Tobacco faces "nuclear option"

"Bans on lighting up indoors, tobacco advertising stopped, under-the-counter sales, the war against smoking goes further every year. But could plain, white packets be the nuclear option against the industry?" asks the BBC News website today.

The article features comments from Sydney University's Becky Freeman, co-author of The Case for the Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products, plus quotes from British American Tobacco, ASH and Forest. Click HERE.

Bully State book launch back on

I am pleased to report that we have overcome the little difficulty I described HERE. Next week we will launch The Bully State: The End of Tolerance by Brian Monteith with a reception at The New Club in Princes Street, Edinburgh.

The Ramsay Room, where the event will take place, has a covered balcony overlooking Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street Gardens and the good news is that guests will be able to smoke.

The reception will also mark Forest's 30th anniversary and it's appropriate that it will take place in Edinburgh because Brian and I shared an office in the city for several years in the Nineties.

I was a freelance journalist at the time and Brian was Forest's Scottish spokesman. In 1998 I watched him launch the Forest Guide to Smoking in Scotland (for some reason he hired an open top bus) but it never occurred to me that I would end up working for Forest myself.

In fact, Brian is wholly to blame because it was he who suggested that I apply for the job when Marjorie, my predecessor, moved on. Ironically, shortly after I was appointed Brian became an MSP and I had to find a new spokesman in Scotland.

Anyway, it feels as if the wheel has turned full circle because here we are, ten years later, publishing Brian's book and organising a launch party in, where else, Edinburgh.

Numbers are limited but if you would like to come telephone Nicky on 01223 370156 or email events@forestonline.org.

Note: to mark the publication of The Bully State (which is published by The Free Society) Brian and I also hope to host a small drinks party in London. Details to follow.

Update on Friday, October 2, 2009 by Simon Clark

In answer to a query in the comments, The Secret Garden at Hawke and Hunter is still open but they are refurbishing it to satisfy the council. Instead of a canopy that covers the entire area, they will have large - and they emphasise large - patio umbrellas. To be fair to H&H, they are doing their best to accommodate smokers but The Secret Garden is no longer suitable for this type of event.

Town used as "giant ashtray"

The Oxford Mail has just asked me to write 250 words in response to the news that Cherwell district council has started fining smokers £75 if they are caught dropping fag butts in the street. The council says it is sick of smokers using the towns as a "giant ashtray".

Update on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 by Simon Clark

Here's my response:

I would never condone anyone who drops litter, be it sweet wrappers, chewing gum or cigarette butts. But if you’re going to target litter louts don’t discriminate against one section of the public. That’s unfair.

Instead of threatening smokers with fines and other penalties, councils should work with them to improve the environment. Forest would happily promote any positive initiative to reduce cigarette litter as long as it doesn’t become yet another excuse to berate smokers for their habit.

Instead of stigmatising consumers, councils should also work with cigarette bin and portable ashtray manufacturers to provide solutions to the problem.

Unfortunately I have heard that some councils are reluctant to install or give planning permission for cigarette bins because they don’t want to “normalise” smoking.

That’s ridiculous. Like it or not, tobacco is a legal product. There are eleven million smokers in the UK and thanks to the smoking ban an increasing number are smoking in the street and other outdoor areas.

One idea that would address this problem is an amendment that would allow designated smoking rooms in pubs and clubs. Overnight many of the smokers who are currently forced to stand outside would go indoors, taking their litter with them.

Before councils blame smokers for turning their town into a “giant ashtray” they should lobby government for a change in the law on public smoking. Only then will we see how serious they are about tackling the problem of cigarette litter.

Forest at the Labour conference

We spent yesterday morning handing out Save Our Pubs & Clubs: AmendTheSmokingBan.com beer mats to delegates at the Labour conference in Brighton. The response was mixed. One or two expressed approval for the campaign; some handed their beer mats back. The majority were either overwhelmed by the number of flyers that were being handed out by various groups or they kept their heads down as they scurried past.

("Think of the forests," muttered one delegate as she refused the offer of another piece of paper. Dennis Skinner, the infamous "Beast of Bolsover", accepted a beer mat but then commented, "I never go in pubs". That's the spirit!)

After lunch we were joined by publican Charlotte Maynard and bar worker Nicky Till (above, in the yellow SOPAC t-shirts) whose backstreet boozer (their words) has lost business since the introduction of the smoking ban. Neither Charlotte nor Nicky smoke and they volunteered the information that it never bothered them when customers did smoke indoors.

