring his name. Less than 48 hours before the event, his manager confirmed he would be coming. Cue pandemonium.

A team of students was enlisted to distribute the flyers to every corner of the conference. We issued a press release. The BBC were the first to respond. The following morning, before he set off for Brighton, Hockney could be heard, on the Today programme, berating a junior health minister for being "boring" and "dreary". (The London Evening Standard declared it to be the most uplifting moment on radio that year.) Moments later, on BBC Television, he was featured - live from his London studio - with a homemade poster either side of him declaring 'Death comes to us all'.

Down in Brighton we were besieged by journalists wanting to interview the great man. In rapid order, we arranged one-on-one interviews with The Times, Independent, Guardian, Telegraph and Press Association. We also got him on Andrew Neil's The Daily Politics, which was broadcasting live from the conference. But first, there was the little matter of a photo call at the Hilton that got completely out of hand when a lone anti-smoking campaigner decided to butt in, prompting security staff to wrestle him out of the building via a fire exit while 30 or more cameras clicked and flashed in unison. Throughout it all, David Hockney smiled benignly and exuded an air of amused detachment.

That evening, after an event full of laughter (it was described as "one of the best fringe meetings for years"), we went for dinner at Brighton's Havana restaurant. The Sunday Times came too, columnist Jasper Gerard arriving hot foot from London with the specific task of interviewing Hockney for the paper's Review section.

Later that night, as we walked along the promenade to our hotel (without David who had returned to London after dinner), we got caught in the most torrential downpour. It was two o'clock in the morning and the rain was bouncing off the pavement. We were exhausted, and we were soaking wet. But we were also exhilarated. I shall never forget it.

Update on Sunday, May 27, 2007 by Simon Clark

The Independent on Sunday today reports that:

Smokers will make a last stand at a Forest 'Revolt in Style' dinner at the Savoy Hotel in London a week before the ban. Guests will include David Hockney, who has condemned the ban as a "grotesque piece of social engineering ... imposed easily by a political and media elite".

Tickets available from Tuesday (29th May). Full details HERE.

He's football crazy, they're effing mad

I just got a call from the Sunday Post. Klaus Toppmöller, former German international footballer, now coach of Georgia's national team, has been threatened with ejection from the ground if he lights up at St Johnstone's McDiarmid Park (left) when Georgia play their next match in a UEFA U19 tournament. Toppmöller apparently angered the authorities when he repeatedly lit up during Georgia's previous game in the stadium. Although he was sitting in one of the stands (classified as an enclosed public space), I am told that the ground was largely empty and Toppmöller was sitting alone. 

Smokers are not only being treated like criminals, I actually believe - in situations like this - that the authorities are taking leave of their senses. Club officials will argue that Toppmöller is breaking the law and both he and the club could be fined. I sympathise, a bit. But surely officials could make the point that threatening someone, in these circumstances, is degrading (for both sides) and utterly pointless?

In a sparsely populated stadium, is there really no room for compromise? Whatever happened to tolerance, discretion and, above all, common sense? Why do we have to stick to the letter of the law when the law is clearly an ass? Why are more people not speaking out? What the hell is going on in this country? Enjoy the bank holiday!

Update on Sunday, May 27, 2007 by Simon Clark

See story HERE.

Smokers face tidal wave of regulation

I spent much of today discussing strategy. There are some - latecomers to the smoking debate - who believe we should be spending all our time and energy fighting the ban. We did that, from 2003, when it became clear that the government was no longer interested in a voluntary solution based on public demand, to 2006 when MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of a blanket ban.

During that period Forest commissioned regular opinion polls, launched advertising campaigns in national and local newspapers, published and distributed essays and pamphlets, lobbied national and local politicians with a variety of campaign tools, submitted written reports to local and national government, gave evidence (in person) to a variety of government bodies, generated support from public figures such as David Hockney, Antony Worrall Thompson and others, conducted hundreds of media interviews, organised special events and ad campaigns at party conferences - and, after all that, we lost.

