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Monday
Nov112019

Going Dutch

I’m in Amsterdam this week, attending TabExpo 2019 which starts tomorrow.

TabExpo is a trade exhibition held every four years. The last one took place at the ExCel in London. Previous locations have included Barcelona, Paris and Prague.

Part of TabExpo is the Congress. It’s like a mini conference within the main event. In 2015 I was a speaker. This time I’m the MC, which is a new challenge for me.

Topics include next generation products, the future of combustibles, harm reduction, the future of leaf, and much more. There will be a mixture of speeches and panel discussions.

My role is to begin each day’s programme with a ten-minute ‘overview’, then introduce each session (and the speakers), before ending with some closing remarks.

When I spoke at the ExCel in 2015 we were tucked away in a large room on a different floor some way from the main exhibition hall. I followed a speaker whose specialist subject was smoking on board the great ocean liners, the original Queen Mary in particular.

Why the subject was included in the programme I don’t really know but I enjoy social history so I found it quite interesting. Unfortunately, when he finished we were well behind schedule and the audience had dwindled to single figures - and didn’t get any better for my presentation.

This time the TabExpo Congress is taking place within the exhibition hall at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, which should help boost numbers.

Intriguingly, part of Thursday’s programme has been curated by the Foundation for a Smoke Free World, so that should be interesting. I’ll keep you posted.

Monday
Nov042019

Problem lifestyles and the ‘new norm’

I enjoyed the Battle of Ideas at the weekend.

I was only there for one day - Saturday - but the atmosphere was as lively and good natured as ever.

It shows that serious and sometimes controversial issues can be discussed without rancour, although that may be something to do with the choice of speakers and panels that are rarely completely polarised. Instead the organisers look for nuance which can be a bit unsettling for those who like debates to be black and white.

The audiences are happy to embrace the motto of the event (‘free speech allowed’) but I’m not sure how often this is genuinely put to the test. Few if any speakers ever really push the boundaries so it’s difficult to know how people would react if they did.

This year I was asked to take part in a session that asked the question, ‘How can we deal with problem lifestyles?’, to which the organisers added, ‘Whose responsibility is it to deal with people who smoke, drink or eat 'too much'?’ and ‘Should the state step in?’

My fellow panellists were Dolly Theis who chairs the Big Tent Ideas Festival and previously worked for the Centre for Social Justice, psychiatrist Dr Frankie Anderson (above), and Dan Enachescu, head of public policy for Diageo in Europe.

Dolly and I were probably the furthest apart in outlook but it was all very civilised and the format of the meeting - which was supposed to be a conversation with the audience - didn’t really lend itself to picking fights with other members of the panel.

Instead, after we were each given five or six minutes to make our initial case, the rest of the time was mostly spent responding to points from the audience.

In hindsight I regret not challenging Dolly’s advocacy of what she called the “new norm” of healthy living because it sounded a bit Orwellian to me. Nor was I alone because after the meeting Forest supporter Liz Barber told me she was “fizzing” at some of Dolly’s comments while another attendee (also a smoker) described them as “patronising”.

The irony is that Dolly and others like her don’t see themselves as apologists for the nanny state. Far from it. In fact, the screensaver on her mobile phone actually features a picture of classical liberal philosopher John Stuart Mill. (Naturally, I failed to recognise the great man when she showed it to me.)

Anyway, the Independent yesterday published an article that, had it appeared 24 hours earlier, would have been worth mentioning in the meeting. Headlined ‘Alcohol consumption will soon follow smoking and meat-eating in becoming a social evil’, it argued that ‘The number of units people drink is declining and consuming less may soon become a badge of honour in the same way not smoking or not eating meat have become.’

Badge of honour? Social evil? I think the writer, Tola Fisher, is jumping the gun a bit but the direction of travel is clear to see and it is being driven by a vast public health industry that wants to create, in Dolly Theis’s words, a “new norm”.

