Freedom2Choose will be joining the protest march in London on 7 December alongside Justice for Licensees (JFL) against the onerous practices of pubcos.
The march will be calling for immediate government intervention to protect current tenants and consumers, and will demand a complete and full investigation into every aspect of the pubco model by the Competitions Commission.
Inez Ward, founder of JFL, states, "It is imperative that this government take immediate action. The pubcos have failed miserably in self-regulation for a number of years, hence the findings of the Business and Enterprise Committee report into pubcos. All MP's should support the findings of this Select Committee. We are pleased to work with Freedom2Choose on this, and other issues. Our trade needs to unite on all issues that are affecting the stability of the Great British Pub and the continuing onslaught by the Health Alliance, who now appear to have alcohol set firmly in their sights."
Justice for Licensees and Freedom to Choose have been working together for a number of months investigating the unfortunate demise of the Great British Pub.
Phil Johnson, club and pub liaison officer for Freedom2Choose, states, "We are pleased to be working closely with Justice for Licensees. It is quite obvious that since the introduction of the blanket smoking ban on 1 July 2007 the pub trade has completely nosedived. Had the licensees been afforded freedom of choice, on multiple issues including the beer tie, we would not have witnessed the ensuing carnage within our hospitality sector. It is incredible in this day and age that hard working people can be subjected to poverty and the depths of despair by present systems in place. We are also pleased to say that representation from shisha bar owners will join the march as their businesses have also been slaughtered,"
Freedom 2 Choose fully support all recommendations by the BEC, including an investigation by the Competitions Commission, and offering all tenants the freedom of choice on whether to be tied or not.
Spokesperson: Phil Johnson 07773 926818
THE LION MOVES I managed to catch up with Emma Chapman, the landlady of the Jolly Brewer, yesterday following the hugely successful Smoker's Festival and a very interesting chat it was.
Emma tells me that the pub has been buzzing since the event because for the first time since this draconian anti-social smoking ban was enforced, the customers have realised that they can make a difference and they can do something about it.
"At first they showed little interest because they thought it was done deal and who would care to listen to what they had to say," she said.
"But when they saw that they could put their name on the SOPAC amendthesmokingban.com registration forms, and to learn of F2C and the grass roots support it enjoys, they are keen to get further involved in the campaign in whatever way they can."
Emma gave out free Forest T Shirts carrying messages such as Don't Walk, Don't Smoke, Don't Drink, Don't Think in return for a signature showing their support and on condition that they knew what the message meant and they had thought about it before wearing the T shirt. Many did and are still wearing the T shirts - no doubt having to explain to non-pub customers they come across in their daily lives what the messages mean.
She is also relieved because she says her thriving packed pub, full of atmosphere, began to die immediately after the ban. The income raised at the festival will ensure that she can survive yet another lean winter.
Emma hopes that pro-choice groups will again be involved in next year's festival - which we can only hope will be a celebration of the end of the draconian restrictions. Meanwhile, she plans to take all of the campaign literature to another Lincolnshire music festival with the traveling side of her pub to spread the pro-choice message further.
18 August 2009
Today I can exclusively reveal details of the long awaited Smokers' Festival which has gained in popularity since it began back in 2007.
Due to be held at The Jolly Brewer on Broadgate, Lincoln, it started as a way of respecting those smokers who the landlady - a smoker herself along with all of her staff - didn't want to chuck out in the cold.
The event will be held over the August Bank Holiday weekend from Friday 28th to Monday 31st and a right feast of musical talent is on offer as well as great company.
Emma Chapman, who runs the pub, heard about the TICAP anti-prohibition conference which was held in Brussels last January. She couldn't attend but wanted to know all the details. It would have been great to hold a similar conference locally but there were some rules about pubs and politics and Emma, understandably, didn't want to end up getting on the wrong side of the local licensing officer.
However, a brilliant compromise has been reached and Emma has put aside one day of the weekend where disgruntled smokers can add their voice to the growing anti-ban campaign.
The JB regulars, and new visitors, will be able to pick up loads of information and sign a petition calling for an amendment to the current anti-social ban and make their voice heard on their right to choose.