Much as we oppose the ban on smoking in enclosed public places, nothing we say or do (including prohibitively expensive legal action) is going to stop it happening. We will always argue for exemptions (and fight our corner on issues such as passive smoking) but the battleground has moved on. Today the debate is about cars, care homes and unenclosed public spaces such as parks, footpaths and beaches. Already, there is talk of segregating smokers and non-smokers outside pubs. Some campaigners (and local politicians) want to go further still and introduce exclusion zones around pubs and clubs. That's right, you won't even be able to smoke outside the pub!

Our principal fear is that the "progressive" (ie gradual) changes of the past 20 years could become a thing of the past. If the anti-smoking lobby has its way we could find ourselves swept aside by a tidal wave of regulation, "moving explosively fast", as one person put it.

Another referred to Forest "shouting at the waves as they come in". It does feel like that times, but we aspire to more than that. Stretching the analogy further, I see Forest and The Free Society as seawalls designed to prevent the further erosion of individual liberties. Turning back the tide (of illiberalism and paternalism) is something else. It's our long-term goal but, for the moment, we must be realistic. If we can delay the rate at which Britain is drowning under an ocean of (frequently petty) rules and regulations, we'll be doing a reasonable job.

Revolt in style? You can't do that!

After several weeks of planning, tickets are now available for Forest's 'freedom dinner' at the Savoy Hotel, London, on Monday 25th June. This could be your last opportunity to eat, drink and smoke at a major indoor public event anywhere in the UK, so it promises to be an historic occasion.

Forest events (described as "among the best in diary land" by Pandora, the Independent diarist) are known for their humour and elan, but Revolt In Style: A Freedom Dinner will convey a serious message about the smoking ban, the war on smokers, and the government's increasing intrusion into areas of our lives where politicians do not belong. 

Invited guests will include politicians and journalists but, most important, we need the public (you!) to support the event to make sure that our message is heard, loud and clear. Family, friends and tolerant non-smokers very welcome. For full details, including cost and how to book, click HERE.

Coming soon to a town near you

I have just got back from Bristol where I was interviewed (in a pub, where else?) for a series of smoking-related items to be broadcast by BBC South West in the run-up to the smoking ban. Similar requests have been coming in from all over the country so I expect to be on the road quite a bit over the next few weeks. If you have strong views about the ban and would like to have your say on local TV or radio, drop me a note.

Exclusive: Andrew Neil to speak out

I am delighted to report that broadcaster and publisher Andrew Neil (above) has been confirmed as the principal guest speaker at a special event to mark the introduction of the public smoking ban. ‘Revolt In Style: A Freedom Dinner’, is being organised by Forest in association with Boisdale.

An "enthusiastic" cigar smoker, Andrew Neil has been UK editor of the Economist, editor of the Sunday Times, executive chairman of Sky Television and executive editor of Fox Television News of America. He is currently chief executive of the Spectator and presents both The Daily Politics on BBC Two and This Week on BBC One.

This historic occasion – possibly the last opportunity for you to eat, drink and smoke at a major indoor public event anywhere in the UK – takes place at The Savoy Hotel in London on Monday 25th June. Full details, including how to book tickets, will be published on the Forest website later this week. For advance information (exclusive to readers of this blog!) email revolt@forestonline.org.

Joe Jackson's tour diary

Joe Jackson, a good friend of Forest, is currently touring the UK as part of his 2007 European tour. Over the next ten days you can catch him in Nottingham, Sheffield, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Belfast.

Two years ago, when Joe toured the US and Europe with Todd Rundgren and a New York string quartet called Ethel, I asked him to write a tour diary - from a smoker's perspective. Some entries have clearly been overtaken by events. Nevertheless, it's still an interesting read - see HERE.

Update on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 by Simon Clark

Email from Joe today: "Have just been in Holland: even the Dutch are now barely holding out. The new government wants a ban and the head of the hospitality industry group is apparently about to concede a ban in restaurants, with a ban in bars postponed until at least 2011 (in the hope, apparently, that something will change by then).  It sometimes seems quite surreal to me that even in places where almost no one really wants a ban (eg Holland and Germany) there is a totally defeatist attitude that it is 'inevitable'.  I do believe that united opposition by the hospitality industry could have made a real difference, but all they seem to care about is the so-called 'level playing field'."

