I was very sorry to read, late last night, that Andy Morrison has died. I had no idea he was ill, so it was a bit of a shock.
Andy, I should explain, is reasonably well known in vaping circles. He quit smoking, switched to vaping, and became a keen advocate of e-cigarettes, always willing to offer help and advice, but without being preachy.
I can’t remember when our paths first crossed, but in September 2015 we both gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee alongside Sheila Duffy (ASH Scotland) and Linda Bauld (Cancer Research UK).
Andy was representing the New Nicotine Alliance and a year later I met him again when he organised the UK premiere of A Billion Lives, the documentary produced by Milwaukee filmmaker Aaron Biebert.
Writing on this blog, I noted that:
The screening took place at the Odeon in Braehead, Glasgow. There were 40 or so people in the auditorium and I was one of them.
It was a far cry from the Hollywood premiere that took place a few hours later, or the New York City screening (with Q&A!) hosted by Jeff Stier, senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington, but credit to organiser Andy Morrison for pulling it off.
What I admired was the fact that, while other vaping activists in the UK dithered and sat on their hands, Andy went ahead and organised the event.
Others can talk about the work he did to promote vaping, but I quickly discovered he had a stubborn, mischievous side.
In 2017, for example, ahead of the annual E-Cigarette Summit (which I had been critical of for not inviting many consumers to speak), he messaged me as follows:
How u doing Simon. Fancy going to the summit and causing some disturbance? I intend to go.
Tempting though it was, I replied:
I'm definitely thinking about going but wasn't planning to cause a disturbance! What did you have in mind?
[Andy] What I have in mind is to demand an explanation of why an 'ecig' summit has only one vaper on one panel. It's utterly repugnant to me that this is being turned into a .... Oh I don't know what to call it .... forum for those who think they know all about ecigs .... nothing about us without us would be my stance.
[Me] I agree something needs to be said and I'm happy to advise but I think it would be counter-productive to have me alongside you because this has to come from the vaping community not the 'tobacco lobby'. How many vapers are going? At the first Summit in 2013 there were lots of vapers. There seem to be fewer and fewer each year. It would help if there was a small group of you.
[Andy] I agree - I've been to the last 3. And it's getting less and less vapers attending. I don't think there will be many there this time round at all. Whilst I understand your concerns, and by the same token, I often shy away from siding with you for obvious reasons, between me and you, where I can find common ground with you, I will support you. I'm happy to go there and make a point. I don't care who I upset in the process. I think this point has to be made and am happy to go out of my way to make it. It's a twat of a journey to make just to attend, but if I'm gonna go, then I will be heard.
If I remember he did go and as a result of his persistence he was eventually included on one of the panels.
Three years ago I invited him to take part in a Forest webinar that featured a panel of consumers including Mark Littlewood, then director general of Institute of Economic Affairs; Henry Hill, news editor, Conservative Home; visual artist Anita Chowdry; website content manager Emily Wieja; and Pat Nurse of this parish.
Prior to the event he sent me the following biographical notes to edit and use in my introduction:
Ex Royal Air Force, now a self-employed IT specialist living in Scotland. Was a pack-a-day smoker for 40 years and of the mindset that nobody would ever get me to stop smoking. Accidentally switched to vaping in December 2011 and never looked back. On hearing about possible impending bans and listening to some of the junk science which seemed to be fuelling the proposed regulations, decided that it was time to try to do something about it. Assisted with various studies in central Scotland surrounding vaping. Currently involved in getting free e-cigs out to those that need them and helping people make the switch. Former trustee and now an active associate of the NNA UK.
I subsequently wrote about the webinar - Consumer voices unleashed! - quoting him as follows:
“Vaping for me is more pleasurable [than smoking] because of all the different flavours you can have.
“A lot of people do slip back in to smoking because they don't understand how to combat the side effects [of vaping] but health wise I've never felt better.
“If anyone expresses an interest [in vaping] and want to carry it forward I'll help them but I'm not into coercion at all ... It's each to their own as far as I'm concerned.”
After the webinar, in July 2021, he emailed to say:
What a thoroughly enjoyable event with some terrific panellists – It was a pleasure to be part of it all. Should you need me in future, please don’t hesitate to give me a shout.
Our shared interest however wasn’t smoking, vaping, or even nicotine - it was football, because we both supported Scottish football clubs.
Andy supported Greenock Morton, while I follow Dundee United, and in the 2017/18 season, following United’s relegation, our teams found themselves in the same division.
Furthermore, we were both at Tannadice on January 27, 2018, when Morton beat United 3-0, which was arguably the worst performance I had seen from a United team in 50 years.
After the match Andy and his mates celebrated with a curry at the Tayview Indian restaurant, which he told me was his favourite Indian restaurant in Dundee.
When United were finally promoted after four seasons in the second tier, he wrote:
Good luck to the Tangerines for the upcoming season. I doubt our paths will cross unless it’s in one of the cups. If that happens, perhaps we could hook up for a couple of jars.
It was a typically generous comment but he was right. In recent years, and in the absence of any cup matches, our paths didn’t cross and that was the last time I heard from him.
RIP, Andy, and sincere condolences to family and friends.
Below: Andy taking part in a Forest webinar in 2021. An ex-RAF man, he chose his own background image but there were some technical issues. In the words of the late John Mallon (Forest’s equally plain speaking man in Ireland who took the screen shot), “His green screen is shite”. Knowing John, and to a lesser extent Andy, I would like to think they are now having a couple of jars together.
PS. I discovered last night that ‘ardent fan’ Andy Morrison was once banned from Cappielow (Morton’s home ground) for allegedly starting a rumour that Morton were to merge with their local rivals St Mirren!
According to reports, Andy denied the allegation and vowed to fight the ‘shock lifetime ban’, telling the local newspaper:
“Basically [chairman] Hugh Scott told us to stop attacking the club. There were a few disagreements but I think the situation is resolvable. It’s a step forward.”
To put this in perspective, Scott was a hugely controversial chairman from 1997 to the early Noughties and Andy wasn’t alone in criticising the running of the club at that time.
Typically, though, he wasn’t deterred by the ‘lifetime’ ban imposed on him. “I will be back for the next home game, come what may,” he told one journalist. And indeed he was.