This is an ideal way of letting those disaffected and ignored smokers, who know nothing about the campaigns running mostly online, have their say and get involved if they want to.
The full run down of the event and the details can be found online and a link to the JB's website will appear below this article.
Personally, I can't wait to hear the extra talented Jon Gomm on the Friday night who can make sounds out of his guitar that sound like he has a whole backing band behind him. He is just one out of a whole showcase of local talent on the agenda throughout the whole weekend.
Saturday is the main smoking campaign day and that begins at 8pm. Delegates from Freedom 2 Choose will be there and lots of information from the Save Our Pubs and Clubs amendthesmokingban.com campaign.
So anyone who hates this ban should get along to Lincoln and support this event. It will be a brilliant do and it is dedicated to you the smoker who has not been able to enjoy a decent social night out since this bigoted NuLab govt decided you don't matter.
Phil Johnson, F2C club and pub liaison officer said : "Freedom2choose is proud to be part of the Smokers Music Festival as this festival clearly domonstrates the urgent need for CHOICE. We look forward to welcoming all like minded people on the 29th & 30th August."
For more information see here:
ReadThis Article
Press Release - Working Men's Clubs Survey Disaster
Through the good auspices of The CIU Club Journal, a monthly issue delivered to more than 2300 Working Men’s Clubs, Freedom2Choose have uncovered some shocking facts about the smoke ban implemented on 1 July 2007:
• 98% stated the ban had definitely had a detrimental effect on their club.
• 98% stated the ban was not implemented fairly.
• 98% believed there should have been freedom of choice.
• 98% of clubs had the facility for a separate smoking room.
• 81% stated that they did not trust this government anymore.
Phil Johnson, Club Liaison Officer for Freedom2Choose, said "This clearly proves that the smoking ban has had a disastrous effect on one of the largest social institutions in the country. This ban, supposedly brought in to protect staff, has caused nothing but unemployment and hardship throughout club-land and cannot be proven to have saved one single life. Yet 90 clubs have closed forever, with more set to follow."
Phil further stated, "The biggest shock was the disastrous 81% that no longer trusted this government. When you consider that the majority of the clubs lie within the Labour voting heartlands, this government has clearly shafted 'their own' with this draconian law. Had any form of fairness been applied to this law, i.e. choice or separate rooms, then this control-obsessed government would not be facing the inevitable backlash from its hardcore supporters."
The survey was verified by Dr Ruth Cherrington, Lecturer in Cultural and Media studies at Warwick University, who commented "When the truth of such prohibition surfaces it is always a very sad truth. The clubs are the backbone of our communities - but for how much longer?"
Spokesperson – Phil Johnson – 07773 926818
NRT: Studies Destroy “Four Times More Likely To Quit With NHS” Claim
Freedom2Choose, working with hypnotherapist Chris Holmes, reveals that the continued use of the Department of Health’s claim “you are up to four times more likely to quit with NHS help” has no evidential basis.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEPRLog (Press Release) – Jul 11, 2009 – Freedom2Choose, working with hypnotherapist Chris Holmes, reveals that the continued use of the Department of Health’s claim “you are up to four times more likely to quit with NHS help” has no evidential basis. Freedom2Choose can show that the Department of Health routinely uses misleading statements to promote Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) products as its preferred method of treatment for smoking cessation. This promotion is a very costly exercise, at a time of imminent cutbacks to public services.
Belinda Cunnison, of pro-choice group Freedom2Choose, investigated the common claim that you are “four times more likely to quit with NHS”, which is used in most promotional materials for NRT products, and frequently in press releases on the subject of smoking cessation. “I traced this claim to a Department of Health web page,(1) which also claimed a 15 per cent success rate at 12 months for NRT. The evidence that was supposed to demonstrate this 15 per cent success rate and the ‘four times more likely to quit’ phenomenon was not listed in the footnotes, so I wrote to the Department to ask for it.”
