Vice royale

I'm not really familiar with Vice. However my daughter, 19, is and her verdict is damning:

"It's written by a bunch of pathetic twenty somethings who hate anyone who doesn't agree with their uni politics.

"They pass their bitterness off as sarcastic humour. I much prefer Dazed and Confused if you're gonna read that stuff."

With that in mind I think we got off lightly when home affairs correspondent Simon Childs attended Forest's party at the Conservative conference in Birmingham this week.

Here's a taste of his review:

What the party was like: Actually really good. An upper-middle market bar packed to the gills with free booze, mini burgers, pocket ash-trays (a weird plastic wallet thing you can carry around) inscribed with the words, "Say no to outdoor smoking bans," and leaflets about how "A once benign nanny state has become a bully state, coercing rather than educating adults to give up tobacco."

Entertainment: It was advertised as "Eat. Drink. Smoke. Vape.", so like all good parties there were no frills beyond the amount of inebriants you could stuff in your body.

There were one or two comments that were less complimentary but compared to some of the other events Childs' reviewed (one was described as a "crap party" in a "drab, half empty hotel room where people pawed at tepid goujons") I'm not complaining.

You can read the full article here: We Did a Bar Crawl of the Tory Conference's Parties.

Above: Speakers at Eat, Drink, Smoke, Vape included LBC Radio presenter and publisher Iain Dale (left) and Paul Scully MP (right).

We did a bar crawl of the Tory conference's parties https://t.co/BeY7Tux7KF pic.twitter.com/3GJaamM2F4

— VICE UK (@VICEUK) October 5, 2016

A Billion Lives, eight UK screenings, 52 tickets reserved

As readers know I've taken more than a passing interest in the pro-vaping documentary A Billion Lives.

It's not because I support or endorse the movie. Five months since its premiere in New Zealand I still haven't seen it. I have however seen the trailers and that was enough to set alarm bells ringing.

Pejorative title aside, most of what I've seen and read suggests the film is happy to recycle some of the more dubious anti-smoking propaganda, notably the claim that a billion lives will be lost to smoking this century and the even more outrageous allegation that 650,000 children die of 'passive' smoking every year.

Nevertheless projects like this fascinate me and I admire director Aaron Biebert's attempts to bring his film to market. I'm curious too to see how it will end.

I'm also bemused by the lack of promotion the film has received from leading vaping advocates in the UK, several of whom are featured in the film.

I'm guessing that the UK's much-vaunted pro-vaping public health professionals are uncomfortable with what I understand is the film's hard-hitting attack on both the pharmaceutical and public health industries.

The real puzzle though is the lukewarm attitude of Britain's supposedly 'active' vaping community. Privately I've heard a number of reasons for this, but nothing excuses the overwhelming indolence and apathy.

Their muted response is in stark contrast to Biebert's tireless efforts to promote his film and if there's one thing I can't stand it's armchair activists.

The fact is it couldn't be easier to register to host a screening at your local Odeon and it's bizarre that so few vaping advocates have risen to the challenge.

Via Demand.film you can register to host a screening at almost any Odeon cinema near you. As soon as a date is agreed the details are posted online.

After that the host's sole role is to publicise the screening – among friends, within the vaping community etc. When a minimum number of tickets are reserved (60-70 seems to be the average) the screening can go ahead on the relevant date.

Selflessly (!) I've suggested this is a great opportunity for the vaping community - including the smaller e-cigarette manufacturers and their representative bodies - to promote vaping to the wider world.

So here's an update.

There are currently just eight proposed screenings of A Billion Lives in the UK, one in Scotland, seven in England including one in south east London. As of this morning, the list (including the number of tickets reserved) is as follows:

Odeon Manchester Printworks
Wednesday October 26, 6:00pm
7 tickets reserved, target 67
Deadline 9 days

Odeon Preston
Wednesday October 26, 8:30pm
3 tickets reserved, target 64
Deadline 9 days

Odeon Glasgow Braehead
Wednesday October 26, 8:30pm
12 tickets reserved, target 67
Deadline 9 days

Odeon Tamworth
Tuesday November 1, 6.00pm
4 tickets reserved, target 61
Deadline 16 days

