Tonight's the night for Forest's man in Ireland

H/T for Forest Eireann's John Mallon.

John's had a busy couple of days as a result of the announcement that the Irish Government is to press ahead with plain packaging.

Here are some of the radio stations he's given interviews to:

Newstalk
CRC FM (Castlebar Radio)
RTE1 (flagship Drivetime programme)
96FM Cork
RedFM Cork
WLR Waterford
Midlands 103
Spin FM

John has also been quoted by the Irish Examiner:

“There is no hard evidence that plain packaging will deter children from smoking. There is, however, evidence from Australia that it will increase illicit trade.

“If plain packaging is introduced, there is a serious risk Ireland could be flooded with fake cigarettes which could be far more harmful to consumers, including children,” Mr Mallon said.

See Ban on seductive cigarette packaging a bad day for big tobacco, says Reilly).

But the big one is tonight when John is a guest on TV3's Tonight with Tom McGurk (sitting in for Vincent Browne).

Good luck, John. Your country needs you!!

Watch this space

Just given responses to two stories that will appear tomorrow.

Both smoking-related, of course.

One concerns recommendations by the Scottish Government's Youth Commission on Smoking (sic).

The other involves a motion to be debated at the BMA's Annual Representative Meeting in Harrogate in ten days.

Both the motion and the recommendations are preposterous yet sadly predictable.

Watch this space.

"Experts" letter to Government on plain packaging and Forest's response

Blink and you would have missed it.

The BMJ yesterday published an open letter calling on the Government to "confirm that the regulations on standardised (plain) packaging of cigarettes and tobacco products will be published soon".

It was signed by more than 600 doctors, nurses and other NHS health professionals who are described as "experts" although the exact nature of their expertise wasn't revealed.

Interestingly the letter got very little publicity. It was mentioned on ITV's Good Morning Britain for whom I did an interview, recorded in a dimly lit room in London on Tuesday afternoon.

BBC News also covered it, but only online and with a quote from Forest (Ministers urged to speed up plain cigarettes plans).

MSN News also featured it, again with a comment by Forest (Push for plain cigarette packs), and that was it, apart from one or two local papers and medical journals.

I think perhaps plain packaging fatigue has set in. For the record, here's Forest's full response:

"The government is right to take its time. The impact of standardised packaging on retailers and consumers could be extremely damaging.

"Evidence suggests that plain packaging could fuel illicit and lead to the UK being flooded with fake cigarettes.

"If the consultation on the regulations is to have any meaning ministers must keep an open mind.

"A decision to introduce standardised packaging must be based on hard evidence that it will stop the next generation of children smoking.

"Conjecture and subjective opinion, which is all we've seen so far, are not enough."

The good news, if you're opposed to plain packs, is that the consultation will gives us an excellent peg on which to hang our 'No, Prime Minister' campaign.

Out latest initiative is gathering force, and numbers, every day. Click here and here (MessageSpace).

If you haven't signed the letter to the PM opposing plain packaging please do it now.

Forest launches 'No, Prime Minister' online ad campaign

Pleased to announce that Forest has launched a new online ad campaign.

For 72 hours Forest's 'No, Prime Minister' initiative will have total exposure across the MessageSpace network.

That includes Guido Fawkes, ConservativeHome, Labour List, Liberal Democrat Voice, UK Polling Report, Political Betting and Newsbiscuit.

Full story: Forest launches online ad campaign against plain packaging.

PS. Expect some media activity on the plain packaging front in the next 24 hours. Our opponents are gearing up too.

Anti-smoking propaganda is a TV turn-off

The public has voted with their remote controls.

The viewing figures for the BBC's anti-tobacco documentary, Burning Desire: The Seduction of Smoking, are reported as follows:

Part one (May 29) had 589k viewers, just 2.9% of the viewing public. Part two (June 5) was even more of a turn off with only 541k viewers (2.8%).

Digital Spy has the figures here and here.

Pity the stats don't reveal how many viewers were taxpayer funded tobacco control campaigners!

The majority, is my guess. Lol.

PS. In the same time slot on the same channel on May 22 a Horizon programme attracted 921k viewers, 4.4% of the viewing public.

Burning Desire: The Seduction of Smoking couldn't even match that. Says it all.

Burning Desire revealed Sir Cyril Chantler's true colours

The second part of Peter Taylor's BBC documentary Burning Desire: The Seduction of Smoking was notable for a number of reasons.

One, the bizarre jumping from one to another, quite different, issue. The first part, broadcast last week, may have been biased but at least there was a clear narrative.

Last night's programme was all over the place. Literally. (If you're wondering who paid for Taylor's globetrotting it was you and me, courtesy of the licence fee.)

