Cowell's no quitter - is he?

I almost fell off my stool in Costa Coffee this afternoon when I saw this headline in today's Daily Mirror: 'Cowell: I'm quitting'.

Simon Cowell to quit smoking? Surely not?! Needless to say, I had jumped to conclusions. According to the paper the TV mogul will quit American Idol in three years when his contract is up, and he may quit the X-Factor at the same time. As for smoking:

One vice Simon hasn't managed to give up is his smoking habit - he gets through 10 to 15 Kool menthol cigarettes a day. He's adamant he will keep lighting up despite the smoking ban, which has been a problem at the X Factor auditions. "I'm still smoking and I'm not getting on well with the ban," he says.

"I enjoy smoking and I feel discriminated against. It's humiliating being made to stand in the street - it reminds me of school and smoking behind the bike shed. I had a bit of trouble during the auditions when I forgot. I lit up and it was like I pulled out a hand grenade. Someone practically came out with a fire extinguisher."

Thank goodness for that. Full article HERE.

Conference calls

Holding my credit card in one hand, and my nose in the other, I have just applied to attend a two-day conference in Edinburgh that should indicate very clearly (as if we don't already know) where the war on tobacco is heading.

'Towards a Smokefree Society' is a major international event that promises to "bring together researchers, policy makers and practitioners with the overall purpose of mobilising further effective action on smokefree legislation".

The programme is extensive. As part of the application process you have to decide in advance which workshops you want to attend. I was spoilt for choice! Eventually I plumped for sessions on 'International Tobacco Control Studies', 'Developing EU Policy for Smokefree Environments', 'SHS Exposure & Respiratory Health', 'Smokefree Legislation & Health and Economic Trends', 'Smoking in the Home' and - my favourite - 'Using the Media'.

I also applied to attend the conference dinner and ceilidh. (I couldn't resist.) Venue is the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC, above) and it all kicks off on September 10. Full details HERE.

War on drinking: right or wrong?

I may be wrong, but when I was growing up in Scotland you weren't allowed to take your drink outside the pub. Nor were you able to see inside the pub from the street because the windows had frosted glass. (The idea, I believe, was to stop 'minors' seeing adults drinking.) Pubs shut at 10.00pm and everyone had to buy their round - which meant that between nine and ten there was a mad rush to consume as many pints as possible before you had to leave.

The first time I went into a pub and got served I must have been 14. I was 18 (and at university) before it became an intoxicating habit. We weren't 'binge drinkers' because we couldn't afford to be, but we did get pleasantly tipsy and - occasionally - we got pie-eyed. When we were drunk we fell about laughing, or we fell asleep, or we felt queasy and some of us may even have been sick.

At no point did we EVER get drunk and become violent or break the law in other ways. (I was completely sober, m'lud, that night we nicked some traffic cones.) We knew right from wrong - even when we'd had a few.

This week, in the wake of a terrible, disgusting murder, it is being suggested that the drinking age could be raised to 21, or that drinking might be banned in the street. Others would like to see the price of alcohol increased, and the 24-hour drinking laws repealed. Even the Daily Telegraph, the most libertarian of all our newspapers, had a leader entitled the 'Curse of cheap booze', as if 'cheap booze' is the problem.

What's going on? Yes, some people drink too much, and some become anti-social and violent as a result. But the vast majority (I suggest) do not. Why, yet again, should the majority suffer for the actions of a minority?

Instead of penalising everyone, surely this is a matter for the police (and the authorities generally) to target those who break existing laws? Why do we need stiffer rules and regulations when the legislation already exists to weed out violent, anti-social criminals?

David Green, director of Civitas, has written an excellent piece in today's Telegraph. The title says it all: 'Alcohol ban is no answer; proper policing is'. Full article HERE.

PC plod and the health police

You can tell it's the silly season when - not for the first time - I get asked to comment on the story that an IT technician had refused to fix a woman's computer because, when he took the back off, it was (allegedly) covered in nicotine.

The story originally appeared in the local paper last week. This afternoon I was whisked off to the Millbank studios in Westminster to be interviewed for Granada's evening news. What could I say, apart from the fact that I have never EVER heard of such a complaint before, and it cannot be coincidence that this has happened within weeks of the smoking ban being introduced.