In this brave new world smoking will be eradicated, alcohol consumption will be reduced to a minimum, and we will eat not for pleasure but to live as long as we can, never mind that in our grand old age most of us won’t have the money to enjoy it. Plus, as we live longer the chances of getting some form of cancer - regardless of our lifestyle - will inevitably increase.

What is equally clear is that the definition of ‘problem lifestyle’ is shifting rapidly. I don’t know about you but for me examples include being regularly off your face on drink or drugs with children in the house. Or, thanks to your behaviour and the people you associate with, your family are witnessing high levels of violence and the police are knocking on your door every other week.

Now that’s a problem lifestyle.

Few would dispute that being an alcoholic, smoking 100 cigarettes a day (as Allen Carr did) or being life-threateningly obese also qualify as problem lifestyles, but the rules are changing so fast that today, if you smoke a handful of cigarettes a day, drink more than the recommended number of units of alcohol per week, or eat ‘too much’ meat (and too many calories), you too are in danger of being added to the list.

We know what Tobacco Control’s agenda is and we know what their strategy and tactics are going to be because every few years they publish a new blueprint for a ‘smoke free’ future. Increasingly however there is an insatiable drive to create not just a “new norm” for smoking but for eating and drinking as well.

Alarmingly it’s being coordinated by middle class meddlers whose future vision eliminates not just risk but personal responsibility and pleasure as well.

Friday
Nov012019

Death of another civilised, smoker-friendly nation

As of today, Austria is the latest country to ban smoking in restaurants, cafes and bars.

The writing has been on the wall since the country’s coalition government fell apart earlier this year in the wake of a scandal involving a senior member of the far right Freedom Party.

Ironically, and somewhat uncomfortably for those of us of a more moderate political persuasion, it was the Freedom Party that had averted an impending smoking ban when it went into a coalition with the centre right People’s Party in December 2017.

However, the collapse of the coalition in May this year led to parliament reintroducing the ban and setting November 1 as the implementation date.

Although an election last month failed to give the People’s Party the majority it wanted, the Freedom Party share of the vote fell from 26 per cent to 16 per cent, putting it in third place, with little hope of sharing power.

On a personal level I’m sad that Austria has succumbed to the anti-smoking hysteria. In 2011 I visited Vienna and was hugely impressed by the coffee houses and restaurants that allowed patrons to smoke even while they were eating.

I remember in particular a superlative breakfast at the famous Cafe Landtmann with smokers on either side of me puffing away. As I wrote at the time:

We were sitting in what appeared to be the largest indoor area and as far I could tell there was an ashtray at every table allowing customers to eat, drink and smoke at the same time. A more civilised way to start the day I cannot imagine.

I genuinely meant that. I know smoking in restaurants is now frowned upon, even by many smokers, but there was something wonderfully liberating about sitting in this historic coffee house with its high ceilings and beautiful decor with people lighting up around me.

Cafe Landtmann’s claim to be an ‘open and vibrant hub of hospitality’ was no idle boast. It really felt like everyone was welcome because customers who wanted to eat and drink in a smoke free environment had the choice of a big no-smoking area too. Everyone, it seemed, had a choice.

And that appeared to be true throughout the city. For every establishment that allowed smoking there was a non-smoking bar or restaurant for those who didn’t want to be exposed to tobacco smoke.

Sadly, and despite the smoking ban being revoked in 2018, I realised things had changed for good when I checked the Cafe Landtmann website last year and discovered that the owners had unilaterally banned smoking indoors anyway.

A subsequent email from Forest to the proprietors asking them ‘to accommodate smokers inside the building so we can continue to recommend you as somewhere smokers (and non-smokers) should visit to get a true taste of Viennese hospitality and tolerance!’ was, inevitably, ignored.

The reason for Cafe Landtmann’s no smoking policy, introduced even when they didn’t have to, is not hard to guess - tourists. According to one report:

The coalition had thrown out an impending ban on smoking in bars and restaurants passed under the previous centrist government. The decision infuriated health campaigners and extended the bemusement of many tourists who expect nights out in picturesque Austria to be largely smoke-free.