It took over three months to get the information. The following reports were made available by Cameron Gordon of the Department of Health in relation to smoking cessation studies:
• The Ferguson Health Inequalities Reduction Paper(2)
• The Evaluation Report(3)
• The Shiffman Report(4)
• The Cochrane Reviews(5)
• The Hughes Report(6)
• The Borland Report(7)
The documents revealed neither a 15 per cent quit rate at 12 months, nor any evidence that quitting with the NHS is four times more effective than willpower alone. The Borland Report recorded a 12-month success rate of 6.5 per cent (higher rates were achieved only in the smaller scale studies), whereas the largest study done on quitting using willpower alone achieved a rate of around 6 per cent.
“On the government’s own evidence, the claim ‘up to four times more likely to quit with the NHS’ is completely untrue. How can this claim be justified?” continues Belinda Cunnison. “The use of NHS treatments makes almost no difference at all to quitting success. A recent study published in the British Medical Journal(8) has also documented the long-term success rate of NRT at a mere 1.6 per cent. The whole exercise is futile as well as being enormously expensive.”
Freedom2Choose also has evidence that General Practitioners are given payments for patients who set a quit date, and an additional payment for patients who remain quit at four weeks. The payments are listed in NHS Warwickshire’s board report, March 2009.(9) This reflects the urgency of smoking cessation on the Trust’s list of priorities – an unfortunate choice of priority since patients seem just as good at giving up smoking under their own volition as they are with NHS help.
“At a time when we need to economise, particularly in the Health Service, why is our Government pumping tax-payers’ money into a failed product and using misleading claims to the service user?” questions Belinda Cunnison. “Will-power alone has a comparable success rate for those who choose to give up smoking. This is a complete waste of our resources.”
Author and hypnotherapist Chris Holmes(10) agrees and states, “We are exposing a systematic and deliberate policy to seriously mislead the public over the true effectiveness of these services. The actual extent of long term failure was being quietly covered up - which we now know from the Borland report is 94 per cent failure at 12 months - whilst four-week results were shamelessly promoted, even including published 'success rates' as high as 90 per cent. Since they knew that to be the exact opposite of the real outcomes, this is a fraudulent misappropriation of hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money. NRT simply doesn't work.”
Friday May 22, 2009 sees the first in a series of nationwide meetings between Freedom2Choose, Conservative MPs, Conservative Parliamentary candidates, Norfolk LVA, CIU members, licensees and many other parties interested in reforming the smoking ban.
The meeting is being held at the Norwich Working Men’s Club at 7.30pm.
Phil Johnson, Freedom2Choose Club & Pub Liaison Officer said, "this is the first important step along the road of halting prohibition by this nanny government. Too many clubs, pubs & bingo halls have ceased trading because of the most spiteful, restrictive and socially devastating law ever imposed by any government of this country. There should always have been choice and had there been choice offered, we would not have seen 4000 businesses close in 21 months."
The meeting is being hosted by Norwich WMC, 9, St Gregorys Alley, Norwich who have also seen trade drop dramatically since July 1st, 2007. The CIU have always contested that they are private clubs and therefore should have been allowed choice.
All interested parties are welcome to attend.
Spokesperson: Phil Johnson 07773 926818
Freedom 2 ChooseJanuary, 2009
Report from Club Liaison Officer, Phil Johnson: “As the smoking ban puts more and more clubs in a perilous position we are starting to cause a stir within that sphere. In a monthly article for the Club Journal we are showing the masses that this ban was implemented on the back of lies, fabrications, manipulated statistics and spurious ‘consultations’.
“I am now in the process of setting up a meeting with the Scunthorpe Clubs, and all within the Doncaster Branch Area are invited to attend. I have received desperate news from that area, hence Freedom2Choose will eagerly await this meeting (pencilled in for April 2009).
“Freedom2Choose was represented in London last week at an important meeting chaired by Gerry Sutcliffe MP (Bradford South). Mr Dave Atherton, our Southern Area Club Liaison Officer, laid the blame for the demise of our clubs firmly at the smoke ban’s door, stating, ‘one or two clubs per year close for economic reasons. The smoking ban has caused 87 to close within the 18-month period since its implementation. The elderly, the infirm and the lonely have lost their only social outlet simply because smoking is not allowed indoors. The simple solution of separate rooms with ventilation would see a rapid return to happy, busy and thriving clubs.
“It has been calculated that clubs are losing £13m per year in beer sales. This has to stop.