Odeon Worcester
Tuesday November 1, 6.00pm
0 tickets reserved, target 61
Deadline 16 days

Odeon Lincoln Wharf
Wednesday November 16, 6.00pm
17 tickets reserved, target 61
Deadline 16 days

Odeon Greenwich
Wednesday November 16, 6.00pm
9 tickets reserved, target 61
Deadline 30 days

Odeon Hatfield
Wednesday November 16, 6.00pm
0 tickets reserved, target 61
Deadline 30 days

So that's eight screenings for which a total of 52 tickets have been reserved at an average of 6.5 tickets per screening.

If vaping advocates think I'm being unhelpful, unkind even, for pointing this out, I'm not just sitting on my backside pontificating.

Four weeks ago I registered to host a screening of A Billion Lives. Having said how easy it is to register - and it is - I'm still waiting for confirmation of my preferred date and venue.

When the distributor acknowledged my interest and contacted me I suggested the Odeon Leicester Square, home of countless world and UK film premieres.

They came back with the Odeon Panton Street, which is close to the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. Fine, I said. The important thing is that it's in central London and easy to get to.

A few days ago I asked the distributor if I could host a Q&A with an invited panel directly after the screening. I didn't go into detail but the idea was to generate debate between people who may have different opinions about the film.

This is important because I want the event to appeal to a wider audience, not just die hard vaping advocates.

Earlier this week I also spoke to the representative of a pro-vaping campaign and suggested we host the event together. He agreed.

Unfortunately, almost a month since I registered an interest in hosting a screening of A Billion Lives, and despite regular correspondence with the distributor, I am still waiting for confirmation that it will go ahead.

If I haven't heard by the weekend I'll probably drop it. I've enough battles to fight without giving myself extra and, some might say, superfluous work.

See also: A Billion Lives in the UK (Facts Do Matter).

Update: The distributor has just informed me that neither the Odeon Leicester Square nor Panton Street is available on the requested date - a day they suggested to us!!

The Odeon, I am now told, "are working on some alternative date options and will come back with suggestions next week."

To put this in perspective, this correspondence has been ongoing since September 14.

To quote Dragon's Den, "I'm out."

Forest's top ten conference events

Our reception at the Conservative conference on Monday night attracted more guests (500) than any previous Forest event.

But was it the best?

Travelling home yesterday I compiled a list, beginning with our least successful party conference event.

10. Labour, Birmingham, 2008
Former MSP Brian Monteith and I found ourselves addressing just twelve people in a small nondescript meeting room where we explained why the Labour government's smoking ban had been so disastrous for pubs and clubs. It didn't help that Forest's fringe listing mysteriously failed to appear in the conference brochure and we were also stopped from handing out flyers promoting the event. 1/10

9. Labour, Bournemouth, 2007
Attempting to recreate the success of our 'Politics and Prohibition' reception at the Conservative conference in Bournemouth the previous year, we booked the same group of actors to enact a similar song and dance routine in a smaller room and without the mock police raid. Inevitably perhaps it fell a little flat. The event wasn't helped by the fact that the recently introduced smoking ban ensured that at least half our guests quickly gravitated to the garden where they could light up. 4/10

8. Conservative, Blackpool, 2007
The smoking ban also had a negative affect on our event in Blackpool where we struggled to find a venue with a decent smoking area. The location we eventually chose could accommodate our 300 guests but smokers were restricted to a narrow balcony adjacent to a busy road. Needless to say it was packed. Speakers that night included Tory MP Roger Helmer, who later joined Ukip, and Hamish Howitt, a local publican who fell foul of the local council after allowing people to smoke in his pub in breach of the new law. 5/10

7. Conservative, Birmingham, 2014
After the success of Stand Up For Liberty! at The Comedy Store in Manchester in 2011 and 2013 (see below) we attempted a similar event in Birmingham in 2014. Stand Up For Freedom featured journalist James Delingpole and comedian Alistair Barrie. A Comedy Store veteran, Barrie was the star of the show and got a great response from a packed room. Not for the first time at a Forest event people had be turned away on the grounds of health and safety! 7/10

6. Conservative, Manchester, 2011 and 2013
Stand Up For Liberty! was launched in 2011 as an antidote to the countess panel discussions and drinks receptions that dominate each and every party conference. We wanted to do something different so we hired The Comedy Store and they booked three comedians from the professional comedy circuit.