And there you have it, one of many reasons why the world’s leading cities are increasingly becoming homogenised. Tourists (Americans in particular but other nationalities too) no longer want to be exposed to local culture. They want and expect the same environment they experience at home.

This is cultural colonialism but few politicians or proprietors object for fear of losing the tourists’ dollar. Meanwhile the locals just have to grin and bear it.

To be clear, long before today’s smoking ban smokers and non-smokers had a choice. Today that choice has been eradicated and in my view Austria is a poorer country for it. Much as I liked Vienna, there is now far less reason to go there.

But at least those non-smoking, health fascist tourists will be happy. Hallelujah!

Update: I have just remembered that in May 2008 Joe Jackson wrote a two-part 'Guide to Smoking in Europe' for our old Free Society website.

The site is no longer online but the articles were archived and here is what Joe had to say about Austria:

Austria is still a smoker's paradise. In Vienna - one of the world's most beautiful and civilised cities - you can smoke everywhere, and there are wonderfully inviting tobacconists on practically every corner, too. We went to a lively pub/restaurant which brewed its own excellent beer, and although more than half the customers were smoking (cigars and pipes, too) the ventilation was good enough that the air wasn't smoky at all. My bassist, who doesn't like smoke, was amazed, but I can hardly blame him. One of the many facts persistently buried by the antis is that it really isn't difficult, with existing technology, to make tobacco smoke in the air barely noticeable.

Antismokers don't talk much about Austria since, like Greece and Japan, it's a very heavy-smoking nation which is also very healthy and long-lived. It's also a nation where antismoking hysteria isn't really catching on. That doesn't mean a smoking ban can't happen, however. Ultimately, Austrian citizens, and even elected politicians, may well have no more choice in the matter than the Irish or Italians.

Sadly, he was right.

Tuesday
Oct292019

Battle of Ideas: 100+ debates, 450+ speakers and one painful memory

I shall be at the Battle of Ideas on Saturday. If any readers are going do say hello.

Thankfully, the session I am speaking in (‘How can we deal with problem lifestyles?) is in the afternoon and doesn’t clash with the Rugby World Cup final which kicks off at 9.00am, UK time, 30 minutes before the BoI welcome address. (Who would be an event organiser?)

I’ll write about the issue of problem lifestyles after the event, when I’ve heard what the other speakers have to say. I’m conscious however that the first thing that needs to be addressed is the term ‘problem lifestyle’ because it strikes me as being a bit subjective.

Meanwhile it’s worth noting that the Battle of Ideas is now in its fifteenth year, which is some achievement.

I spoke at the first one, in 2004, but I can’t remember what about. (It was probably something to do with the impending smoking ban.)

What I do remember is that the inaugural Battle of Ideas wasn’t a two-day festival at a single venue. It was a series of meetings at different locations over a calendar month and at the end the organisers hosted a dinner for all the speakers. (Naturally I remember the dinner more than the meeting I took part in.)

The following year (or was it the year after?) Forest and the Academy of Ideas co-hosted a closing drinks party aboard The Elizabethan, the vessel we subsequently used for our annual Smoke on the Water boat party.

In 2008 our spin-off campaign, The Free Society, hosted another end-of-festival party at Ognisko, the smoker-friendly Polish club in South Kensington.

That year I also spoke in a session on the Saturday afternoon entitled ‘Are we what we eat?’. It was one of the more memorable weekends of my life because that evening I ended up in St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington having been taken ill while watching the James Bond film ‘Quantum of Solace’ at the Odeon Marble Arch.

I was diagnosed with a kidney stone and it was probably the most severe pain I have ever experienced, but because I was hosting the drinks party the following evening I had little choice but to discharge myself from hospital around midnight, drive home, and return to London the next day. (You can read the full story here.)

By then the Battle of Ideas had become a ‘two-day festival of high level, thought-provoking debate’ at a single location. For several years this was the somewhat cramped Royal Academy of Art in Kensington. It wasn’t until 2012 that the event moved to the more spacious Barbican where it’s been ever since.