“For all those that enjoy internet facilities all Club Journal articles can be found under the ‘Press’ banner of our website,
www.freedom2choose.info. They make interesting reading.
Freedom2Choose has also been instrumental in assisting with the High Court action by three Rampton patients, denied their human right to smoke within their ‘home’. It matters not why these less fortunate people are retained at Rampton, the crux of the matter is that Rampton is their home, hence they should be able to smoke.
“Freedom2Choose is now *on the air*! We have been invited to regular monthly ‘talks’ by manchesterradioonline.com where the host is trying to get the message out that ‘Smoking Bans Kill Businesses’. The show goes out ‘prime-time’ between 9 pm and 12 pm on Saturday nights. Log on to
http://www.manchesterradioonline.com and listen in.”
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Success Comes To Those Who Wait
2009-01-04
Pro-choice group Freedom To Choose have huge reasons to celebrate this New Year. The group has lobbied hard for policies to been drawn on official statistics and data, and to demonstrate how ‘public consultations' are in fact ‘fixed' and ‘seriously flawed'.
Andy Davis, chairman of the group, is delighted that Sir Michael Scholar of the UK Statistics Authority is advising that official data should only be used to draw up political arguments when it is released. (1)
Mr Davis states, 'this would have been tremendously important with regard to the Scottish ‘Pell Report' which had been systematically used to further enhance tobacco control policies. Official data now released prove it to be fundamentally flawed, with heart attacks on the increase in Scotland since the smoking ban.'
'Had the recommendations from Sir Michael been applied, then this misinformed report would not have seen the light of day.'
Freedom To Choose are also celebrating with their lobbying against the use of block votes by groups funded by the government, particularly in relation to the Tobacco Control Consultation. Concerns are now being raised from both the Taxpayer's Alliance and Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary. (2)
'This demonstrates what we have known all along,' continues Andy Davis, 'public consultations on health policy, particularly where tobacco is concerned, are heavily biased and I am not in the least bit surprised that these issues are now being addressed.'
1 Call to strip ministers of sneak preview of statistics: news.scotsman.com/politics/Call-to-strip-ministers-of.4840713.jp
2 Government 'fixing health consultations' with taxpayer-funded groups:
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Judicial Review
We are pleased to announce that our solicitors will be filing the Judicial Review at the Royal Courts of Justice in London tomorrow. The news media will be present outside the courthouse where Freedom To Choose will be making a statement.Additionally we will be interviewed by BBC East Midlands at 6.45am, Channel 4 at 1pm, The BBC at 4pm and Tony Blows is being interviewed by BBC Hereford & Worcester at 3.30pm although we don't know yet when any of these might air so keep tuned to your radios and TV's tomorrow afternoon.
F2C is now entering the phase that we have all been working so hard towards for the last few months and we thank you all for your wonderful support and of course your generous donations. There is much more work to do and more money to raise but we are now under way.
Please keep visiting the website to keep up to date and we hope that most of you will be attending one of the 'days of defiance' events planned for Sunday which have now attracted global attention with bars as far away as Hawaii planning to stand in defiance with us.
UK: Hundreds of pubs to flout smoking ban. Pubs plan a 'day of defiance' on 1 July. With a survey showing that three million smokers plan to defy the rules, the ban is facing three high court challenges. "It is a -protest against dictatorship." F2C
6/28/07
Judicial Review Takes A Step ForwardLoraine McGregor and Bob Feal- Martinez
7th March 2007.
We are happy to announce that, following advice from our QC, we have now instructed that an application for the Judicial Review be made as soon as possible. The news from our legal team is very positive, and with recent judgments against HMG on similar grounds to our own challenge, and indeed further conflicting statements from Patricia Hewitt the Secretary of State for the Department of Health, about the effectiveness of Air Conditioning, our case has been strengthened. Aircon offered on NHS
A Regulated Indoor Air Quality Standard is clearly the way forward.
There is growing disquiet amongst the public and this is reflected in the amount of resources the Government is putting into their advertising campaigns. It seems to us this Government is running scared, having devoted nearly £100 million in various propoganda exercises to try and convince the public that Passive Smoking is a killer. Freedom to Choose can prove it is not, and the message is slowly but surely getting out.