Guests were invited for drinks in the main bar followed by 60 minutes of stand up comedy in the 300-seat auditorium. In 2011 Paul Scully, now an MP, tweeted, "Forest fringe at the Comedy Store is possibly the best ever in my 14 years at conference", which was quite an endorsement. (We reciprocated by inviting him to speak at this year's event in Birmingham!)

Anyway we reprised the event two years later with a bill that included the brilliant Australian comedian Steve Hughes but dropped plans for a third show in favour of (yes, you guessed) another drinks reception. 7/10

5. Conservative, Birmingham, 2016
It's probably too early to say where this week's event in Birmingham ranks. The feedback has been very positive but as the organiser you're always conscious of little things that could have been done better. We were thrilled to set a new record for the number of people attending a Forest event (500) but that alone created problems that had to be managed. For example, extra staff had to be hired at short notice. We also had to abandon plans to serve cocktails because it was impossible to prepare so many in advance without losing their fizz. Thankfully we were in good hands and the staff at Nuvo were very helpful. 7/10

4. Conservative, Manchester, 2015
On aesthetic grounds the superb rooftop lounge we used for our reception in Manchester last year beats every conference venue we have ever used. Post smoking ban it's also the most smoker-friendly location you can imagine. Even if it rained I doubt you would get wet, unless there was a real storm. There were heaters, plenty of comfortable chairs and sofas – and a barbecue. The downside was its size. We could only accommodate 120 guests and had to turn away quite a lot of people. Based on feedback from those who were there, however, both the event and the location got top marks so we might return there next year. 7/10

3. Labour, Liverpool, 2011
After the farce of 2008 (see above) we thought long and hard before returning to the Labour conference. This time however we joined forces with the Working Men's Club and Institute Union (CIU) and booked the Cavern Club for an evening of music and speeches. The highlight was a 60-minute set by a highly entertaining Beatles tribute band. Over 200 people attended and BBC Five Live's Nicky Campbell also turned up to record interviews with members of the audience. Later, as he was leaving, Labour MP Michael Dugher, then parliamentary private secretary to party leader Ed Miliband, was heard saying, "That was the best event at the Labour conference." High praise or low bar? Well, I enjoyed it and it's definitely worthy of a place in the top three Forest conference events. 8/10

2. Labour, Brighton, 2005
As a conference event this was one of our smaller ones. In terms of media coverage however Forest's appearance at the 2005 Labour conference was far and away our most successful.

We booked a very small but well appointed room on the ground floor of the Metropole Hotel and invited some stellar panellists including Joe Jackson, Claire Fox and David Hockney to come and discuss Labour's proposed smoking ban.

Hockney's presence – which was confirmed less than 24 hours before the event – provoked a media storm that catapulted Forest into the following day's newspapers. Hockney also appeared on TV and radio and was the star of a bizarre photo opp I shall never forget.

The event took second place to the media frenzy but it was still great fun. In hindsight we could have filled the room several times over but it taught us that a small room, with every chair occupied and a queue of people trying to squeeze in, generates a far better atmosphere than a larger venue with more people but rows of empty seats.

It may not have been the highlight of that extraordinary day but it was everything a fringe event should be – wonderful guests, serious message, but full of laughter and joie de vrie. 9/10

1. Conservative, Bournemouth, 2006
This is the event that people who were there still remember. MPs had voted to ban smoking in the workplace seven months earlier but the policy had not yet been implemented and we wanted to mark the last occasion people could smoke indoors at a party conference by organising the largest smoker-friendly event we could.

We booked the ballroom at the Royal Bath Hotel (capacity 400), hired a jazz band, and with the help of a local events company dressed the huge room to suggest a Prohibition-style Speakeasy. We also recruited a small group of local actors and spent the afternoon rehearsing a mock police raid.