This year there will be 100+ debates, 450+ speakers and 3,000+ attendees. If you haven’t been before I do recommend it. For full details, including ticket prices, click here.

Saturday
Oct262019

PMI sponsors world’s first ‘smoke free island’

An article on the Crowded Planet website dated June 2016 paints an idyllic picture of life on a small island in the middle of the Aegean sea.

An hour by plane from Athens, or eleven hours by ferry, Astypalea ‘is far removed from the well-trodden tourist trails around the Greek islands’.

According to the author (who was invited to the island as part of a media trip organised by the municipality of Astypalea):

Orthodox Easter is a wonderful time to explore Greece – the weather is warm, tourists haven’t yet arrived and locals are happy to welcome visitors to join the celebrations. This year, we were lucky to spend Orthodox Easter on a Greek island, Astypalea, a remote and unspoilt piece of heaven. 

In the streets, in the courtyards, behind of the walls of their homes, people got ready for the big day. And as night fell, it looked as if the whole island had descended to the two small churches – St. Nicholas, not far from Astypalea’s old port, and Panagia Portaitissa, where I stood, lost in the crowd.

And then – Christos Anesti. Lights, fireworks, raki. Music, cigarette smoke. Food. Plates coming out of the kitchen, one after another. Grilled sausages. Chips specked with oregano. Salty taramasalata. Garlicky tzatziki. Two a.m. and we were still at the table. A small club – Greek pop music, cigarette smoke, beer.

Note the reference to ‘cigarette smoke’ - not once but twice and not in a bad way. It’s significant because, on October 3, 2019, the tobacco giant Philip Morris International (PMI) chose to celebrate the fact that Astypalea had become ‘the first Smoke-Free Culture certified island in the world’ (whatever that means).

According to PMI:

The island received the Smoke-Free Culture certification from TUV Austria, a leading independent certification organization, recognizing their commitment to reduce cigarette smoking by implementing and continuously improving a set of actions that encourage quitting, which remains the best option for smokers’ health, or switching to better alternatives if they do not quit.

“We are proud to support this initiative and congratulate Astypalea on their efforts. We hope that other destinations around the world will follow their example by embracing a smoke-free culture,” said Frederic de Wilde, President European Union Region at PMI.

Like most people, I’d never heard of Astypalea before PMI’s announcement so I immediately searched online. In addition to the Crowded Planet article - which was presumably part of an attempt to promote the island to potential tourists - this is what I found.

According to the last census in 2011, the island has a population of just 1,334 residents. Compare that with some other Greek islands:

Crete, 623,000
Corfu, 102,000
Kos, 31,000
Santorini, 15,550

Or these UK islands:

Isle of Wight, 141,500
Isle of Man, 90,000
Isle of Skye, 10,000
Isle of Arran, 4,500
Isles of Scilly, 2,300

In other words, the population of Astypalea is tiny. It is, literally, a little drop in the ocean.

In population terms, the UK equivalent might be Barra, an island in the Outer Hebrides. Despite this, PMI saw fit to trumpet Astypelea’s smoke free ‘certification’ in a series of press releases, website posts and videos.

After a bit more digging I found that Astypalea’s plan to become the first Greek island to go ‘smoke free’ was announced a year ago (October 2018) as part of an attempt to rebrand the island as a ‘wellness destination’.

I don’t know how I missed it at the time but I discovered that:

The initiative comes within its newly launched tourism campaign titled “Astypalea: Τhe Aegean Energy Spring” and is organized by the Astypalea Municipality in collaboration with the South Aegean Region,  with the support of the Papastratos company.

Another report described Papastratos as the ‘sponsor of the project’. So who are they?

It won’t come as a surprise to readers of this blog if I tell you that Papastratos is a Greek tobacco company owned by ... Philip Morris International.

And the concept of ‘Smoke-Free Destinations’ was introduced not by Tobacco Control, as you might expect, but by ... Philip Morris International.

As I said, Astypelea is a tiny island with no more residents than the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides. But the importance of this project should not be underestimated.