Iain O'Neill of the The Morning Advertiser approached our solicitor for the full story. Needless to say, the discussion forum attached to the article becomes rapidly volatile.............
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Scottish Lawyers Will Help in Judicial Review
Loraine McGregor
18th January 2007.
The team of Scottish lawyers who were poised and ready for action on behalf of The London and Edinburgh Group last year, have offered their assistance in our own legal challenge. The good news was given to us earlier this week by our own solicitor and was obviously warmly welcomed. The Morning Advertiser has covered the story....
Read Smoke ban group steps nearer to challenge
January 18, 2007
A group which is seeking a Judicial Review to challenge July’s smoking ban in England says it has made a “major step forward” in its campaign.
Freedom to Choose says it has teamed up with lawyers who worked on a similar challenge in Scotland.
Group spokesman Robert Feal-Martinez said: “We have always worked closely with our colleagues in Scotland, and we are pleased to announce that the lawyers for the now withdrawn challenge north of the border are working with our legal team and sharing vital legal comment and generally assisting us.
“The challenge in Scotland was not withdrawn because it didn’t have merit and had already been listed for a full hearing with court time of eight day’s set aside.
“There is no doubt the Scottish legal team have a mountain of evidence which can assist us in our Judicial Review.
“This legal link up can only strengthen our challenge.”
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September 2, 2006 Update:
Freedom to Choose,
www.thebigdebate.org have reported their judicial review on the smoking ban element of the Health Act is on time and on target.
Speaking exclusively to the MA, their leader and spokesperson Robert Feal-Martinez said,
"We had a full consultation meeting last week with Jaswinder Gill of Ormerods. "Mr Gill is a Judicual Review specialist and has indicated that we have a number of key areas on which to challenge the Government.
"We have devised an action plan and are currently collating the evidence ready to refer to our Barrister"He went onto say that Mr. Gill has consulted with Richard Gordon QC a top civil rights Barrister who is keen to take on the case.
The man for us Martinez said:
"Obviously we are delighted with this news, we identified Mr. Gordon early on as the man for us, and hopefully this will be the case."
Freedom to Choose now needs to raise the money for the case and would ask that any group, company or individual who can financially assist gets in touch.
Martinez said
,"We have been writing to individual members of various trade bodies as we feel the executives of the main organisations have let their members down. We are getting more and more support."
He concluded by requesting that trade leaders now get involved, "Surely it's better for Pubco's and brewers to donate a few thousand to our fight rather than spending millions which in the end we believe will not be necessary. Our legal team are confident we can win. So are we."
August 9, 2006 Update:
Freedom to Choose,
www.thebigdebate.org, have taken their first steps towards their Judicial Review of the smoking ban element of the Health Act. They have had preliminary discussions with a top firm of solicitors who have stated the challenge has merit. Freedoms spokesperson Robert Feal-Martinez, said, " We spoke for an hour and the solicitor was clearly impressed with the work we have done so far, and was keen to take this forward. We have arranged a full consultation meeting for 24th August where we will lay out a formal plan of action which will obviously include meetings with Barristers." Freedoms members are now paying over their pledges to fund the initial stages. Feal-Martinez said, " We still have a long way to go but with growing support and extremely enthusiastic legal team we can give people back choice." Freedom to Choose still need funds and would ask that anyone who has a pub or club that will be adversely affected by this ban, to put a collection box on the bar. Feal-Martinez concluded," As we have previously said all we need is just one pound from each smoker and tolerant non smokers and the challenge would be funded. It is now up to the people who are going to be dis-enfranchised by a ban to speak with their wallets."
R.Feal-Martinez
Carpenters Arms Motel
www.carpentersarmsmotel.co.uk
Support for anti-ban campaigners
July 4, 2006
ByIain O'Neil
A campaign group which is seeking to overturn the Government’s proposed smoke ban has been “astounded” by the financial support it has been pledged.