Music to my ears

I took the family to Cardiff on Saturday to see Ray Davies on the latest leg of his UK tour. En route, between bursts of Five Live, we listened to his 2006 album Other People's Lives. On the way home we listened to the new album by Ian Hunter. Davies is 62 and Hunter is now, remarkably, 67. Although the hits dried up long ago - and both men have endured long periods of creative inertia - recent albums have been well-received.

In Hunter's case this has been achieved by the adoption, late in life, of a more political approach to songwriting. (See also Rant, 2001.) Davies' lyrics are, perhaps, more observational, though a track from his new album (to be released later this year) is a typically humorous yet trenchant commentary on dehumanising bureaucracy.

Music, like politics, is personal so I wouldn't dream of recommending a particular album or artist but if anyone wants to suggest a song that could be included on a fantasy Free Society compilation CD, feel free (no pun intended). The more obscure the better!

Wembley's banned wagon

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had been to Wembley for one of the new stadium's warm up matches. Thanks to a bizarre ban on cameras I had to smuggle mine in under my jumper. Writing in today's Sunday Times, following yesterday's Cup Final, reporter John Aizlewood comments on the seemingly endless list of prohibited items:

"Only terrorists and pyromaniacs could argue with explosives and fireworks, but those Trading Standards Swat teams might wonder why flags and air horns were on sale outside, but banned inside. And outlawing fans' cameras is a childish and venal step too far."

Footballs, too, are banned. At this rate it will be easier, and quicker, to list the things we ARE allowed to take in.

Assessing Conservative values

On Wednesday I attended a rather swish reception hosted by Fleishman Hillard, a leading public affairs and PR consultancy. Other guests included MPs, lobbyists, political chiefs of staff and researchers. This week the company published a document called The Cameron Environment: Assessing Conservative Values. The report is predictably vague in many areas, but here are some of the policies they think a Tory government might adopt:

• Adjust balance between the state and the public
• More aggressive green agenda
• Lighter touch taxation
• Abolish ID card project
• Introduction of a Bill of Rights

If you're hoping that Cameron might, just might, relax the smoking ban - don't hold your breath. Fleishman Hillard report that new policies will focus on "trusting the professionals". (The British Medical Association will be pleased!) Specifically, under health, they suggest that the Tories are "likely" to establish a Chief Medical Officer's Department within the Department of Health. (The CMO was a leading figure behind the smoking ban.) There may also be a "stronger role" for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. (Remember them? They recently called for smokers to be given time off work to attend smoking cessation courses.)

Then again, on fox-hunting, Fleishman Hillard believe the Tories "will call for another free vote on a revised version of the Act, which we would expect to be far more palatable for rural communities". If they can do that for hunting with hounds, why not smoking in (some) enclosed public places? You can download the entire document HERE.

Update on Friday, May 18, 2007 by Simon Clark

10.00am - I had literally just published the above post when an email fell into into my lap(top) from our public affairs monitors. The following Early Day Motion has just been tabled in the House of Commons: "That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying [my italics] that the Smoke-free (Signs) Regulations 2007 (S.I., 2007, No. 923), dated 19th March 2007, a copy of which was laid before this House on 23rd March, be annulled." The signatories are Mr David Cameron, Mr Andrew Lansley, Mr Alan Duncan, Dr Andrew Murrison, Mr Stephen O'Brien, Mr Patrick McLoughlin. Praying? How appropriate (see HERE)!

Pictures for an exhibition

Designer, musician and photographer Dan Donovan (above) - currently working on several Forest projects - writes:

"We live in a culture driven by fear and draconian legislation. After years of anti-smoking propaganda people seem to accept the ban without too much thought. A total blanket ban is shortsighted and unfair on those who enjoy the smoking culture. July 1st will be a sad day and an insult to the smoking community.

"To counteract the demonisation of smokers I want to put together a photographic piece of work featuring smokers in indoor public spaces. If you are a smoker and would like to be part of this exhibition please get in touch so we can arrange to take your picture."

Email dan@design-dell.com.

Update on Friday, May 18, 2007 by Simon Clark

Dan reports that since yesterday he's heard from 30 or more people who want to be involved. "Bob Geldof's violin player is up for it, so too a Sir Galahad Falklands' survivor, a cigar club in Cornwall, a 70-year-old man in Kent. It's great, I've had mail from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Kent, Cornwall and everywhere in between." Keep those emails coming.