There was a bizarre exchange on Twitter last night.
I wouldn't normally draw attention to it but it followed a comment I gave to the Scotsman for a report about e-cigarettes (see previous post) which I then promoted via Twitter.
Dick Puddlecote, generous person that he is, retweeted my tweet then tweeted:
Re last tweet, yet again @s_clark14 defending #ecigs as matter of principle - deserves a huge pat on the back and supportive RT
Well, after my recent travels I was tired and had an early night so I had no idea how incendiary our tweets were going to be.
This morning, on the train to London, I caught up. It wasn't pretty.
One vaper had tweeted:
Forest are a spectacular failure - join ecigs on Bandwagons R Us!!!
As I mentioned last week, my first post about e-cigarettes was in January 2010 and I have written or been interviewed about them many times since so we can hardly be accused of jumping on the e-cig bandwagon. And we've always tried to be supportive.
Another tweeted:
Simon is a brilliant advocate, but sometimes overplays vapers being anti-smoker.
Both statements are of course true!
What rankles however is not "vapers being anti-smoker" (although some are), it's the fact that very few speak out on issues such as plain packaging or smoking in cars.
We know this because we monitor Twitter and other social media and we know exactly what vapers are commenting on.
The same person then tweeted:
Playing the false 'victim' of vaper attitude just won't wash
Eh?!
Another vaper complained that I had failed to retract or apologise for something I had written in a post entitled The E-Cig Summit – another view in November.
One or two were clearly spoiling for a fight.
If Simon has a dig at vapers it could backfire on him bigtime! Like poking a wasps nest.
Latest blog defends e-cigs but digs at vapers. Thin ice.
Then:
If @s_clark14 wants to create the idea of a false conflict of vapers on to smokers then he might just get a real one. #thinkcarefully
Could backfire? Thin ice? Think carefully?
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what you get when you speak to a journalist in defence of e-cigarettes and then mention, in the mildest possible way, that it would be nice if vapers demonstrated the same level of support for smokers.
Meanwhile I formally declare that Forest is the voice and friend of the vaper, on both sides of the Irish Sea.
This morning Irish Rail announced that e-cigarettes are to be banned on all its trains and stations.
John Mallon, our man in Ireland, was immediately invited to take part in a discussion on Cork96FM and as I write he is on the Niall Boylan Show on Classic 4FM in Dublin.
Sorry if this offends vapers who believe that Forest has no business defending e-cigarettes ("The problem is this associates vaping with smoking in the public mind," wrote one) but I look at it this way.
A lot of our supporters use e-cigarettes either to reduce their consumption of tobacco or as an alternative to smoking in places where it is banned.
When we talk to the media about e-cigs we are representing them not the evangelical, born again vapers who appear desperate to denounce the habit they once embraced.
Forest will continue to support vaping (and vapers). But we will also speak out when we feel smokers are not getting the support they deserve.
In the meantime I urge vapers to show their support for Forest by following us on Twitter, joining the Friends of Forest Facebook group, or registering your contact details online.
H/T Dick Puddlecote for defending Forest while I was asleep! That's the kind of support you can't buy. Priceless and much appreciated.