Small victories

We returned on Sunday from our seven-night cruise to Lisbon.

Our ship, Cunard’s Queen Anne, docked at Southampton early in the morning and after a quick breakfast we disembarked and were home in Cambridgeshire before eleven.

(That’s the advantage of sailing from Southampton. Unlike flying, with its tiresome airports and endless queues, you can be on and off a ship quite quickly, and with valet parking you can drive right up to the terminal.)

I would write more about the Queen Anne, the latest addition to Cunard’s fleet of (four) ships, but there’s no time at present.

Yesterday, after collecting our dog Roly from kennels, I had to catch a train to London to attend a tobacco-related lunch at the House of Lords.

The timing of the event was perfect because rumours were flying around that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill was to be published today (Tuesday).

Those rumours proved to be true, but more on that later.

First, I had to leave the lunch early because I was booked to do an interview for BBC Spotlight, the local news programme that covers the south west including Devon and Cornwall.

As it happens, I agreed to do the interview via Zoom three weeks ago, but when the producer heard I was going to be in London we arranged to do it at the Millbank studios that are just across the road from the Houses of Parliament.

In the event we did it outside in Victoria Tower Gardens, which is opposite Millbank and directly adjacent to the House of Lords.

The original reason for the interview was a report suggesting that Totteridge, a deprived area in Devon, has a higher than average rate of smoking, and I was asked for my thoughts on that.

However, with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill about to be published, I was asked about that too.

I then caught a train back to Cambridgeshire but when I got home I discovered there was an issue with Roly and I had to take him to the vet.

I won’t go into details but because it was after hours it required a visit to an emergency vet.

As I write he is currently on the sofa looking a bit sorry for himself but hopefully it’s nothing too serious.

Anyway, it’s six in the morning and I have woken up to find that the Government is indeed publishing the Tobacco and Vapes Bill today.

The good news, confirming recent reports, is that a ban on smoking outside hospitality venues will NOT be included in the Bill.

Instead the smoking ban will be extended to places where children are present - outside schools and playgrounds - but also hospitals, something Forest has fought against for many years.

The Bill however is arguably worse for vapers because the Government wants to have a discussion about banning vaping in certain public places.

In truth, while I oppose vaping bans, I have no sympathy for the many vapers (and vaping advocates) who sat on their hands and said nothing when it was announced that the Government wanted to ban smoking outside pubs.

The threat of public vaping bans is the inevitable ‘reward’ for their silence.

Anyway, you might think Forest would be inundated with requests for interviews or comment but that’s not happened.

Instead the ‘story’ is a complete stitch-up. The Government press release - embargoed no doubt until midnight last night - has been reported widely but with almost no comments opposing the Bill.

To date I’ve seen one quote by UKHospitality’s Kate Nicholls and that’s it.

Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, is as prominent as ever, writing in The Times that children have to be “protected” from tobacco smoke, even outside.

Since I’ve yet to see any evidence of harm to non-smokers (including children) from exposure to tobacco smoke in the open air, it is truly staggering that anyone can make this claim and get away with it without some push back, but that’s where we are and few people want to challenge it.

ASH is also prominent in today’s reports but that’s to be expected. Not only are they quoted in the Government press release, they were described recently as one of the Government’s ‘partners’ (I kid you not).

I know that ASH and the Department of Health have enjoyed a close relationship for many years, but ‘partners’? That’s quite an admission.

Anyway, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will now proceed through Parliament and given the Government’s huge majority there is nothing that can derail it.

Amendments may be tabled - raising the age of sale of tobacco to 21 instead of a generational ban, for example - but the chances of the Bill being watered down are small to non-existent.

Nevertheless, let’s enjoy the fact that plans for a ban on smoking outside pubs have not been included in the Bill. That’s a small victory at least, although I doubt it’s the last we’ve heard of it.

The omission of a tobacco levy in last week’s Budget was another little victory, so although the outlook for smokers under this Government is bleak the anti-smoking lobby hasn’t got everything it wants … for now.