Several other publicans expressed support for the campaign but couldn't leave their pubs to join us on the seafront. Meanwhile my colleague Karen signed up twelve publicans in the centre of Brighton in just over an hour, so I am confident we can develop quite an active group on the south coast.

The ad van with our campaign message (above) will be patrolling the road outside the conference centre for another two days.

Next stop: Manchester.

Brighton 2005 - Forest's greatest hit?

Later today I shall be driving down to Brighton for the Labour party conference. This is the first time I have been back to Brighton since David Hockney's famous appearance (as a guest of Forest) at the 2005 Labour conference which attracted front page headlines and a string of interviews with the great man. ("A rare publicity coup by the friends of lung cancer," sniffed Jasper Gerrard in the Sunday Times. Charming.)

Older readers may be sick of me mentioning it but for the benefit of newer readers it was one of the best days of my working life. Thinking about it still makes me laugh. The memory of Hockney standing shoulder to shoulder with anti-tobacco campaigner Stuart Holmes in the Hilton West Pier Hotel (now a Holiday Inn) is priceless.

Even funnier was the sight of Holmes being "escorted" from the hotel (via a fire escape) by hotel management while 20 or more photographers fought to get the best picture.

Nor will I forget the ten frantic minutes during which we went from one rain-lashed building to another in search of the BBC's makeshift studio where Hockney was to be interviewed by Andrew Neil live on The Daily Politics. (We eventually found it with seconds to spare.)

Afterwards we returned to the main bar at the Metropole Hotel where journalists were queuing up to interview our special guest. I've been involved in a few PR stinkers in my time but this was a day when almost everything we touched turned to gold. You can read the results in The Times, Independent and Daily Telegraph (among others) and on BBC News.

The Independent has my favourite quote but you have to read it in context. See if you can guess what it is.

Interviews completed, Hockney then addressed a Forest meeting chaired by Claire Fox of the Institute of Ideas. Other speakers were Joe Jackson, Sue Carroll of the Daily Mirror, Sue Brealey, co-author of The Joy of Smoking, and me.

The venue may have been small but all seats were taken and people were queuing to squeeze in at the back. I've never known an atmosphere like it. Gales of laughter erupted at regular intervals. Afterwards the man from DeHavilland, the political monitoring agency, described it as "one of the best fringe meetings for years". (The Yorkshire Post covered it HERE.)

Afterwards we took all our speakers to dinner before our most famous guest returned to London. Hockney enjoyed the day as much as anyone and it's one of the reasons, I think, why he continues to support our efforts.

Finally, I will NEVER forget the long walk along the promenade in the early hours of the morning. With the rain bouncing off the pavement and gale-force winds blowing us sideways, I eventually found my hotel, peeled off my sodden clothes and collapsed on the bed, still laughing.

Believe me, life doesn't get much better than that.

PS. The interview by Jasper Gerrard can be found HERE.

Forest event under threat

Back in February Brian Monteith and I visited The Secret Garden, a fantastic smoker-friendly location at Hawke and Hunter in the centre of Edinburgh. We liked it so much we vowed to come back and hire it for a Forest event. (I also wrote about it HERE.)

A few weeks ago we provisionally booked The Secret Garden for a drinks party to mark the publication of Brian's new book, The Bully State: The End of Tolerance. This week, when I was in Edinburgh, I had a meeting to finalise details - but I could tell immediately that something wasn't quite right.

Eventually, the truth came out. The Secret Garden is no longer the smokers' paradise we thought it was. This is what allegedly happened: a couple of weeks ago a local councillor was having a drink in The Secret Garden. He could have chosen the cocktail bar, or the whisky room or even the restaurant but, no, he chose the smoker-friendly Secret Garden. The three canvas awnings that provide shelter from wind and rain were pulled across and, shock, horror, people were actually smoking! As a result, he alerted the council's inspectors.

I am told that Hawke and Hunter have now received two visits from council officials and they have been informed that - unless the awnings are fully retracted so that customers are fully exposed to the elements - The Secret Garden constitutes an enclosed public space and smoking is not permitted.

To put this in perspective, even with the awnings fully extended no-one can be in any doubt that they are outside the building. (When I was there on Thursday it was quite windy; the wind was gusting in between the three sets of awnings and it was quite chilly.) Even with the awnings fully extended it is impossible to imagine that The Secret Garden could ever be a smoky environment because there are far too many places where the smoke can escape.