The idea was this. Our third and final speaker (Boisdale MD Ranald Macdonald) was to be rudely interrupted 30 seconds into his 'speech' by wailing sirens and blue flashing lights. Our troupe of actors, dressed as policemen and armed with truncheons, would descend the large staircase at the far end of the ballroom, force their way through the crowd, climb on stage and 'arrest' the speaker who would be charged with "inciting the audience to enjoy themselves".

At that point the 'policemen' would break into a short song and dance routine that would conclude with Ranald being led off stage and out of the room in handcuffs while the audience were encouraged to sing 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'.

Amazingly, everything went to plan and occasionally, in the middle of the night, I can still hear the sound of 400 people singing Monty Python's greatest hit as Ranald is led away smoking a cigar with an enormous grin on his face. 10/10

----

Those are the best (and worst) Forest events at party conference. There are several more that have rather faded from memory.

I did however like the smoke machine we employed in Manchester a few years ago. (Credit to a former TMA CEO for that idea!)

We revived the idea in Birmingham this week (there just happened to be one lying around and it seemed silly not to use it) but the 'smoke' fizzled out rather quickly.

Either that or someone switched it off. I have my suspicions.

Cheesecake, freedom fascists and Conservative principles

Mid way through Iain Dale's speech at the Forest/TMA reception last night a thought occurred to me: "I should be recording this."

Belatedly therefore I hit the 'Voice Memos' app on my iPhone and caught the latter half. There was a fair bit of background noise, as I explained here, but give or take a few words this is an accurate transcript:

Take Jeremy Hunt's latest wheeze. How many here have been to a restaurant in the United States called The Cheesecake Factory? If you have you will know that they produce the most enormous portions of cheesecake you've ever had in your life. Now I believe, even as a diabetic, that I have the right to eat cheesecake.

[Audience cheers]

And if I want to eat an effing great portion of cheesecake then that is my decision. I know what I'm doing to my body. I shouldn't do it but I still do.

Now Jeremy Hunt wants to police the size of the portions that you have of desserts in restaurants. He wants to name and shame restaurants that don't conform to Department of Health guidelines on the size of portions. Now he also, as you know, supports the sugar tax. Now I don't understand how anybody could call themselves a Conservative if they support a sugar tax.

[Audience cheers again]

I just don't get it.

[More cheers]

Now I have a message for any Conservative volunteer who supports this kind of legislation, you need to look yourselves in the mirror. Are you actually members of the right political party?

If you are a Secretary of State who accepts advice from civil servants who you need to basically go into the nooks and crannies of everybody's private life or their diets, I don't believe those are Conservative principles.

Look at the smoking ban. Some people would say well that's worked. I don't like going into restaurants where there's smoke, but it's not my decision. Surely it should be up to the owner of the restaurant or the bar or the pub as to what you'll do? While cigarettes remain legal they should do it.

[Loud cheers]

And of course that's the real agenda here. All of the people who want to ban smoking want to ban cigarettes. They want to make them illegal but they can never actually say that on a public platform.

Politicians who are in favour of the smoking ban ... never have the courage to say that they want to make cigarettes illegal because they know what the electoral consequences of that would be.

I call these people freedom fascists. They don't understand the word freedom, they don't understand what the rule of law means, and they don't have the right to tell me what to do with my body.

[Louder cheers]

So I think Forest, [and] the TMA, do an absolutely fantastic job defending freedom. It's great to see so many people here tonight supporting them and I hope they continue to do so for a very long time.

Thank you very much.

[Prolonged cheers and applause]

Humble brag

A rather magnificent 500 people attended the Forest/Tobacco Manufacturers' Association reception in Birmingham last night.

OK, the exact figure was 499 but you'll forgive the exaggeration.

In total 620 people registered to attend Eat, Smoke, Drink, Vape and it was as well they didn't all turn up because the capacity at Nuvo was exactly 500.

In fact, as late as Friday evening we had only booked the ground floor bar (capacity 250) because the anticipated attendance was 200.

With numbers rising rapidly over the weekend we took the decision to book the upstairs bar as well. Thankfully it was available otherwise I'm not sure what we would have done.