In 2001 a tobacco company executive dismissed my fears that a smoking ban in Ireland might have serious consequences for the UK. He told me (and I paraphrase), “Ireland is a small market. In the overall scheme of things it has very little influence.”

That’s not how it turned out, is it? The smoking ban in Ireland influenced the Scottish Government to follow suit, and that led to similar legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

I’m guessing that PMI chose Astypelea as part of its ‘Smoke-Free Destinations’ project for the very reason that it is so small. This is all about building momentum and promoting PMI’s commitment to a ‘smoke free’ future.

The good news is that, at the end of a week-long holiday in Corfu, a much larger Greek island, I can tell you that even in our ‘no smoking’ resort it is no problem if you want to smoke on the many balconies and terraces, all of them well sheltered from poor weather (not that we’ve had any).

In truth, I’ve seen very few people smoking, but I think that’s because most guests are British, or are here with young families. Despite that, ashtrays are everywhere if you want to light up. The same is true of every cafe we visited outside the resort.

Smoke free culture? Not here, that’s for sure.

Even on Astypelea, ‘the first Smoke-Free Culture certified island in the world’, smoking is not yet an offence.

The campaign will not policed, but it will rely on the good-will of residents and tourists alike, says Mayor of Astypalea Panormitis Kontaratos.

“We prefer to rely on everyone’s philotimo and not on the implementation of police measures. After all, the latter have not brought any significant results in Greece. All our efforts will focus on information and awareness,” says Kontaratos.

That’s something, I suppose. Meanwhile, expect further announcements from PMI regarding its Smoke-Free Destinations project. I’ll keep you posted.

Update: Eamonn Butler, director of the Adam Smith Institute, takes issue with PMI’s claim that Astypalea is the world’s first smoke free island. He tweets:

Maybe the second. Holy Isle near Arran is owned by Buddhist monks and they don’t allow tobacco, alcohol or drugs. Or vapes I guess.

Ah, but have they been awarded a Smoke-Free Culture certification? I’m guessing not.

Good point, though. Anyone else know of any more ‘smoke free’ islands?

Thursday
Oct242019

My big fat Greek holiday

I’m in Corfu this week, staying at a resort that overlooks the Straits of Corfu and Albania.

The weather, since you didn’t ask, has been magnificent all week. Sunny, gentle breeze, bright blue sky, temperature averaging 28 degrees (mid afternoon), falling to 17 degrees by midnight.

The Ikos Dassia resort is two years old and fantastic value for money at this time of year. It’s so good that we’ve left our ‘all inclusive’ haven just twice since arriving on Saturday.

On Tuesday we spent a couple of hours in Corfu town before we were driven out by the hoards of passengers who had disembarked from the five enormous cruise ships that were sitting in port.

(As a cruise ship veteran I know how galling it must be when several ships arrive at once, spewing thousands of visitors on to the narrow streets of some small Mediterranean town. Great for the local economy but not much fun for the tourists who are actually staying there.)

Yesterday we were given a complimentary Mini to explore the island. We headed north, and then west, but although some of the views were spectacular many of the roads were in poor condition and by mid afternoon I had grown weary of all the bumps and jolts.

Today we’ve returned to our preferred schedule. Breakfast at ten followed by several hours’ on lounge beds by the ‘adults only’ pool. Food and drink on demand plus a chance to read John Humphrys’ memoirs, A Day Like Today, reply to emails and catch up on the latest news.

It’s now 4.00pm and I am sitting on our balcony overlooking the sea. The rest of the day includes a wine tasting at 5.00 (3.00pm UK time), then a ‘sunset cruise’ to Corfu town and back in time for dinner at 8.30.

Earlier today I spoke to John Burton, a non-executive director of Forest who lives in London. He told me the city was experiencing heavy rain.

Sorry to hear that.

Update: I forgot to mention that I had to visit a pharmacy this morning because my right eyelid had become red and swollen overnight.

The pharmacist was extremely nice and gave me some eye drops and ointment. Apparently I may be allergic to the sun.

