The Worshipful Company of Tobacco Pipe Makers & Tobacco Blenders was founded in 1619.
Dissolved twice and re-formed in 1954, the Company is associated with "all aspects of the UK tobacco trade, including leaf growers, merchants and blenders; tobacco and paper manufacturers; pipe makers; snuff blenders; cigar importers and retail tobacconists."
To highlight its work and activities it publishes a quarterly newsletter, Smoke Signals, and I'm pleased to say the latest issue features an article about Forest.
Here's a taste:
Simon believes Forest may be unique in the world, and puts its staying power down to being professionally run. “Other smokers’ groups have come and gone,” he says. “A similar group in the USA found it hard to achieve a significant presence in the media
"Smokepeace, a loose association of smokers’ rights groups in Europe, most of them run by volunteers, ultimately collapsed. Our professional staff enable us to sustain fast responses, professional media visibility, and our 38-year history gives us credibility.”
And Forest is now spreading its wings further. It has launched a chapter in Brussels, Forest EU, to give smokers a voice in the European Union and to put consumers at the heart of the EU legislative debate.
Guillaume Périgois, Director of Forest EU, says it will arm consumers with information and resources for engaging with politicians and regulators. Like Forest in the UK, the EU chapter acknowledges the health risks, but says:
“If adults choose to smoke that’s a matter for them and no-one else. It is not a public health issue; it’s a private health issue. We need a liberal and pragmatic approach to tobacco that puts empathy above dogma and takes account of the views of ordinary citizens.”
You can read the full article here.