Memo from Glasgow

Back from Ireland, I drove to Glasgow on Sunday.

At 2.30 yesterday afternoon I was in Princes Square shopping centre, a short walk from George Square.

At the same time my wife and mother-in-law were in another shopping centre, Buchanan Galleries.

Fifteen minutes later, as I walked up Buchanan Street to join them, I noticed three police officers running past.

Overhead a helicopter hovered.

Back in the car - and totally ignorant that a "major incident" had just taken place nearby – I turned on the radio.

On Five Live eye-witnesses were describing the scene after a bin lorry crashed into pedestrians and cars in George Square.

Six people killed, seven seriously injured.

A terrible freak accident no-one could have predicted or, it seems, done anything to prevent.

Further comment is, I think, superfluous.

Ireland: law passed, now police have to "figure out" how to apply car smoke ban

First plain packaging, now smoking in cars with children.

Are we in a race with Ireland to be the biggest nanny state in Europe?

The Dáil today passed a law making it illegal to smoke in a car carrying a child but it won't take effect until the police "have developed procedures to figure out how it can be applied".

You might have thought that would have been addressed in advance. What happens if they can't "figure out how it can be applied"?

I wonder if police forces in Britain are currently pondering the same thing.

You couldn't make it up.

See Dáil passes bill banning smoking in cars with children present (Irish Examiner)

Cuba: change will benefit the people who matter most

Delighted that America is to begin changing its relationship with Cuba.

It may upset a certain type of tourist but long-term it can only benefit those who matter most, the people of Cuba.

Last year, following an account of a long-awaited visit to Havana, I wrote:

But what of Cuba itself? I had no preconceptions prior to the trip but what I read in advance suggested that the worst excesses of a totalitarian regime - the imprisonment and torture of political opponents, for example – still take place.

I can't shed any light on that. All I can say is that Cuba is changing. Those in our party who first visited the country ten years ago say it has changed a lot already. A decade ago, for example, the authorities made sure there was little or no contact with 'ordinary' Cubans. Today they are far more relaxed.

Significantly I wasn't conscious of any military presence in Havana. Only on our final day, when we drove to the airport, did I see any soldiers in uniform. I didn't see many policemen in uniform either, although that doesn't mean they weren't around. We were warned, for example, not to buy cigars from anyone in the street because they might be plain clothes officers.

Contrast Cuba today with the Soviet Union of 30 years ago and despite its Communist regime it's a very different experience. I visited Moscow in 1981 and it's something I shall never forget. (If you want to know what living under an authoritarian East European regime was like watch the 2007 film The Lives of Others which is set in East Germany a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall.)

Cuba felt nothing like that, although it may have been different had I been visiting people actively opposed to the government. One huge difference is the Cubans' very public love of music. I can't remember visiting a bar that didn't have a band playing, although how much of that is for the benefit of tourists I'm not sure.

Havana itself reeks of colonial history, mostly Spanish. Old Havana has been given UNESCO status so many of the old buildings are being preserved. There is very little money however so buildings that retain much of their original elegance on the outside are often derelict inside.

There is long stretch overlooking the sea that with proper redevelopment could create a waterfront that would match anything that Cannes or Monte Carlo has to offer. Instead, every other building appeared to be empty or in serious disrepair.

We were warned that the state-owned Nacional Hotel, where we were staying, might seem a bit shabby but it seemed fine to me. Before the Revolution the Nacional was a favourite of American film stars. Sinatra was one of many who stayed there. In those days Havana was also a mecca for the Mafia who by all accounts ran the casinos and made a fortune from gambling. Cuba could enjoy similar prosperity again, without the help of the Mafia, but the country needs investment and the obvious source - the United States - is still off limits.

I'm sure that one day the blockade will be lifted and when that happens expect a huge influx of American tourists followed by a McDonalds and Holiday Inn on every corner. Yes, Cuba will change dramatically but is that such a bad thing? Understandably a lot of visitors like things the way they are but is it wrong to hope for better living standards for the majority of Cubans, many of whom have been enslaved by poverty or political oppression for far too long.

Full post: Notes from a Caribbean island

This year, twelve months after my visit, I commented:

I look forward to returning to Cuba when the Americans have moved in and there is a McDonalds on every corner.

That could be sooner than I anticipated!

Meanwhile, if you prefer 'old' Cuba with its dilapidated buildings, 1950s American Cadillacs and cheap mojitos, I'd get over there fast.

PS. Here's an interesting take on developments that doesn't share my optimistic view of things. I'm no expert, obviously, so these comments are worth bearing in mind:

Marco Rubio slams Cuba agreement, says Obama is ‘willfully ignorant’

I still think that long-term change will be good for the people of Cuba but America will eventually have to go the whole hog and embrace Cuba (and vice versa) which I think, in time, they will.