Friday
Oct182019

Fear of passive smoking has led to fear of vaping - oh, the irony

Ahead of a busy month I am away next week and to keep myself entertained and informed I shall be reading this book, amongst others.

The author, Jacob Grier, is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in Reason, the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast and many other publications.

His latest piece, ‘The Vaping Crisis Is a Moral Panic Led by Anti-Smoking Crusaders’, can be summed up as follows:

The anti-smoking movement has a long history of exploiting dubious science for political gain. Today's moral panic about vaping has its roots in the decades-long campaign to delegitimize the use of nicotine in pursuit of total bans on public smoking.

Grier rightly focuses on the arguments surrounding passive smoking. He also highlights the fact that some of the leading alarmists about secondhand smoke are now at the forefront of the movement against vaping (in the US in particular).

What Grier and many other people overlook however is that many champions of e-cigarettes (as a quit smoking tool) are also passive smoking propagandists who successfully campaigned for public smoking bans.

The irony - which I have written about several times - is that many of today’s most prominent vaping advocates are the very people who sold us the myth that thousands of non-smokers were dying each year from ‘secondhand’ smoke.

This lie led not only to indoor smoking bans but the perceived ‘threat’ of passive smoking is now used to justify outdoor smoking bans as well.

What goes around comes around and it’s no surprise that the relentless fear-mongering about smoking and environmental tobacco smoke has created a situation in which vaping is going to be another casualty, regardless of the actual risk.

Despite this, many of the individuals responsible for exaggerating the risks of passive smoking (and, some would say, smoking itself) are now treated as heroes because of their advocacy of vaping.

Also overlooked is the fact that their endorsement of vaping is based not on e-cigarettes being a pleasurable recreational device in their own right, but because they see vaping as a weapon in the war on smoking.

I’m sorry, but I will never forgive or forget the role many of them played in getting smoking banned in every pub and club in the country, nor their constant attempts to denormalise smoking and stigmatise smokers to the point where you can’t even light up in the open air on some beaches, parks and hospital grounds without being shamed or threatened with prosecution.

It may be expedient to ally with such people but count me out. If you’re prepared to lie to achieve one aim, you’ll won’t hesitate to lie to achieve another. You may convince yourself it’s for the ‘greater good’ but that doesn’t make it right.

Anyway, do read Jacob Grier’s article and book. I don’t agree with everything he says. A quick glance at the book, for example, suggests he’s ambivalent about defending the use of cigarettes which, for me, is the issue that distinguishes real libertarians from hand-wringing middle class ‘liberals’.

Nor am I a fan of the argument that says restrictions on e-cigarettes will lead to smokers being ‘killed’. It’s similar to calling advocates of bans on flavoured e-cigarettes ‘murderers’, which I addressed here.

But decide for yourself. The Rediscovery of Tobacco: Smoking, Vaping, and the Creative Destruction of the Cigarette by Jacob Grier is available here.

Tuesday
Oct152019

Email of the week - and it’s only Tuesday!

From the Forest inbox.

Good Morning,

I wanted to let you know how helpful your anti smoking and other healthy lifestyle resources and info are. I volunteer at an after school program and am working on an anti smoking and healthy lifestyle project and presentation I am going to be putting on next week. I thought your page had a lot of really helpful info, and thought I'd shoot you a quick note in appreciation!

The internet has so much information coming from all angles, and I really appreciate coming across a page like yours with a bunch of great information all in the same place. I thought on that note, it'd be great to share another anti smoking article with you [Smoking FAQs: Cancer, Heart Disease, Death & Tips To Quitting]. I thought it was a very well done article about smoking and the detrimental effects on so many parts of your body. I'd be glad to know I was able to contribute another helpful/informative article about quitting smoking!

Thanks again for all of the great info. I think this will be a great project, and I hope it resonates with the kids! I've never been a smoker, and I'm really thankful for that. I can't imagine how tough it is to stop. If you end up being able to include the article, please let me know! Hope you have a wonderful day, and hope to speak again soon!

My pleasure.