Now that the authorities have declared war on smokers, no doubt other, similarly ludicrous, complaints will become commonplace. I am thinking, in particular, of neighbours who will claim that smoke from next door is seeping into their homes through walls and floorboards. Barworkers might even refuse to work in a pub - simply because the walls are stained with nicotine.

Full story HERE.

What's the point?

I've lost count of the number of times I have been asked to publicise a petition on the Downing Street website. I'm not unsympathetic, but I refuse to play Downing Street's patronising little game. I am pleased to read that Iain Dale (left), Britain's premier political blogger (and a friend of The Free Society), feels the same - see HERE ('The pointlessness of No 10 petitions', Monday August 13). 

Protestors take to the streets

More photographs of the Glastonbury protest march on Saturday August 11 can be viewed HERE. Update HERE.

Must have iMac

Have just seen the all-new iMac. Looks stunning. I want one!

Polite notice

Another reason for our trip to the seaside (below) was a meeting with Dorset Police. In addition to the Forest/Free Society reception, we are considering some form of public protest during the Labour party conference. A march, perhaps, or (more likely) a static protest against the smoking ban outside the conference centre in Bournemouth - if there is sufficient support.

Security is particularly tight at party conferences and with everyone being a little jumpy it's best to do things by the book. Our meeting on Thursday lasted an hour during which we were given a very clear indication of what we can and can't do.

One of our proposals - a live rock band outside the conference centre or on a passing float - was politely knocked back. So too was my preferred march route. Dorset Police have a set route and woe betide anyone who veers off that path!

A detailed five-page document entitled 'Guidance to organisers' left us in no doubt of our responsibilities. Sections include 'Statements of intent', 'Briefing of stewards',  'Fitness of stewards', 'Communication with organisers', 'Communication with police', 'Safety officers', 'Additional guidance' and 'Debriefing'.

Before going ahead with a public protest we first have to submit plans for the police to consider. Proposed date is Tuesday September 25th, the same day that Gordon Brown is due to give his first speech to conference as prime minister and leader of the Labour party. If you are interested in taking part, email protest@forestonline.org.

Sun, sand and smokers' rights

On Thursday I spent the day in Bournemouth. The sun shone, it was pleasantly hot, a light sea breeze blew in off the Channel, the beach was busy (but not over-crowded), and in the hotels and bars the Pimms was flowing. (I know, because we ordered a jug or two.)

The principal purpose of the visit was to discuss arrangements for the Forest/Free Society reception at the Labour conference in September. Organising a party conference event that stands out is very difficult. Competition is fierce - there can be upwards of 20 other events on at the same time. Free food and drink (especially champagne) helps, but there's more to it than that.

Forest has a pretty good record in this area but this year's challenge is tough. How can we attract our core audience - those who want to smoke - when they can't light up indoors? I think we may have cracked it but we are waiting for the hotel to agree to the idea. Fingers crossed.

Paul and Chris walk tall

Good luck to Paul Toole and Chris Elliott, who are organising a protest march against the smoking ban in Glastonbury today. (Story HERE.)

Yesterday, I met the pair of them in Wells, which is where they held their first protest a few weeks ago. The event may have attracted 'only' 40 people, but in terms of media coverage it punched well above its weight. Hopefully, the Glastonbury march will do the same.

I admire people like Paul and Chris. It takes energy, determination and a lot of planning to organise an event like this. It also takes nerve. (How many people will turn up? How will the public respond? Will everything go according to plan?) Modest and unassuming, they deserve our support.

Update on Saturday, August 11, 2007 by Simon Clark

Paul and Chris have just phoned to say that 80 people took part in the march, double the number in Wells. They were accompanied by a tobacco enforcement officer and an environmental health officer. Afterwards, 40 marchers went to a local pub and lit up in the skittle alley, which counts as an enclosed public place. As a result, Chris was handed a £30 fine by the tobacco enforcement officer who followed them to the pub, and the publican received a warning. According to Paul, the TEO then requested three Forest t-shirts - one for himself, the others for his two sons - and offered to donate £15 towards Chris's fine. You couldn't make it up!

Thanks to Ali, one of the marchers, for the picture of Chris (above left) with his ticket!

