Breakfast with Wozza

Look out for Forest patron Antony Worrall Thompson on BBC Breakfast (BBC1) tomorrow morning. He's due on the sofa at 7.40 and 8.40. Subject: the smoking ban six months on. The antis will of course declare the ban to have been a great "success" - high compliance rate and improved health all round. AWT will, I'm sure, be as feisty as ever in his response.

Here comes the Rain

Joe Jackson, a member of Forest's Supporters Council and an outspoken critic of smoking bans, has a new album out on January 29. Recorded in Berlin (where he now lives) and mixed in New York, Rain (left) features ten new songs, at least two of which feature some "barbed social commentary".

A few days ago Joe emailed to say that:

'Citizen Sane' is about how everyone is looking to authorities to tell them how to live but the authorities are all corrupt, including the doctors, and 'King Pleasure Time' is about how pleasure rules the world but many people don't know it or have forgotten. I guess those two have some relevance to Forest or The Free Society.

You can pre-order the album HERE.

Beginning late February, Joe will embark on a 4-5 month tour which will take in Europe, North America, Australia and several places Joe has never played, including Israel, South Africa and Eastern Europe. He will also be contributing to the new Free Society website. Watch this space.

Will Self's New Year message

I've never read any of his novels but Will Self (left) is one of my favourite journalists. His writing, like his persona, has a sardonic, sometimes menacing, tone. In an age of conformity he's also a contrarian - a trait I particularly like.

Today, reviewing the smoking ban in the Independent, Self mentions Forest. It's not a glowing reference (rather the opposite), but I don't care. Recognition from one of Britain's top literary talents is good enough for me.

More interesting (for you) is Self's confession that "I find [the ban] a bit more of a drag than I thought I would". This, remember, is a man whose lack of opposition to the ban was well publicised in his column in the London Evening Standard.

His final para is also worth repeating:

Still, what goes around comes around, and for all those triumphalist former health secretaries out there, basking in their success, it's worth biting down on this: public smoking was banned in 17 US states in the 1870s, but when the peoples' habits changed again, so did the legislation.

Full article HERE.

Tell us the truth

For years passive smoking has been cited, in some quarters, as a significant factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Now, following a nine-month investigation in the USA, the Scripps Howard News Service reports that most of the victims of SIDS die "because they are accidentally smothered by their parents or other children who sleep with them or because they are placed on dangerous overstuffed sofas or heavily blanketed adult beds".

The Scripps study also found that most coroners are not following the methods of investigation recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, prompting them instead to rely on often-incorrect diagnoses of SIDS, still the officially listed cause for 57 percent of all infant deaths.

But the top 11 coroners in the Scripps study said they are confident that the SIDS diagnosis is grossly overused in America because their own investigations overwhelmingly lead to different conclusions ... [They] agree it's difficult to tell grieving families the truth.

"As a coroner, you don't want to look into the face of a grandmother or father or mother who rolled over and smothered their child. There's no way to console them," said Dr John McGoff. "But without that knowledge, there's no prevention."

"A huge percentage of sudden infant deaths will be found to be asphyxia if a proper death scene investigation is done," said Theresa Covington, director of the Michigan-based National Center for Child Death Review Policy. "This is what the national evidence is leading us to. They are not homicides or anything else. They are accidental suffocations."

"If we can get to the truth, then we can craft the right intervention strategies so that we can actually make a dent in the number of sudden and unexplained infant deaths. We are doing a disservice to the parents if we don't tell them the truth," Covington said.

Full story HERE.

Smoking and stress

The Forest/Boisdale CD, You Can't Do That (Songs For Swinging Smokers), has been a great success. Recorded earlier this year, it was released in advance of the smoking ban on July 1. Copies were duly dispatched to the usual suspects - MPs, peers, journalists and broadcasters.

Prior to Christmas, a handful of copies were sent - as gifts - to some of our favourite columnists. They included Philip Hensher who writes in today's Independent:

A charming CD arrives from Forest, the pro-choice in smoking organization. The Boisdale Blue Rhythm Band play a number of fag-related standards and new numbers, including "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes", "I'm Going Outside" and "Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette". If only the anti-smoking fanatics showed a tenth as much good humour. Anyway, it's all wasted on me, since I gave up in February, thinking that I'd probably smoked long enough.

