Monthly Archives: March 2012

The TaxPayers’ Alliance savages George Osborne’s 37p rise in cigarettes

Posted on March 22, 2012 by daveatherton

Hat tip Dick Puddlecote. National treasure The TaxPayers’ Alliance have produced their usual erudite take on the UK’s budget for 2012. They launch a devastating critique on the 37p rise in taxation on a packet of cigarettes, confirming the criminal … Continue reading →

Posted in Smoking | Tagged | 2 Comments

“The results suggest that the public consensus about the negative effects of passive smoke is so strong that it has become part of a regime of truth that cannot be intelligibly questioned.”

Posted on March 18, 2012 by daveatherton

So said Sheldon Ungar of the Department of Social Science, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1C and Dennis Bray of the Institute for Coastal Research, GKSS Geesthact, Germany. The background to this paper was the publication in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) of Dr. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Even in America’s private healthcare system smokers are cheaper to treat over their lifetime

Posted on March 17, 2012 by daveatherton

This is from the New England Journal of Medicine from 1997. Even where you pay from your healthcare privately over a lifetime smokers are the cheapest to treat. “BACKGROUND Although smoking cessation is desirable from a public health perspective, its … Continue reading →

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The true costs of treating smokers, the obese and the healthy

Posted on March 17, 2012 by daveatherton

In 2008 the Dutch government looked into the cost of treating people from the age of 20 to death. They had three categories, the healthy, obese and smokers. The results were not what the health gurus were looking for, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lung cancer, Smoking, Uncategorized | Tagged | 11 Comments

An anti smoker speaks

Posted on March 13, 2012 by daveatherton

Over at the Independent, “journalist” or more like “churnalist” Steve Connor has dutifully cut and pasted a rattled Deborah Arnott and Stephen Williams’ Liberal Democrat MP’s piece on attacking Mark Littlewood of the Institute of Economic Affairs. “Anti-smoking campaigners have … Continue reading →

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Pete Robinson writes for Freedom2Choose

Posted on March 11, 2012 by daveatherton

If you are not aware I am Chairman of Freedom2Choose a pro choice lifestyles organisation. It is with great pleasure to say that Pete Robinson who is a publican and very much against the smoking ban has agreed to write … Continue reading →

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My article on plain packaging published in The Commentator

Posted on March 8, 2012 by daveatherton

As it says above I hope you enjoy it. http://www.thecommentator.com/article/973/more_government_interference_why_plain_tobacco_packets_are_plain_nonsense “The relentless assault on smokers continues unabated. The coalition has implemented the tobacco display ban which in large shops becomes operational on April 1st this year and for smaller convenience stores from … Continue reading →

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An important event on cigarette plain packaging at the Institute of Economic Affairs, 14th March

Posted on March 2, 2012 by daveatherton

There is a free event at the IEA on nanny state cigarette plain packaging I hope you can join me. 14 March 2012, 6.30pm IEA, 2 Lord North Street, London, SW1 (door on Great Peter Street) “Does Packaging Influence Smoking? … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments