I am grateful to every journalist, writer, and podcaster who has criticised and even poured scorn on Rishi Sunak's plan to ban the sale of cigarettes to future generations.
From The Spectator to the Telegraph via CapX and Spiked, the more liberal political commentariat has been in fine voice.
The best article, in my opinion, was Melanie McDonagh's brutal evisceration of Sunak in The Spectator (There’s nothing conservative about Sunak’s smoking ban) in which she described the PM as a 'Californian banker ... with no obvious tastes or habits that mark him out as a Tory'.
I suspect though that most commentators will quickly move on and their well-honed articles will, in the words of Bob Mortimer, soon be distant memories, like "fingerprints on an abandoned handrail".
As for podcasts, where do I start? The overwhelming majority are even more ephemeral, leaving almost no trace of their existence.
Last Orders, a Spiked podcast, is better than most but the choice of guests invited to discuss the nanny state has often left me perplexed and even a little miffed because after 70+ episodes, many of which have featured discussions about smoking, I have not once been asked to take part.
(I'm not sure why. No-one will give me an answer.)
Anyway, following Forest's hugely topical event at the Conservative conference in Manchester on Monday, I was momentarily led to believe that might be about to change.
But no. This week's guest to discuss smoking was journalist and former MEP Patrick O'Flynn who, to the best of my knowledge, has rarely if ever written or talked about the subject.
So what did he have to say?
Recorded on Tuesday, the day before Sunak's speech when it was already clear to everyone at conference that the PM was about to announce an incremental ban on the sale of cigarettes to future generations, Patrick declared:
"I would be surprised if Sunak goes ahead with this sort of ratchet mechanism because … the war on cigarettes has kind of been won.”
He later doubled down:
“I would be very surprised if this ultra hardline ratchet cigarette ban comes in because it does seem to me full of ludicrous problems.”
Admitting he had never smoked or vaped, he also confessed, "I can't say I have massively strong skin in the game".
Full marks for honesty but it begs the question: why was Patrick invited – in this of all weeks – to share his thoughts on a subject he clearly doesn't feel strongly about?
In my view, speaking as a campaigner rather than a commentator, this is no time for cosy, fireside chats.
Nor is it time to throw in the towel, as Last Orders presenter (and Spiked editor) Tom Slater effectively did here:
Rishi Sunak’s cigarette ban marks the final, depressing triumph of the nags and the killjoys ... England will never be the same.
Yes, the situation is grim and will almost certainly get worse as alcohol and 'unhealthy' food are targeted like tobacco, but dreary defeatism won't help and some of us have no intention of giving up without a fight.
Our ability to mount a counter-offensive will ultimately depend on the resources available to us but, whatever they are, this is a time for action, not light-hearted conversations about serious issues that are forgotten within minutes.
Put simply, fine words and podcasts butter no parsnips. Are you with me?
Update: Another great piece by Melanie McDonagh, in the Telegraph this time - Smoking David Hockney is a truer conservative than killjoy Rishi Sunak.