Whale meet again

Looking forward to the Forest Christmas dinner in Cork tonight.

But first I've got to get there.

I'm currently in Dublin where I enjoyed a few pints last night with some agreeably smoker-friendly faces.

As I've mentioned before, a great many Dublin pubs go out of their way to make smokers as comfortable as possible.

The Ginger Man in Fenian Street, directly opposite my hotel, is effectively my local when I'm here:

The pub, all dark wood and polished picture-frames housing faded images, convulses with conversation and laughter around us. The harsh light from the toilet corridor meets the dimness of the rest of the pub exactly where we are, talking loudly and moving from side to side to facilitate the various movements of others.

The two more pleasant snug seating areas have long since been occupied, and a large table to our right is occupied by two men in their mid-twenties deep in discussion, one with a necktie around his forehead. To the front of the pub, a small, heated smoking area bustles with activity, patrons spilling out onto the footpath beyond.

Full review here.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny lives a few doors away and often drops in, late at night. Or so I'm told.

Anyway, further to my previous post, my evening went ahead as planned after I was stood down by Five Live and the BBC News Channel gave up looking for a studio where they could interview me about smoking in cars with children.

I was also edited out of the BBC Six O'Clock News report although, having seen it online, I can understand why.

Anyway, having been quoted by the Telegraph, Mail, Sun and other newspapers, I was pleasantly surprised to be interviewed this morning by the great James Whale who now presents the breakfast show on BBC Radio Essex.

James is feisty and fiercely anti-smoking but I like speaking to him because he lets you have your say, which is all you can ask.

Funnily enough he once told me on air that I am charming but I talk a load of rubbish. My response? Pot. Kettle. Black.

On another occasion he told me, "I do wish you'd find a better outlet for your talents."

Today I detected a softer tone. Either he's mellowed or the breakfast slot is less conducive to the more abrasive style for which he is known.

Either way I'm delighted he's still on air. I was disappointed when he left LBC. We can't afford to lose broadcasters of his experience and quality - a subject I will come back to when I have a moment.

See also: Whale of a time (Taking Liberties, December 2009)

Car smoke ban a gross intrusion on people's privacy

The BBC is reporting that a ban on smoking in cars with children will begin in October 2015.

Car smoke ban 'to start in October' (BBC News)

The BBC report includes a short quote from me. Forest's full response was:

The smokers' group Forest says regulations prohibiting smoking in cars with children are "unnecessary", "excessive" and a "gross intrusion on people's privacy".

Director Simon Clark said, "The government is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"The overwhelming majority of smokers know smoking in a car with children is inconsiderate and they don't do it.

"The regulations are unnecessary and excessive. Do we really want to criminalise people for lighting a cigarette in a private vehicle?

"How is the law going to be enforced? The police have better things to do than look for drivers smoking on the off chance there's a child in the car.

"The next step will be a ban on smoking in all private vehicles followed by measures to prevent smoking in the home.

"It's a gross intrusion on people's privacy."

I'm in Dublin today but I'm scheduled to be on Five Live around 6.30 (if they can get me out of the pub).

Oh, and the BBC News Channel is trying to book a studio so they can also interview me. (This is seriously ruining my plans for the evening!)

Yesterday I gave a short interview to BBC News health editor Hugh Pym. If I survive the edit I'll be on the Six O'Clock and Ten O'Clock News.

Update: Kingdom FM in Fife has just taught me how to record and send a Voice Memo using my iPhone.

As a result I was able to record my reaction to the car smoke ban story and email it to them for immediate broadcast.

Apparently the sound quality is far superior to recording via landline or mobile.

Update on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 19:31 by Simon Clark

Forest is quoted in the following reports:

Car smoke ban 'to start in October' (BBC News)
Smoking banned in cars when children are present (Daily Telegraph)
Smoking in cars containing children to be BANNED next year (Daily Mirror)
Smokers who light up with children in the car face being fined £50 (Daily Mail)

More on smoking in cars with children

Currently at Stansted waiting for a flight to Dublin.

I may (or may not) be on the news later today talking about smoking in cars with children. I recorded an interview for the BBC yesterday in anticipation of some announcement today, but no-one seemed to know what it might be.

Scotland, of course, is pushing ahead with a ban. Yesterday Lib Dem MSP Jim Hume presented a Bill to the Scottish Parliament that has the support of the Scottish Labour party and probably the Scottish Government although the latter is waiting to complete its own consultation on the issue.

Hume insists it's all about "the children", giving them the healthiest start in life. Odd, then, that he retweeted a tweet by someone who supports a ban on smoking in all private vehicles, regardless of the presence of children.

Via Twitter Forest asked Hume whether he supports a total ban but, so far, he's ignored our question.

