Whenever I'm in Ireland I choose my words very carefully.
A decade or so ago I was persuaded (wrongly, as it happens) not to set up a branch of Forest in Ireland because "the Irish won't take kindly to being told what to do by the English".
That was never my intention. I've lived in Scotland, for heaven's sake. I'm not completely stupid.
We eventually launched Forest Eireann in 2010 and spokesman John Mallon has just finished his second media tour of the country.
I met John in Dublin on Tuesday and, as ever, I kept my opinions about the Irish Government to myself, even when health minister James Reilly announced that the Cabinet had agreed to draft legislation to introduce plain packaging.
I helped write a press release but I sat back while John talked to the media and I maintained a similar diplomatic silence when I met a handful of Irish libertarians in a pre-arranged meeting on Tuesday night.
They probably represented the entire libertarian movement in Ireland so I didn't want to offend even one of them by berating their government, especially as they were more than capable of doing that themselves.
In short, I treat my Irish contacts the same way I treat my in-laws. I would no more criticise the Irish government in front of an Irishman than I would speak ill of my mother-in-law in front of my wife. (For the record, I get on very well with my mother-in-law but you get the point!)
Anyway, having spoken to a number of people in Dublin this week, there is general agreement on the following points:
Another, important, point is this:
James Reilly made a big issue this week of the 'fact' that both his brother and his father had suffered from smoking-related illnesses:
Dr Reilly said he had been touched personally by suffering caused by smoking after his brother died of lung cancer and his father went blind following a stroke.
See: James Reilly reveals father and brother died from smoking illness (Irish Independent)
His brother's story was already known. I understand he was a doctor who died aged 46. An intelligent and educated man, he must have known about the health risks of smoking yet still chose to smoke. Why should his death, tragic though it was for his family, be used to de-normalise others who choose to smoke? Is that what he would have wanted?
The story about his father was news to people I spoke to this week. I understand that Reilly's father - also a doctor - had been blind for ten years following a stroke. According to the health minister this was the result of smoking.
Now, while I have enormous sympathy for anyone who has suffered such a loss, I would seriously question whether it is right that a politician with so much emotional interest in a product is personally responsible for legislation that will directly affect that product.
In many board meetings, anyone with such a close personal interest in a subject would be asked to leave the meeting while the matter was discussed by colleagues who could arguably offer a more objective assessment.
Understandably, perhaps, James Reilly has an emotional commitment to reducing smoking rates in Ireland.
That does not make him the best person to drive legislation through parliament. It could make him the worst because – it could be argued – his judgement may be clouded.
It's not for me to tell the Irish Government what to do but the more I read Reilly's comments the more I think he should either hand responsibility for tobacco-related legislation to a colleague, or he should resign as health minister and continue what appears to be a crusade against smoking from the backbenches.