Unfortunately it seems that the proprietors have taken fright. (I don't blame them. Understandably, they don't want to be fined or lose their licence.) Given the weather at this time of year, the result is that The Secret Garden is effectively a no-smoking zone. Instead, a small smoking area has been created in the basement area at the front of the building. There are no tables or chairs, only two or three wooden beer barrels and a handful of ashtrays. A warm, comfortable outside area it ain't.

I am still waiting to hear if our event can go ahead. I am told that the proprietors are talking to the local council to clarify the situation but I fear the worst. Frankly, if guests cannot smoke in The Secret Garden (as they have been allowed to for ten months with no complaints from customers or staff) then our event is off - while we look for another venue.

Hunter and Hawke will lose a booking that could be worth £1000. As an upmarket bar restaurant they can afford to wave goodbye to our money. A great many pubs and clubs are not so lucky. Thanks to the fanaticism with which the smoking ban is being enforced - even in outside areas like The Secret Garden - more and more revenue will be lost to the hospitality industry.

As Brian says in his book: we are no longer living in a nanny state. We are being governed by a bully state that has lost all sense of proportion.

PS. Invitations to the book launch are on hold until we can confirm the venue. If you live in Edinburgh watch this space.

Holyrood's smoking conference

Yesterday's conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh was very different to our 'Politics and Prohibition' meeting in Bournemouth (no live music for a start).

Organised by Holyrood magazine, I wrote about it HERE in July. My fear then was that it was going to be hopelessly biased towards those who want further tobacco controls. In the event, possibly as a result of our concerns, the organisers did a pretty good job of representing all sides of the debate.

Anti-tobacco speakers included Shona Robison MSP, minister for public health; Sheila Duffy, chief executive of ASH Scotland; Dr Laurence Gruer OBE, director of public health science, NHS Health Scotland; and Eamonn Rossi, chief executive of the Office of Tobacco Control in Ireland.

On the other side, however, we had John Drummond of the Scottish Grocers Federation; David McLetchie MSP, former leader of the Scottish Conservatives; and Patrick Basham of the Democracy Institute.

The result was an event that was far more balanced than anyone could have expected. (Credit here to broadcaster Mark Stephens who was chairing the event.)

That's the positive spin on proceedings. The bad news is, on the eve of today's debate in the Scottish Parliament on the Tobacco & Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill, only three MSPs bothered to turn up. Exclude Robison and McLetchie, who were speaking, and the number of MSPs present can be counted on one finger.

Robison's performance was pathetic: she arrived, lectured the audience, answered three or four questions, and left. Like Duffy and Gruer before her, she was unable to provide any evidence that banning the display of tobacco will reduce youth smoking rates. (Scotland, we were repeatedly told, is a "pioneer" in tobacco control. Evidence, it seems, no longer matters.)

Why did this event take place so late in the legislative process? Politicians were not the only ones conspicuous by their absence. Journalists were too. Twelve months ago a conference like this could have helped shape the political agenda.

Truth is, for all the good intentions of the organisers, Holyrood's Smoking Conference was too little too late.

Update on Thursday, September 24, 2009 by Simon Clark

Having flown to Edinburgh from Bournemouth at the crack of dawn yesterday, I am flying back to Bournemouth tonight to collect my car which is sitting in a hotel car park (unless someone has 'borrowed' it - you know who you are). Fingers crossed, I should be home in Cambridgeshire by, oh, 2.00am.

Politics and prohibition

I think everyone enjoyed the Politics and Prohibition event in Bournemouth on Tuesday. Well, maybe not everyone, but I'll come back to that later. For the moment (I am currently in Edinburgh, rushing from one meeting to another), here's a picture from the discussion part of the event. More later.

You can also read about it on Dick Puddlecote's blog HERE. Charlotte Gore, one of the speakers, has helpfully published her speech on her own blog HERE.

UPDATE: Where was I? Oh yes, the title of the meeting, chaired by Mark Littlewood of Liberal Vision, was "Politics and Prohibition: how liberals can fight back against the nanny state".

The full line-up of speakers was Tom Clougherty, policy director of the Adam Smith Institute; Lib Dem blogger Charlotte Gore; Liverpool councillor Colin Eldridge; psychologist and Lib Dem councillor Belinda Brookes-Gordon; and me.

