Dear Friend of Forest, It's been another difficult year for many people. The good news is that there seems to be light at the end of the long Covid tunnel but I remember writing that last year so let's not get ahead of ourselves! My personal view is that if we want to...
2021 News Releases
Ireland: Forest condemns plan to consider “draconian” anti-smoking measures
News that the HSE is to 'consider a complete ban on the sale of tobacco and a sharp reduction in the number of outlets allowed to sell tobacco products ... to help eradicate cigarette smoking in Ireland' has been condemned by smokers' rights campaigners. According to...
New Zealand: Plans to ban sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2008 “absurd” and “illiberal”
Plans to ban the sale of tobacco to people born after 2008 in New Zealand have been described as "absurd" and "illiberal" by smokers' rights campaigners. Simon Clark, spokesman for Forest, said: “This is prohibition in all but name and prohibition very rarely works....
Banning smoking in outdoor pavement areas would be “insane”
Forest has welcomed reports that the Cabinet has rejected a plan by health secretary Sajid Javid to ban smoking in pavement areas outside pubs, cafes and restaurants. Director Simon Clark said: “Banning smoking in pavement areas would be insane. There is no...
Forest welcomes news that Irish government has no plans to limit number of cigarettes in a pack to 20
Forest Ireland has welcomed the news that the Irish government has no plans to limit the number of cigarettes in a pack to 20. Replying to a written parliamentary question from Fine Gael TD Bernard Durkan, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said there was a "dearth...
Wales: Forest criticises ‘smoke-free 2030’ target
Forest has criticised plans to make Wales ‘smoke-free’ by 2030. Responding to the launch of a consultation on a long-term tobacco control strategy, Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: “Tobacco is a legal product. No-one should be forced to quit smoking yet freedom...
Forest attacks proposed new tobacco control measures
Forest has criticised a series of amendments tabled by Labour MP Mary Foy, chair of the APPG on Smoking and Health, in response to the Government's Health and Care Bill. If accepted they would give the health secretary the power to ensure a health warning is put on...
Forest Ireland’s response to Budget 2022
Responding to a 50c increase in the cost of a pack of 20 cigarettes in Ireland, with pro-rata increases on other tobacco products, John Mallon, spokesman for Forest Ireland, said: "This is yet another attack on consumers, many of whom are low paid workers, after a...
In This Section
Mission & Vision
Mission
Forest’s mission is to protect the interests of adults who choose to smoke or consume tobacco.
Our key aims and objectives are to:
- counteract the “denormalisation” of smoking, and smokers
- prevent further restrictions on the purchase and consumption of tobacco
- establish closer links with other tobacco-friendly groups at home and abroad
- build support among consumers of tobacco and other similarly threatened groups
- highlight the increasingly intrusive nature of Big Government in the lives of private individuals