I anticipated an immense increase in my personal well-being and health. I should have listened more to David Hockney, who points out that the decline of smoking has been accompanied by an immense rise in the consumption of anti-stress medication. I stopped having any craving for cigarettes within days of giving up, but my stress levels, previously under quiet control, just kept on rising.

Is it merely coincidence that Britain is getting shorter-tempered, dependent on anti-depressants and stressed out now that nobody's allowed to smoke?

Happy Christmas!

No comment required

Just back from Scotland. I took my son to see Dundee United play Gretna at Tannadice on Saturday. Embarrassingly, United lost. It's the second time this season we have been beaten by the SPL's bottom side.

We stayed two nights (Friday and Saturday) in St Andrews, where I went to school. The hotel restaurant offered a breaktaking view of the sea, the beach, and the famous Old Course. The 18th green, white with frost, was no more than a few yards from where we sat, enjoying an early morning fry-up. Bliss.

While I was away the following story appeared on the Forest newsfeed: "A landlord is planning to put on strippers because the smoking ban has killed business" (The Argus, December 21). Sometimes comment is superfluous. This is one of those times. Full story HERE.

That was the year that was

I have just posted a Christmas message on the Forest website - click HERE. Our goals in 2008 are to maintain and develop strong and vocal opposition to the smoking ban; highlight the negative impact the ban is having on many people's lives and businesses; oppose further restrictions on smoking such as smoking while driving or smoking in outdoor areas; challenge the "denormalisation" of smoking; and promote responsible smoking.

I will continue to blog over Christmas and New Year. In the meantime, from everyone at Forest, to all our friends at home and abroad, have a very happy Christmas - and a smoker-friendly New Year!

It's a wonderful life

I shall be in London tomorrow recording a 20-second soundbite for BBC Breakfast to be broadcast after Christmas. To be specific, they want to film in the car park at Sainsbury's, Ladbroke Grove, at 9.00am. No doubt it will be very, very cold.

The interview is part of a report examining the impact of the smoking ban, six months on. Anti-smoking campaigners will declare the ban to have been a great success (high compliance, dramatic health benefits etc). Expect more of this nonsense between now and the new year.

It's that time of year again

This morning I took a call from Dan Sheldon, assistant producer, Big Brother. Endemol, the production company, is currently in the middle of auditions for new housemates for the next series.

"We're hoping to cast the net far and wide so that housemates represent a broad spectrum of beliefs, interests and groups. It would be great if you could pass on the audition details to as many of your supporters as possible in case they want to come along and audition."

Venues, dates and times can be found on the Big Brother website (click HERE). They include Glasgow (Sat & Sun 5/6 Jan), Newcastle (Sat & Sun 12/13 Jan) and London (Sat & Sun 19/20 Jan).

"If anyone is interested in applying," said Dan, "they can email BB directly with their details which means they could avoid all the queues at the venues." The address is bb9@endemoluk.com.

Note: in the unlikely event that you get selected, Forest reserves the right to disown or deny any knowledge of you whatsoever. I'm not joking.

French lesson for Britain's liberal elite

Lewis Hamilton is the latest person to fall victim to the traffic cops. The F1 driver was caught travelling at 196km/h (122mph) in northern France on Sunday. That's not the interesting bit of the story, however. What I didn't know is that the speed limit on French motorways is 130km/h (85mph).

If it's good enough for the French, it's good enough for us. So if Nick Clegg really wants to mark the "beginning of Britain's liberal future", I suggest he starts by proposing an immediate increase in the speed at which we can (legally) drive on Britain's motorways.

The Tories flirted with the idea at the last general election, but it soon dropped off the radar. It's not a massive vote winner but it would be a statement of intent, especially if it came as part of a package of "liberalising" measures. 

Speaking of which, I've just had an idea. I'll get back to you tomorrow.

Will the real liberals please stand up?

I would like to say that Nick Clegg's election as leader of the Liberal Democrats is good news for those of a genuinely liberal persuasion. I would like to say it ... but the jury is most definitely out.

It's all very well for Clegg to say that he wants his election to mark the "beginning of Britain's liberal future", or that he wants to attract those voters who share liberal values but do not currently vote for the party,  but the reality is rather different.

In the real world Clegg came remarkably close to losing a leadership contest he was originally odds on to win. His rival Chris Huhne won a moral victory and while they were battling it out acting leader Vince Cable stole their thunder and is now, despite his age, a clear leader in waiting.