Money talks

Other guests at the wedding included my old boss Michael Forsyth (former Secretary of State for Scotland and now Lord Forsyth of Drumlean). Michael gave me my first job. I was just out of university, looking to break into journalism, when I was introduced to him in a pub in central London. A week later I was working as a (junior) account executive for a PR company with offices in Fleet Lane, a stone's throw from St Paul's Cathedral.

Michael is currently chairman of the Tax Reform Commission which last year published a report calling for a "fairer, lower, less complex and more competitive tax system". For some reason, most politicians today are allergic to cutting taxes - or even talking about it. I have always believed that low taxation is essential to a free society. In 2007, Tax Freedom Day was on June 1. In 1963, using the same formula, TFD (had it existed) would have been five weeks earlier, on April 24.

It's not just the money. It's the sense that much of the revenue raised through taxation is poorly spent and there is nothing we can do about it. Hell, I don't mind paying a good whack if only I could see more benefits. Beyond very basic services, I'm not sure that I can.

For some reason we're not giving politicians a hard enough time on the subject. Personally, I would like a wealth warning that makes it clear - when you buy petrol or tobacco, for example - how much of the retail price goes to the government. The more information we have, the more likely it is that people will do something about it.

North of the border

Just back from Scotland, where I have been revisiting old haunts. From the age of 10 I lived in a place called Wormit, which overlooks Dundee from the far (southern) end of the Tay rail bridge, above.

From Wormit I travelled to school in St Andrews, 12 miles away, and every year we find time to drop by, making an additional detour to Anstruther, the Fife fishing village that is home to the best fish and chip shop in Scotland.

On Saturday my wife and I were guests at Neil Rafferty's wedding near Stirling. (Neil is Forest's Scottish spokesman. Prior to that he worked for the Sunday Times and the Press Association in Scotland. From his home in the Borders he recently launched the Daily Mash, Scotland's first "satirical news website".)

Neil and Amy opted for a humanist wedding in a converted barn next to her parents' house (a traditional old farmhouse). Afterwards we moved outside to the garden for several glasses of champagne, and then we had dinner (followed by a reel or two) inside a large marquee. 

I understand that there was a (brief) heatwave in the south of England. In Scotland it was very much cooler (and all the better for that). Thankfully the rain held off for most of the day, the locals (many of whom had helped organise the wedding) were very friendly, and altogether it was a rather splendid occasion.

Suicide watch

Tom Utley, a Forest award winner in, I think, 2004, had THIS to say in his op-ed piece in Friday's Daily Mail.

I should add that Tom is notoriously pessimistic on many subjects, including smoking. Earlier this year he attended one of the private dinners that Forest hosts as part of our political and media lobbying work. We outlined our future plans, including the launch of The Free Society, and invited him to comment.

Within five minutes I wanted to slit my wrists. Former MSP Brian Monteith, who had just given a rousing sermon in support of TFS, felt the same. I hope we can give Tom something to be less gloomy about in future, but (in order to preserve our sanity) we won't be asking him back for a while!

DNA - police want new powers

Remarkable front page story in the Daily Mail yesterday. Difficult to know how much of it to believe (August is the silly season, after all) but the essence of it was that drivers stopped for speeding - or even failing to wear a seatbelt - could soon be placed on a DNA database for life. "The most trivial offences, such as dropping litter, would also lead to samples being taken under sweeping new powers which police are demanding."

The police believe that taking the a DNA sample - even in these circumstances - will make it easier to solve future crimes. A cartoon that accompanied the story featured a motorist saying to a policeman: "Honestly officer, I did not stick out my tongue at you ... I was merely offering a DNA sample." You've got to laugh. Or perhaps not.

Full story, which also appeared in the London Evening Standard on Wednesday, HERE.

Update on Friday, August 3, 2007 by Simon Clark

"Smokers are being fingerprinted and timed when they pop outside a top London nightclub for a cigarette. Koko, in Camden High Street, will only allow revellers seven minutes outside and is insisting on scanning their prints." Full story HERE.

Smokers' corner

As you can imagine, we get a lot of smoking-related correspondence (news, information and comment) that is not relevant to these blog posts. I am also keen that this blog is not dominated by smoking-related issues at the expense of the broader picture we are trying to paint. I have decided therefore to set up a separate section - called Smokers Corner - for smoking-related items that do not fit into the main journal. It begins today. Click HERE.