I don’t want to appear facetious, but this is the sort of thing that amuses me.

According to the UK Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2025, part of the Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index, ‘the UK is ranked 17th globally out of 100 countries, based on evidence captured between April 2023 and March 2025'. Gratifyingly, Forest is mentioned several times.

A friend messaged me this morning, ‘Time to resurrect the Media Monitoring Unit?’

I won’t repeat my reply, but it’s not a bad idea. My media monitoring days may be over, but it could be a job for someone else.

Sorry to hear that Gilson Lavis, the original drummer with Squeeze, has died. He was 74.

Paul Carrack, who played keyboards on two Squeeze albums – East Side Story (1981) and Some Fantastic Place (1993) – posted a lovely tribute on Instagram. Others who have paid tribute include Jools Holland and Chris Evans.

The Office for National Statistics has published the latest (estimated) figures for the number of people who smoke and vape in the UK.

According to the ONS, the proportion of the adult population in the UK who smoke cigarettes fell from 11.9 per cent (six million) in 2023, to 10.6 per cent (5.3 million) in 2024.

Sadly, another old school friend has died.

Colin lived or worked in over 30 different countries. Adelaide, he said, was the ‘nicest place’ he had lived and he became an Australian citizen, although he never forgot his Scottish roots.

‘Stabbing on train close to you?’

I don’t normally get messages like that on a Saturday night but, yes, last night’s incident was relatively close, not that we were in any personal danger because we were at home.

We should have been in Majorca this week where it’s 23 degrees and sunny.

Instead, due to unforeseen circumstances, we spent a few days in Somerset where it was 13 degrees and overcast with a hint of drizzle.

To mark the start of the committee stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in the House of Lords this week, Forest has published a new paper, The Price of Prohibition.

Written by Rob Lyons, it addresses the possible impact of a generational tobacco ban on retail crime and the black market, and the potential for the type of tobacco turf wars we have witnessed in Australia.