Tom said everything I wanted to say, but more eloquently; Charlotte bemoaned the “populist authoritarian nanny state tabloid agenda”; Belinda defended sex workers; and Colin … well, where do I start?

Colin explained why he supports the proposal to give films featuring actors smoking an ‘18’ certificate. Credit to him for speaking – and taking the brunt of the questions that followed – but his arguments were among the poorest I have ever heard on the subject.

On the bright side, he did say he would support separate smoking rooms. Go figure.

The Q&A session that followed was good-hearted and encouraging. Contrary to popular belief there are genuine liberals among rank and file Lib Dems and on Tuesday evening – and well into the night - they made their voices heard.

Thanks to Mark Littlewood and Liberal Vision for helping to make it happen.

Forest by the sea

I am currently in Bournemouth where we are co-hosting, with Liberal Vision, a fringe event at the Lib Dem conference.

At 6.15pm tonight we are holding a meeting that asks the question: "How should liberals fight back against the nanny state?" We have spent the morning distributing flyers (aka invitations) and I am currently back in my hotel writing my speech. Any suggestions warmly welcome - I will check the comments on my iPhone before I speak.

The event, at the Royal Exeter Hotel opposite the conference centre, will be chaired by Liberal Vision's Mark Littlewood. Other speakers include Charlotte Gore which is quite a coup because Charlotte is currently the no 1 Lib Dem blogger.

We've also got a Lib Dem councillor from Liverpool city council (which is controlled by the Lib Dems) which should be interesting. The Lib Dems in Liverpool led the charge towards a comprehensive smoking ban and Smokefree Liverpool now wants to give films that feature anyone smoking an '18' certificate. How liberal is that?

The 60-minute speaker meeting is followed by a 90-minute drinks party featuring free wine and beer and live music by a local jazz trio. They have also agreed to play directly outside the conference centre from 5.00-6.00pm to help drum up interest. (I am told they will be extremely visible.)

What Stuart Holmes, the resident anti-tobacco campaigner, will say is anyone's guess. Actually I know exactly what he will say/shout because we've already had a small run-in with him this morning. He really doesn't like us very much!

The party will help promote the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign which has been given such a boost following David Hockney's comments at the weekend. Hopefully a few liberals (and Lib Dems) will sign up too.

Up yours, Hockney tells Brown

The Politics Show (Yorkshire and Humberside only) will tomorrow feature interviews with Greg Knight MP, who is leading our campaign to amend the smoking ban, and David Hockney, a member of Forest's Supporters Council, who believes that smokers should still have the right to light up when they go for a drink.

Describing how the smoking ban has left people "frightened", Hockney says:

"This is England now, and Blair and Brown have done that and I loathe them for it. I mean, I'm not that interested in politics. I normally keep out ... Mrs Thatcher, Mr Major, they didn't interfere with my life but these do, these are really interfering with it."

A preview of the interview has been posted on The Politics Show website HERE. Worth watching if only for the magnificent moment when Hockney reveals what he would like to say to Gordon Brown, if he had the chance.

The accompanying hand gesture is self-explanatory!

Update on Sunday, September 20, 2009 by Simon Clark

The BBC website has the story HERE. BBC News Online is also asking "Should the smoking ban be relaxed?" Please comment HERE. (As of 4.40pm there are a total of 1186 comments, 492 have been published and moderation queue stands at 683!)

Update on Sunday, September 20, 2009 by Simon Clark

In addition to the longer report on the regional section of the programme, a shorter version of the Hockney interview was featured on the part of the programme that is broadcast nationally. Amusingly, both parts of the programme had deleted the bit in which Hockney said "Up yours" to Gordon Brown!!

Update on Sunday, September 20, 2009 by Simon Clark

The Mail has the story HERE, the Telegraph HERE.

Forest at the Lib Dem conference

Our event in Bournemouth next week, which we are co-hosting with Liberal Vision, has reached the ears of The Publican. "Forest," it reports, "are joint-hosting a panel discussion and party at the Liberal Democrat conference next week as part of a bid to amend the smoking ban. The debate, under the banner ‘Politics and Prohibition’ – will discuss the issue of how liberals should fight back against the nanny state.