Registered guests included MPs, councillors, parliamentary researchers, journalists, broadcasters, lobbyists and, gratifyingly, a great many supporters.

Anyway last night's attendance was a record for a Forest event, beating the 400 who attended Politics & Prohibition in Bournemouth in 2006, and the 390 who attended our Revolt In Style dinner at The Savoy in London in 2007.

If nothing else therefore we proved that Forest can still attract a large audience of all ages (and occupations) and they don't come just for the free food and drink, neither of which are in short supply at party conference.

Equally important is the message and this year's theme was simple. Whatever we choose to put in our mouths (ooh, matron) it's our choice.

But how to get that message across? Addressing a noisy crowded bar is no mean feat and in the circumstances our speakers did a fine job.

Giles Roca, director-general of the Tobacco Manufacturers Association and my co-host for the evening, spoke up for the tobacco industry.

Paul Scully, Conservative MP for Sutton and Cheam, declared, "The day the government tells me what food I can put in my mouth is the day I know we don't have a liberal government."

And LBC Radio presenter Iain Dale – who freely admits he doesn't like smoking – spoke up for many when he said, "Government has a role to warn, it doesn't have a role to dictate."

Iain concluded his speech with these words:

"I think Forest, [and] the TMA, do an absolutely fantastic job defending freedom. It's great to see so many people here tonight supporting them and I hope they continue to do so for a very long time."

He also got the biggest laugh of the night with an off-the-cuff heckle during my (short) introduction.

Sadly it doesn't work in print. Like all the best things, you had to be there.

This is the throng at the Forest fringe which I am about to address. I'm effing petrified! #CPC16 pic.twitter.com/NeF7WoMinR

— Iain Dale (@IainDale) October 3, 2016

Another conference calls

Tonight Forest and the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association are hosting a reception at Nuvo, a glitzy cocktail bar a short walk from the International Conference Centre in Birmingham.

Guest speakers are LBC Radio presenter and publisher Iain Dale (right) and Paul Scully MP.

Iain and I go back a bit. He used to run Politicos Bookshop in Westminster and wearing my journalist's hat I approached him about producing a magazine that would combine reviews of the latest political books and special features including interviews with various authors.

Iain liked the idea and became the publisher. I was the editor and we called it The Politico. Together we produced a number of issues before it dawned on us that it wasn't going to make any money so we knocked it on the head.

Since then I've watched with ill-concealed envy as Iain's career has gone from strength to strength in publishing and broadcasting.

Paul Scully was elected as an MP only last year but I remember him coming to a Forest event at the 2011 Conservative conference in Manchester when we hosted Stand Up For Liberty! at The Comedy Store.

After the event, which featured three acts from the professional comedy circuit (one of whom pushed the 'libertarian' theme almost to its limit), Paul tweeted:

Forest fringe at the comedy store is possibly the best ever in my 14 years at conference. Smokers showing antis how to do #nudge. #cpc11.

— Paul Scully MP (@scullyp) 4 October 2011

Anyway, ten years ago in Bournemouth Forest hosted a reception that was attended by almost 400 people. People who were there still remember it because it featured a mock police raid that included blue flashing lights and sirens.

The speaker was 'arrested' for "inciting guests to enjoy themselves" and the whole thing finished with everyone singing 'Always Look On The Bright Side of Life'. Surreal but magical.

Tonight's reception is significantly less ambitious (unless you count the dry ice cocktails) but as of last night over 500 people had registered to attend – a record for an event organised by Forest.

One small problem. When I last spoke to the nice folk at Nuvo I predicted we'd get 200 ...

Council wants staff to report colleagues who smoke or use an e-cigarette on site

Tomorrow (Monday) Aberdeenshire Council introduces a ban on smoking and the use of e-cigarettes on all council sites.

If you think that's bad read this. According to the council:

"Individuals are accountable for monitoring implementation of the policy on-site and must report anyone not complying."

Last week I said no smoking zones in parks and other outdoor areas were "unwarranted" and "Orwellian" but this really is Orwellian.

