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=THE FUTURE OF LIBERTY & THE WAR ON SMOKERS=
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The future of liberty
If you're in London on Saturday (June 28) you may like to attend 'The Future of Liberty', a special event organised by Students for Liberty.
Speakers include former government minister, The Rt Hon Steve Baker, Andrew Rosindell MP, Mark Littlewood (Popular Conservatism), Chris Snowdon and Reem Ibrahim (Institute of Economic Affairs), and Simon Clark (Forest).
Simon will be talking about the war on smoking, with specific reference to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill that is currently progressing through parliament.
Venue is The Miller pub in south east London (nearest station: London Bridge) and the event is scheduled to begin at 4.00pm and continue until late.
Tickets are free. To register click here ([link removed]) .
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The war on smokers
Forest director Simon Clark recently discussed the war on smokers on the TaxPayers Alliance podcast, A Nation of Taxpayers.
Hosted by broadcaster Duncan Barkes and also featuring the TPA's Benjamin Elkes, the 30-minute conversation covered government over-reach, the pleasure of smoking, the Government's generational tobacco ban, and the more general attack on our rights and freedoms.
Simon also criticised the Government for announcing, as part of the recent Spending Review, an additional £80m per year for smoking cessation 'and enforcement'.
The War On Smokers: Freedom Under Fire ([link removed]) is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube (audio only).
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Deliver us from evil
"Smokers are fiscal heroes." That was the verdict of David Seymour, deputy prime minister of New Zealand, who was in the UK recently.
During his private trip he spoke at an 'Enlightenment Evening' organised by the Adam Smith Institute at the National Liberal Club.
Talking to Lord Hannan, the former Conservative MEP, Seymour added, "If you want to save your country's balance sheet, light up."
Leader of the free market ACT Party, and largely responsible for the current coalition government in New Zealand repealing the previous government's generational tobacco ban that was due to be implemented in 2027, Seymour described the policy as "quite evil, in a way".
The Guido Fawkes website has the story here ([link removed]) . Watch the full discussion here ([link removed]) .
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Smoke and mirrors
A forthcoming event that will address the Tobacco and Vapes Bill exclusively is 'Smoke and Mirrors: The Legal Challenge to the Generational Tobacco Ban' on Thursday 3rd July.
Organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs and chaired by comms manager Reem Ibrahim, speakers are Chris Snowdon, head of lifestyle economics at the IEA, former Lord Chancellor Sir Robert Buckland KBE KC, and Clive Bates, former director of ASH, who will explain why, in his view, the legislation is unworkable.
To register, click here ([link removed]) .
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Making waves
According to a poll conducted by YouGov and commissioned by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), there is 'overwhelming support' for a ban on smoking on beaches.
The poll was conducted several weeks ago and the beach issue was barely commented upon until last week when it was the lead story on Look North, the BBC's early evening news programme.
Forest director Simon Clark was interviewed live, and he was also invited to discuss the issue on BBC Radio Lincolnshire the following morning.
The BBC News website then asked the question, 'Should smoking be banned on beaches? ([link removed]) ’, quoting our director as follows:
"Of course smokers should be considerate to people in their immediate vicinity but there is absolutely no justification for a ban on smoking on beaches because there is no health risk to anybody apart from the smoker themselves."
'Forest,' the BBC report added, 'encourages smokers to use pocket ashtrays and for local authorities to provide more cigarette bins in public spaces.'
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Sacré bleu
One country that HAS introduced a national ban on smoking on beaches (and in parks) is France where the new law is due to be implemented from 1st July.
"Anti-smoking is becoming a moral crusade," Forest director Simon Clark told BBC World Service.
He also took part in a discussion about the ban on Newstalk, Ireland's largest independent radio station. 'Should Ireland ban smoking on the beach?' asked Lunchtime Live. "No!" argued Simon and journalist Ian O'Doherty, an old friend of Forest ([link removed]) .
It's hard to believe that France, a country whose capital city, Paris, enjoyed the accolade 'European capital of smoking' only 25 years ago should surrender to such authoritarianism, but there we are.
Older supporters may recall that on No Smoking Day in 1999 Forest organised a day trip to Paris to escape the well-publicised anti-smoking propaganda at home.
Our small band of brothers – who included Forest chairman Lord Harris of High Cross and Bob Shields of the Daily Record (above) – travelled by Eurostar, which still had smoking coaches in those days.
No Smoking Day was a much bigger media event than it is today and we were able to publicise our response by conducting a series of live interviews with various radio stations en route.
Upon arrival at Gare du Nord we were met by representatives of a similar smokers' rights group in France.
Lunch took place at a restaurant formerly used by the Resistance during the war, and the entire day was a great success.
Bob Shields wrote a double-page feature for the Record (sadly, it's not online) but he is pictured above at Waterloo Station prior to our early departure.
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Freedom Up In Smoke (gallery)
And finally, a reminder that you can view photos of our Freedom Up In Smoke lunch at Boisdale of Belgravia last month by visiting this link ([link removed]) .
Enter your email address, click the 'Next' button three times, then click the 'Enter' button to access the gallery of photos. It's easier than it sounds!
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