The paper adds:

Speakers will include Forest director Simon Clark, Liberal Vision director Mark Littlewood and Liberal Democrat blogger Charlotte Gore at the event, also being organised by LibDem supporter group Liberal Vision and The Free Society.

Smokers are “welcome” according to the invite for the event taking place at Bar-so-Dome, the Royal Exeter Hotel, Bournemouth, on September 22.

The Save our Pubs and Clubs campaign was launched in June, backed by TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson. It aims to get the smoking ban amended when it is reviewed next year.

Story HERE.

In the unlikely event that you're in Bournemouth on Tuesday do drop in. You'll find us in Bar-so-Dome at the Royal Exeter Hotel (opposite the conference centre but outside the security zone so no pass required) from 6.15pm.

After the speaker meeting we're also co-hosting a drinks party with our traditional live music - a three-piece jazz trio.

Update on Friday, September 18, 2009 by Simon Clark

Not everyone welcomes our participation, it seems. Frank Little, Lib Dem councillor for Cadoxton, Neath, blogs: "It's not so much the title ("How should we fight the nanny state?") as the indication of the direction the event is to be steered. Co-sponsors are Forest, the pressure group which wants to rescind the ban on smoking in public places."

Responding to our invitation another Lib Dem councillor (and prospective parliamentary candidate) wrote: "Sorry I won’t be attending as I fully support the smoking ban. Please delete my details from your mailing list."

Oh well, at least he replied!

Update on Saturday, September 19, 2009 by Simon Clark

Another Lib Dem PPC has replied to our invitation:

I will be unable to attend this event as it clashes with other commitments.

As an asthmatic, the smoking ban came as a huge relief to me. I am one of those unfortunate people who is particularly sensitive to cigarette smoke. I have a hunch that this is due to the additives that cigarette manufacturers use - for example, I find smoke from cigars or high-quality rolling tobacco far less noxious than that from commercial cigarettes.

As a liberal, I believe in the basic principle that my freedom ends where it impinges on someone else's freedom. The freedom to smoke in enclosed public spaces impinges on other people's freedom to breathe clean air. Cigarette smoke is known to be harmful to health; refraining from smoking is not.

As a friend of mine wittily pointed out, "a smoking area in a restaurant is like a peeing area in a swimming pool." This is an issue on which I don't think we will ever agree.

"Smoking", it has been said, "is like voting Conservative. One can understand why our parents did it, but for people our age, there is no excuse." People are free to continue to vote Conservative in the privacy of the polling booth, and rightly so. Similarly, I don't mind if people continue to smoke - as long as they don't do it in front of me.

Save Our Pubs & Clubs - the next phase

On SunTalk Radio yesterday I was able to give a good plug to the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign. Shouting above the noise of the traffic (I was in Regent Street, making my way to Broadcasting House) I mentioned that we will be promoting the campaign at the three main party conferences over the next few weeks. (At this point Gaunt interjected and said that SunTalk would be going to Brighton and Manchester but not "that telephone box that calls itself the Lib Dem conference"!)

Anyway, the next phase of the campaign is to send thousands of flyers and posters to landlords who will be asked to distribute copies to customers and other publicans. MPs, MSPs and AMs will receive a flyer too.

The message is very simple: 52 pubs are closing every week ... to save our pubs and clubs ... amend the smoking ban.

We are unveiling the poster at the Labour conference in Brighton in a couple of weeks. Here's a sneak preview of the artwork as it will appear on an ad van that will patrol the road outside the conference centre and the main hotels.

Note: when we launch the poster you will be able to download it from the Forest and SOPAC websites. Watch this space.

Update on Thursday, September 17, 2009 by Simon Clark

Jon Gaunt has launched the SunTalk Campaign to Save the Great British Pub. Click HERE and comment. Hint: I suggest you emphasise the impact of the smoking ban. If this campaign gets going, the Sun itself might sit up and take notice.

Smoking outside: a danger to health?

New York City's health commissioner Dr Thomas Farley wants to ban smoking in city parks and beaches. Nothing new there. New York wouldn't be the first city to ban smoking outside and they won't be the last. According to the the New York Post, however, "The proposal ... seemed to catch Mayor Bloomberg off guard. On Monday night, the mayor, who has championed antismoking programs but also is running for re-election, issued a statement that did not disavow the proposal but appeared to qualify it, saying he wanted "to see if smoking in parks has a negative impact on people’s health". He added, "It may not be logistically possible to enforce a ban across thousands of acres, but there may be areas within parks where restricting smoking can protect health."