So we had a long opening section about e-cigarettes followed by a sequence about smoking in Timor where there are few restrictions on tobacco use.

I was still getting my head around that particular link when Taylor was transported to Argentina where he told the locals they shouldn't smoke in bars because it wasn't allowed.

After that he turned up in Uruguay, Australia, Germany and, finally, Ireland where he interviewed the passionate anti-smoking minister for health James Reilly.

Two, almost 90 minutes into a two-hour documentary we finally heard from an adult who enjoyed smoking. When you consider that globally two billion people smoke (ten million in the UK alone), that was some achievement.

Needless to say that person lived in Timor. He knows no better, you could almost hear the presenter think.

Three, and this is my abiding memory of the programme, was the contribution of Sir Cyril Chantler, author of the infamous Chantler Review on standardised packaging of tobacco.

Chantler's comments were crucial because by commenting on smoking and e-cigarette advertising it was he who underpinned the message of this flawed programme.

First, 13 minutes in, Taylor and Chantler rebutted BAT's claim that nicotine is no more harmful than a cup of coffee.

Taylor: But unlike coffee, which is only mildly addictive, nicotine can be extremely addictive. Professor Sir Cyril Chantler headed a government (sic) inquiry into cigarette packaging. He's one of the country's leading paediatricians and has studied and experienced the effect of nicotine on smokers.

Chantler: It is very addictive and it is addictive both psychologically, but it is also addictive biologically and we now understand far better than we did before the effect, the mechanisms, on the brain receptors that lead to that level of addiction. I know personally it's very difficult to give up.

Taylor: You were a smoker?

Chantler: I was.

Taylor: How long did you smoke for?

Chantler: More than 30 years.

Taylor: "How did a doctor …

Chantler: Indeed.

Taylor: … and a paediatrician …

Chantler: Indeed.

Taylor: … become a lifelong (sic) smoker and smoke for 30 years?

Chantler: Well, if knew now, if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have started.

Commenting on e-cigarette marketing (16 minutes):

Chantler: I'm personally worried about the advertising of them because it might cause confusion in young people's minds about the dangers of cigarette smoking.

(Plain packs for e-cigarettes, anyone?)

Finally, following a section about 'Be Marlboro', Philip Morris' "controversial new campaign that pushes advertising restrictions to the limit" (Taylor's words), Chantler commented (40 minutes):

I can't see how you can quarantine 15 to 18 year-olds or younger children. I also don't see how if you are marketing for the appeal of your particular brand how that can not have an effect on the consumption of tobacco and there is a lot of evidence from various cases in the past that shows a direct link between advertising and young people starting to smoke.

Reading those comments can anyone really believe Chantler was ever open-minded about plain packaging prior to conducting his "independent" review?

Personally I think that having conducted and published his review Chantler should retire gracefully to the sidelines.

Instead he seemed to enjoy being the focus of Taylor's attention and was relaxed and smiling. (I'd be relaxed too if I was lobbed questions without fear of cross-examination.)

As well as mostly ignoring smokers who enjoy the habit or are not addicted, Burning Desire also ignored another important group – non-smokers like me.

There are hundreds of millions of us worldwide who have grown up surrounded by tobacco advertising and sponsorship (before it was banned) and none of us has never become a smoker.

Millions of people aged 50+ will have worked in an office or socialised in a pub with people smoking around us and still we didn't take up the habit.

People can think and act for themselves, Mr Taylor, but that message didn't fit your programme, did it?

Update on Friday, June 6, 2014 at 9:51 by Simon Clark

Forest live tweeted last night's programme. Here's a selection of tweets and retweets:

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 45s
"E-cigarettes and harm reduction is central to BAT's strategy. It's far from a PR stunt" says company spokesman #BurningDesire

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 1m
"British American Tobacco believes nicotine is no more harmful than a cup of coffee." #BurningDesire

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 49s
Sir Cyril Chantler "personally worried" about e-cig advertising. Is he going to recommend plain packs for e-cigs too?!! #BurningDesire

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 1m
E-cigs: "Greatest invention that we've seen in modern times" says Dr John Ashcroft, Derbyshire GP #burningdesire

Christopher Snowdon @cjsnowdon · 17m
There are relatively few 'public health' people who are fanatically opposed to e-cigarettes, but most of them are on #burningdesire

Christopher Snowdon @cjsnowdon · 3m
This documentary is totally incoherent. We're back to 1950s cigarette ads again? #burningdesire

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 13s
At last! #BurningDesire finally features an "unrepentant" smoker who says he enjoys it.