Here's part of Forest's press release:

Campaigners have slammed Aberdeenshire Council's new smoke-free policy, to be introduced on Monday October 3, that prohibits smoking or using e-cigarettes on all council sites.

The group is particularly incensed by the suggestion that "Individuals are accountable for monitoring implementation of the policy on-site and must report anyone not complying."

Simon Clark, director of the smokers' group Forest, said: "Expecting members of staff to grass up their colleagues is the sort of thing you'd expect in a totalitarian state.

"What happens if staff refuse to report someone who isn't complying with the smoke-free rule? Will they be reported and disciplined too?"

You can read our reaction in full here – Forest slams council's "Big Brother" anti-smoking policy.

Why 'smoke-free' consultation should be declared null and void

A quick reminder that today is the closing date for submissions to Birmingham Children's Hospital's 'smoke-free' consultation.

It was hard to complete the online form without getting increasingly annoyed.

For example, in response to Section Two ('Please comment on any changes to the boundary you would like to see') I wrote:

This question demonstrates the basic inbuilt bias of this consultation because it doesn't allow for the fact that we do not support ANY no smoking zone outside the hospital, regardless of size. Likewise the questions in Sections Three and Four assume that a no smoking zone will be introduced regardless of the outcome of the consultation. For that reason we believe this consultation should be declared null and void.

Subsequently respondents are asked, 'Do you have any other comments about how we can create a smoke-free experience around our hospital for our patients and families?', to which I replied:

It is no business of the hospital trust to "create a smoke-free (sic) experience" outside the hospital grounds. Unless we are mistaken, the hospital trust doesn't own the local roads. What on earth are you doing telling people whether or not they can smoke when they're not even on the grounds?

And why are you proposing to use public funds (that could be better spent on other things) to put up signage and monitor the area in order to enforce this spiteful, uncaring proposal? Where is the empathy for patients, staff or visitors for whom a cigarette can offer comfort in what can be a highly stressful environment?

The trust is looking for a problem that doesn't exist. Smoking in the open air doesn't harm anyone other, perhaps, than the smoker, while the idea that children must be protected from the sight of someone smoking is Orwellian.

We understand why the trust doesn't want people smoking around the main entrance to the building but extending the ban to nearby streets is unjustified and extremely petty. Imagine if you're a smoker and you're the worried parent of a sick child in hospital. Why should you be admonished or made to feel like a leper if you choose to relieve some of the stress by lighting up in a nearby street? What harm are you doing to anyone?

As for the inclusion of e-cigarettes in the consultation, why would any health professional consider prohibiting the use of a product used by many people to quit smoking? All it demonstrates is that these proposals aren't about health at all. It seems the trust wants to dictate how adults behave even when patients, staff and visitors are not on hospital property. Do you have any idea what message this sends out about your priorities and your attitude to normal, decent people?

Finally I emphasised my general disgust by adding:

This is an extremely ill-conceived, ill-thought out consultation that is designed to generate only one result – the imposition of a no smoking zone outside hospital grounds. It is our view that this consultation is not fit for purpose and should be declared null and void.

After I submitted my comments I received a standard reply:

Thank you for taking part in the survey. The information will be used to help us understand whether to introduce a zone and if so, what it should look like.

Let me guess ...

Update: Some of the comments on the Forest Facebook page include:

"What a stupid idea and near a major road anyway."

"Right near a major road and the concern is about a bit of smoke? You couldn't make this up."

"They would be better off putting their efforts into sorting out the lack of parking for stressed out and worried parents."

This was my favourite however:

"Where should the signage be put up? I had to put 'inside the hospital' as there was no option for 'up your arse."

Last but not least Rob Lyons, campaigns manager for Forest's sister campaign Action on Consumer Choice, commented:

"As a born-and-bred Brummie who used to work close to Birmingham Children's Hospital I think this is a stupid and illiberal idea, designed by anti-smoking obsessives to colonise our streets.

"If air pollution is really such a problem perhaps the authorities should consider moving the hospital away from heavy traffic on the Queensway and the Aston Expressway.

"In reality this is a fabricated problem designed to demonise smokers even more than they already are."

If you haven't submitted a response you've got a few more hours (assuming the consultation closes at midnight).