The story here is not that smoking may be banned in NY parks and beaches but that Bloomberg wants "to see if smoking in parks has a negative impact on people's health". How the hell are they going to do that? It could take years, generations perhaps. And even then you would need a control group that isn't exposed to any tobacco smoke or any other pollutant (car fumes, for example), and a second group that is exposed to tobacco smoke but in a realistic way.

If Bloomberg is as good as his word we can safely assume that New Yorkers will be smoking in parks and beaches for years to come. On the other hand, I am willing to bet that genuine medical evidence will be noticeable by its absence when the mayor announces - after the election - that lighting up in New Yorkn parks and beaches is a thing of the past.

The NY Post also quotes Cheryl Healton, president and chief executive of the American Legacy Foundation. Welcomg the proposal she said, "There is no redeeming value in smoking at beaches or parks. Anyone who has sat behind someone smoking a stogie [cigar] can tell you that."

Perhaps I'm missing something. Has Charyl Healton lost the use of her legs or is she just too lazy to get up and move? Alternatively, if she finds it that unpleasant, she could have a polite word and ask them to move, although it begs the question why she is sitting so close to someone in a large open space. Either way, we don't need yet another law to regulate our behaviour.

Full story HERE.

Update on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 by Simon Clark

I will be discussing this and other issues on SunTalk Radio this morning. I'm also on You and Yours (Radio 4) at 12.20, BBC Radio Humberside at 1.35, and LBC at 7.35 this evening.

Scotland: house fires up since smoking ban

The Scottish Daily Mail reports that "The number of people killed in house fires caused by smokers has risen dramatically since smoking was banned in public places. New figures show that 20 Scots died in accidental house fires started by smoking materials such as rogue cigarettes and lighted matches in 2007, double the toll for the previous year. That accounts for half of all accidental house fire deaths in Scotland, which rose from 35 to 40 over the same period."

The report continues:

"The grim rise bears out fears that more people are now drinking at home due to the smoking ban implemented in March 2006 and recent moves to end cheap alcohol offers in pubs and bars. The ban was hailed as a step forward for health but at the time critics warned it would lead to an increase in house fires as well as costing jobs and infringing human rights."

The Mail rang me yesterday for a comment. They have quoted me as follows:

"I am saddened but not surprised at these figures – they show the law of unintended consequences that always accompany such prohibitions. We have always argued that the safest place to smoke tobacco is a well-ventilated bar or restaurant and that instituting a complete ban would inevitably cause problems.

"We would hope that MSPs would review the ban in light of these deaths. However, it is more likely that the health fanatics will use this as anexcuse to crack down on smoking in the home. That would be almost impossible to enforce and amount to a gross infringement of civil liberties."

It would be interesting to know what the figures are for England and Wales where the population is ten times the size.

Welcome to the 'Smokefree Generation'

Do you remember this advertisement? It's part of a "powerful new Department of Health campaign aimed at getting loved ones to stop smoking". The campaign "features real children, not actors, talking about how concerned they are about their parents’ smoking".

Here's an example of how it works.

Molly from Hammersmith in London said:

“Hi mum, I know you’re watching Coronation Street. I don’t want you to smoke because I don’t want you to go through what your mum went through. Because it will just make me really, really sad and because I don’t want you to die. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Voiceover: Your smoking affects your loved ones more than you think. For help quitting, call 0800 121 6383 or visit nhs.uk/smokefree

According to a press release issued today by the DH:

A new ‘Smokefree Generation’ of children say that they will never try a cigarette, think that smoking is really uncool and are increasingly worried about the health of smoking parents according to new research conducted on behalf of NHS Stop Smoking Services.

Other "key findings" include:

• Almost all (96%) children with a smoking parent wish that they would quit.
• Nine out of 10 children surveyed have never tried a cigarette, with 91% of these believing that they will never try one.
• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of children whose parents smoke would rather their parents quit smoking than give them more pocket money.
• More than 9 out of 10 children think that older people who smoke don’t look cool.
• One in 4 children (27%) believe that smoking could be extinct by 2030.

The DH reports that "This emerging picture of the first ‘Smokefree Generation’ is backed up by the latest Information Centre statistics on tobacco which show that regular smoking among 11 to 15 year olds has halved since its peak in the mid 1990s."

I'll leave you to comment.