Yesterday I was on Morning Call (BBC Radio Scotland) discussing the issue for half an hour although my contribution amounted to no more than a few minutes.

Most of what I said is summed up by these comments I gave the Dundee Evening Telegraph, which described me as an "expert"!

"Legislation to ban smoking in cars with children is taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"Smokers don't need to be told how to behave. The overwhelming majority wouldn't dream of lighting a cigarette in a car if a child is present. Enough is enough."

"Criminalising it will have very little impact other than stigmatising smokers even more than they are already.

"The police must have better things to do with their time.

"This is yet another example of politicians interfering in people's lives for no good reason. It's gesture politics.

"The next step will be a ban on smoking in all private vehicles followed by a ban on smoking in the home."

But back to Morning Call. Also on the programme was John Watson of ASH Scotland which has been advising Hume on his Bill.

(How political is that? Further evidence of taxpayers' money being used by a 'charity' to lobby government. Shameless.)

In support of a ban John quoted research in which 25 per cent of children claim to be exposed to tobacco smoke in cars.

Needless to say this "evidence"is entirely anecdotal hence our belief that proper research should be carried out – similar to the UCD study in Dublin – to ascertain the facts not the fiction.

(UCD monitored over 2,200 cars in Dublin's rush hour and recorded only eight drivers smoking and just one child exposed to tobacco smoke in the car.)

Anyway, there was light relief in the form of this Twitter exchange:

#morningcall @simonclark_ from Forest disagrees with the potential smoking ban in cars. He says that smokers in Scotland know how to behave

— BBC Radio Scotland (@BBCRadioScot) December 16, 2014

@BBCRadioScot @simonclark_ sure it's no Forres?....get Scottish place-names right at least....

— Willie Farrelly (@bigwilliebhoy) December 16, 2014

@bigwilliebhoy @simonclark_ Forest is short for Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco

— BBC Radio Scotland (@BBCRadioScot) December 16, 2014

@BBCRadioScot @simonclark_ well say that then...eejits

— Willie Farrelly (@bigwilliebhoy) December 16, 2014

Forget health, anti-smoking laws are about control

We've made the front page of the Scottish Daily Mail this morning.

On page 2 I'm quoted as follows:

"This is a taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. We don't condone people smoking in cars with children but these are private vehicles and we are concerned that the next logical step will be to try to ban smoking in homes as well.

"This will be excessive and almost impossible to enforce. If a car is going 30 or 40mph, police will not be able to say if there was a child in the car and I'm sure the police have better things to do."

Jackson Carlaw, health spokesman for the Scottish Tories', appears to share our view:

"We are reluctant to resort to legislation as we are concerned about not only enforceability but also the diversion of police resources."

Scottish Labour, however, support legislation and the SNP-led Scottish Government is "broadly sympathetic" to the Bill which is being put forward by Lib Dem MSP Jim Hume.

The next step, as we've always said, will be a ban on smoking in all private vehicles followed by bans in other private spaces including, eventually, the home.

Interestingly, figures published last week revealed a rise in the number of smokers in Scotland. "Scotland is losing the war on tobacco" reports the Mail, in a separate article.

According to the Scottish Household Survey 23.1 of adults were smoking in 2013, up from 22.9 in 2012. So much for "making progress".

Of course the knee-jerk reaction to failure is to push for more legislation, backed up by fines and other penalties, until it becomes physically impossible for an adult to smoke without breaking the law.

Forget health. This is about control.

Thank You For Smoking: I spy a sequel

There was a long and mostly positive feature about e-cigarettes in yesterday's Guardian.

Sublimely written by Will Storr – a former smoker who took up vaping whilst researching his article – there were times however when it bordered on satire to the extent that I was reminded of Christopher Buckley's exquisite Thank You For Smoking.

Who knew, for example, that "The range of flavours has expanded to more than 8,000 and now includes roast beef, unicorn milk and vagina mist."

Or that exhaling vapour through your nose and the sides of the mouth is called "the dragon".

Or that vapers known as "cloud chasers" compete to see who can create the largest amount of vapour.

Adding to the fun were comments from Michael Clapper of e-cigarette company Vapestick who Storr described as "part boardroom, part boxer".

Being the Guardian, of course, there had to be sting in the tail and having described, vividly and in some detail, what happened when coach driver John Walter's e-cigarette exploded (he and his family are now living in a Premier Inn).

If Buckley doesn't write a sequel Storr should. He's done the research and the title is obvious - Thank You For Vaping.

Nick Naylor is now an e-cig lobbyist and, well, I'll leave you to fill in the blanks.

But first, read Storr's article: E-cigarettes: is vaping any safer than old-fashioned smoke? (Guardian). Entertaining and informative.