Christopher Snowdon @cjsnowdon · 4m
As the low youth smoking rates in the US and Germany show, advertising isn't important. #burningdesire

Claire Fox @Fox_Claire · 2m
Peter Taylor's tone so shrill/outraged re people blatantly breaking strict anti-smoking laws in Argentina, expecting new war #burningdesire

Dick Puddlecote @Dick_Puddlecote · 2m
Apparently, Argentina should torpedo its economy because anti-smoking propagandist from London says so #burningdesire #firstworldarrogance

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 21s
On this evidence does anyone believe Sir Cyril Chantler was open minded about plain packaging when he began his review? #burningdesire

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 1m
"The future is about tobacco harm reduction" says BAT spokesman #burningdesire

Matt Gluggles @MattGluggles · 3m
#burningdesire on BBC2 - perfect example of the BBC lobbying Government.

Smoke Screenz @SmokeScreenz_ · 17m
Chill Out everyone: 'Burning Desire' by Lana Del Rey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx_dTSPzXlk&feature=kp … #LanaDelRey #BurningDesire

And finally, from this morning:

Forest @Forest_Smoking · 42m
Daily Express review of BBC's #BurningDesire documentary says it "felt rather light on views from the smokers". We couldn't agree more.

Burning desire for a balanced programme bound to end in disappointment

The second part of Peter Taylor's documentary on smoking is on BBC2 at 9.30 tonight.

Part one was reviewed by Chris Snowdon who pretty much summed up my recollection of the programme - see Burning Desire: A viewer's guide.

Some might argue that because there were interviews with representatives of tobacco control and the tobacco industry it was well balanced.

Watch the programme carefully however and you can't help notice that anti-smoking campaigners like Linda Bauld and Professor John Britton were allowed to have their say without comment.

In contrast, contributions by tobacco company spokesmen were invariably dismissed with some snide or derogatory remark.

Thus JTI's initiative to tackle illicit trade (or was it underage smoking?) was dismissed as a PR stunt, and BAT's attempt to highlight the problem of illicit trade in Australia was immediately undermined by Taylor who was filmed jumping out of a vehicle to reveal that the footage we had just seen was no random test. The shops BAT had taken him to were already known to be selling smuggled cigarettes. The implication, uncontested, was that illicit trade was not as big a problem as BAT was suggesting.

In contrast John Britton was able to call for an increase in the cost of cigarettes to £20 per pack without a single voice pointing out the negative or unintended consequences of such a policy.

(Oddly enough this proposal – which merited no more than a couple of seconds on the programme – was hyped up by the BBC ahead of transmission and featured on several local radio stations.)

Meanwhile – and I am going on memory – the interviews with consumers were either with elderly people suffering from serious smoking-related diseases, or giggling teenagers discussing their 'addiction'.

There wasn't a single comment from a healthy adult smoker explaining why they smoke or why they enjoy smoking despite the fact – and here I must declare an interest – that I suggested it to the producers several months ago.

For the record, I was contacted by the programme's producer in January. We spoke on the phone and I expressed the hope that over a two-hour documentary they would find at least a few minutes to feature people who like smoking.

I suggested they might conduct some interviews at a Forest event which I offered to organise for the purpose.

I intended to send the producer links to videos of previous Forest events (there are a number on YouTube) but following our initial conversation and a subsequent email (from me to him) I did some research and discovered more about Peter Taylor's work in this field.

It didn't encourage me to get Forest involved and I heard nothing more anyway.

Signs are that part two (tonight at 9.30) will be more of the same in terms of balance although there may be greater emphasis on e-cigarettes and a more global perspective. See The country where nearly two-thirds of men smoke by, er, Peter Taylor (BBC News).

You have to hand it to him. With a lot of help from the BBC he's been pretty good at promoting what is, at best, a fairly niche documentary.

See also: Can the tobacco industry shed its 'toxic brand'? (BBC News)

Still want to introduce plain packaging, Mr Cameron?

Remarkable report in The Sun today.

I'm in meetings most of the day so haven't got time to comment but if the Government includes plain packaging in the Queen's Speech this morning I'll be astounded.

The result of The Sun investigation is extraordinary and the paper's report - published over two pages - includes some amazing quotes.

According to one Indonesian counterfeiter, "We can make [plain packs] cheaper but sell for the same price."

Mocking David Cameron, he added: "Plain packaging ... I support the UK Government!"

You couldn't make it up.

As we've been saying for a long, long time, any rush to regulation without proper consideration of all possible consequences would be hugely irresponsible.

Full report here: Sun smokes out Mr Cig - investigation shows criminal gangs will net a fortune from plain packs.

Update: No reference to plain packaging in Queen's Speech. No reason why it should have been - it doesn't need primary legislation to be implemented - but inclusion would have been a further signal of intent, which is why Labour wanted it in.