Freedom to Choose say they have already raised sufficient funds to launch a Judicial Review of the ban. Spokesman Robert Feal-Martinez said: " I am astounded at the immediate response for pledges to fund our review. We are now in a position to move to the next stage. The more we examine the criteria necessary for a successful review the more convinced we are that we can force the Government to re-think a total ban. We are now just awaiting clarification as to the specific time at which we need to seek permission. We have contacted the Department of Constitutional Affairs for this information".
Freedom to Choose believe thew Government’s consultation process was flawed and hope this will be grounds for a Judicial Review.
THE BIG DEBATE - FREEDOM TO CHOOSE IN A FREE COUNTRY
A campaign group which is seeking to overturn the Government’s proposed smoke ban has been “astounded” by the financial support it has been pledged.
Freedom to Choose say they have already raised sufficient funds to launch a Judicial Review of the ban. Spokesman Robert Feal-Martinez said:
" I am astounded at the immediate response for pledges to fund our review. We are now in a position to move to the next stage. The more we examine the criteria necessary for a successful review the more convinced we are that we can force the Government to re-think a total ban. We are now just awaiting clarification as to the specific time at which we need to seek permission. We have contacted the Department of Constitutional Affairs for this information."
Freedom to Choose believe thew Government’s consultation process was flawed and hope this will be grounds for a Judicial Review.
To find out more visit the Freedom To Choose website at
http://www.thebigdebate.org/
Anti smoke ban campaigners say they are planning to apply for a Judicial Review of the Health Bill and want like-minded licensees and pub-goers to help them.
Freedom to Choose, the group which has campaigned for separate smoking areas and ventilation regulations, says it will consider the challenge to the Health Bill if it gets enough support.
Spokesman Robert Feal-Martinez said: “Having watched the various debates and been privy to direct information from The House of Lords we believe any smoking ban would be un-constitutional, un-necessary and would be enacted based on fraud and lies.”
“We would also seek to show that privately owned hospitality venues are in effect the same as the Palace of Westminster, private places to which the public are permitted access, not as of right but with the consent of the owners".
Freedom to Choose hopes to persuade licensees and pub-goers to help pay for the last-ditch attempt to stop the ban.
Feal-Martinez said: “With a donation of just £10 from like-minded licensees and other supporters we could raise hundreds of thousands for a challenge, and by so doing put Her Majesty’s Government on notice that the public have had enough."
A group of publicans and supporters launched a petition entitled 'Freedom to Choose' on the 27th of February which has already been distributed to over 30,000 pubs and clubs across England and Wales. A separate petition has been launched in Scotland, where a full smoking ban is due to be enforced at the end of March. Although mainly aimed at pubs and clubs, individuals can also download the petition and distribute to friends and work colleagues, the more signatures the better. The petitions can be downloaded from:
Viscount Simon: My Lords, I shall be very brief. I got asthma 12 years ago. We have heard numerous noble Lords talking about passive smoking and about how it can be harmful in certain ways but not always necessarily so. I am the only person here who can give practical examples of what happens to a person in my position. If I am in a car on a motorway travelling at 70 miles an hour with the windows closed and the ventilation turned off and a car overtakes me, and
I can see not only that it is exceeding the speed limit but
that the driver is smoking a cigar, I will have an asthma attack. I will have to take Ventolin as well as numerous other things. If my windows are open, it is likely that I will have to stop and that the
paramedics will have to come very quickly indeed as I will be very ill.
Read This man is insane!
Is anyone reading this? If his window is open at 70 MPH he'll need paramedics?
This is a hate crime against people, plain and simple.
- A Newsletter Reader
Killer Asthma
The Sun has even pointed out Viscount Simon's severe health problem.
"Their Lordships are due to give the final seal of approval tomorrow to the most draconian ant-smoking laws in any major country. But the deceit and bogus evidence of stub-'em-out fanatics have nothing on Viscount Simon. He told peers that if he is driving on a motorway, with his windows closed and ventilation shut off, and is passed by a driver smoking a cigar "I will have an asthma attack" and need to use his inhaler as well as "numerous other things." If his windows are open "it is likely that I will have to stop and that the paramedics will have to come very quickly as I will be very ill." Clearly the Viscount needs more than paramedics to clear up this problem."
I wish the Viscount well and good luck in his search for the correct diagnosis.
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