All this is going to have a serious impact on how far Clegg can change the culture of a party which is no more liberal than New Labour. Denied an overwhelming mandate for root and branch reform of Liberal policies, Clegg will almost certainly be forced to adopt a less radical (ie less liberal) approach.

In the meantime, the Lib Dem leader is welcome to borrow Forest's new slogan, "Will the real liberals please stand up?" Watch this space.

Questions and answers

A week or so ago I mentioned that I had been sent a series of questions for an article about the impact of the smoking ban. I then invited your response to the same questions (see HERE). For what it's worth, here are my replies:

1. How would you say smokers have reacted to the smoking ban? Do you feel that people have been encouraged to give up?

Most smokers have adapted to the ban, just as they adapted to earlier restrictions on smoking. Some have reacted with good humour, but others are very unhappy about it. They are angry that the government reneged on its election promise to exempt private clubs and pubs that don't serve food, and they rightly believe that the ban is based on unfounded claims about the effects of passive smoking.

The inconvenience of having to go outside, especially at work, may have forced some people to cut down or quit, but the vast majority of smokers have no intention of giving up. If anything, the ban has reinforced their determination to smoke because no-one likes being told what to do. In the words of one smoker, they are "reaching for their fags in defiance".

2. A number of pubs and clubs have spent a lot of money converting their establishments to provide outdoor smoking areas. Many of these include outdoor heating which it could be suggested might have an environmental impact. What would your comment on this be?

This is the latest in a long line of scare-mongering tactics used by environmentalists and anti-smoking campaigners. If there is an impact it is probably very small and if people are worried about it there's a very easy solution - amend the legislation to allow pubs and clubs to create well-ventilated smoking rooms indoors so people don't have to go outside to smoke.

3. Interviews I have conducted for my article have suggested that smoking has become more of a social activity since the ban. Going out for a cigarette has become part of a night out for people. Do you think smoking has become more socially acceptable since the ban?

Smoking has always been a sociable activity and the ban hasn't changed that. However, being forced to go outside has probably heightened the sense of cameraderie among smokers. But no-one wants to go outside to smoke if it's cold and wet and for many people it's a real pain in the neck.

If, however, the ban is designed to "denormalise" smoking it's counter-productive because the sight of large numbers of smokers outside pubs and clubs simply emphasises how many people smoke and how normal it is for those who do.

4. Some smokers I have spoken to have suggested that going for a cigarette has become a way to meet new people. Approaching someone to ask for a lighter etc can be a great way to strike up a conversation. What would your comment on ‘smirting’ (smoking and flirting) be?

Smirting is nothing new. Smokers have always asked one another for a light and used it as an excuse to talk to someone they fancy. However, the ban does give people something to talk about so, until the novelty wears off, it's probably a good icebreaker for some people.

5. It could be suggested that non-smokers are encouraged to join their friends for a cigarette outside rather than be left alone in the pub/club. Do you think non-smokers will be encouraged to take up smoking as a social activity?

It's true that, rather than sit in an empty pub, non-smokers will often choose join their friends outside, but the idea that non-smokers will be encouraged to start smoking is crazy. There are lots of reasons why people choose to smoke, and this isn't one of them.

6. As far as passive smoking is concerned, are people less likely to receive the harmful effects by standing in close proximity to a smoker outside than inside?

The effects of passive smoking have been greatly exaggerated. Based on the evidence, there is no justification for a total ban on smoking in every pub, club and bar in the country. Given that the results of indoor studies are inconclusive, the suggestion that anyone is at risk from standing in close proximity to someone smoking outside is ludicrous. Some highly sensitive people may not like it, but there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that it is harmful. If campaigners use this as an excuse to ban smoking in outdoor areas as well they will open themselves to ridicule.

Where there's hope

A friend who went to London's O2 last night to watch the Verve was amazed to see loads of people smoking INSIDE the arena.

"The security guards," she reports, "weren't doing very much about it, so there's hope yet!"

Is this a first?

Our old friend James Leavey (editor of the Forest Guide to Smoking in London, 1997) claims to be the first person to smoke a cigar on Cunard's new liner, the Queen Victoria (above).

"I even smoked in the Churchill cigar lounge, where it's illegal to smoke while the ship is berthed in Southampton. But then December 9 was my 60th birthday.

"PS. Sir Jimmy Savile was also on board but he kept his cigar in his sock, half smoked - I told him where to enjoy it (smokewise)."

You read it here first.