Something to declare? Every little helps
Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 17:48 
When I mentioned the Forest Christmas card a couple of weeks ago I could almost hear the snorts of derision.
Typical Forest, one anonymous critic seemed to be saying. You should be on the streets, leading the revolution, not pussy-footing around with seasonal greetings. Call yourselves activists!
Truth is, our job is to use every avenue of communication with politicians, broadcasters, journalists and potential supporters.
Believe me, I don't enjoy signing 600 cards (a bottle of Rioja and a plate of mince pies helps) but a well-designed card can be a valuable PR tool, especially if it features a message relevant to the campaign.
Take, for example, the image above. It was designed for Forest by Dan Donovan for illustrative purposes only, but if anyone would like to use it I'm sure we could come to some arrangement ...
Below: the official 2011 Forest Christmas card, also by Dan Donovan. It features contact details for both Forest and the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign plus the following message: 'On behalf of Britain's 12 million adult smokers we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Please support our campaign for a more liberal, tolerant and courteous society that puts education ahead of legislation and defends those who choose to consume a legal product'.
Reader Comments (11)
Love it - love both. Have you any to share or to sell? It might be too late for this Xmas but I'd gladly buy some to distribute next Xmas because I am sure things for smokers can only get worse before then.
Sorry, Pat, we don't have any to spare. We'll bear your suggestion in mind for next year, though, and we'll make them available from October.
That wouldn't be two-fingers that Santa's raising, would it? :>
I couldn't possibly comment.
I like the idea of the planet Saturn in the background saying smokers welcome...it's basically saying that its the only place we will be able to smoke soon. Well, at least until the antis pay a visit.
Like it!
Are smokers down to just 12 million now? I thought it was closer to 20million.
How are the number of smokers arrived at?
Thanks Simon. It could be a good annual fund-raiser for Forest too, perhaps.
'Are smokers down to just 12 million now? I thought it was closer to 20million'
They maintain that the smoking population is 20%, therefore population being 60million, 12 million. BUT, Eurostats put it at 28% in UK and on D. Atherton's site he wrote about a Sainbury's finance research (for Life ins. purposes) that concluded a further 8% smoked but didn't admit it.
Therefore 28% + 8% = 35%. In my own experience, I feel it to be much higher.
I don't know how they measure it. Too many don't buy traditionally in UK shops anymore, few tell their GPs that they smoke. So how do they measure the number of smokers?
Thanks Frank, but who are 'they'?
I just feel that we smokers, at least, need to do our best to get as accurate a figure as possible on this. All I see is the number apparently reducing, significantly, in various forms of media and on blogs, which is disturbing as it gives the likes of ASH and their trolls the idea that they are actually winning the battle to stop smoking altoghether!
Like you, Pat, I have no idea how the numbers are actually arrived at or by whom and accept that there are those who will not admit to smoking, but even with that factured in, I feel the number should be far greater than 12 million, and closer to the numbers that Frank mentions above.
Ah! I'm drinking too much. 28%+8%=36%, not 35% (and here am I telling my kids about the dumbed down education they receive!) Based on my own experience - of people cadging off me - I feel it to be much higher.