Freedom to Choose are delighted to offer you yet another exclusive look at the work of our  friend and gifted author, Chris Snowdon. We thank you Chris, for allowing us to showcase your wonderful writing here.

In Twisted Liberty, (link below), Chris tells us, among other things, that:

"In the case of the flagship Irish ban: "Public opinion surveys were not conducted before the decision was launched...preparations were made to confront business, with plans for how to do this, so they did not get too strong."(3) Further, it was revealed that health lobbyists had been mobilised in Ireland to get the campaign well underway before the public was made aware that such a law was on the cards. Advisors from the US were brought over and legal officers were "available all the time." The public were ignored until the spin doctors had conducted a systematic PR exercise and businesses were contradicted, silenced or associated in the public's mind with the tobacco industry. This became the template for campaigns that followed in Scotland, Wales and England".

I am certain that the Irish people will be overjoyed to learn that they were the guinea pigs of Europe, and that their views and opinions counted for nought in their Celtic Tiger heyday. I am equally certain that the British can empathise with them. Having had a smoker ban forced on us, and having witnessed the destruction of a 1,800 year old British institution, having watched over 2000 of our pubs, clubs and bingo halls shut down in less than 9 months, despite us saying, when polled, that we could accept restrictions but not a blanket ban, we can say to the Irish, "We feel your pain".

The essay takes in the writing of John Stuart Mills' On Liberty, and it examines the total lack of ethics and the lack of libertarianism in the anti-smoker cult. It is a fascinating essay.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Over to Chris.

We have heard an awful lot from Boris Johnson in the last few weeks. His face seemed to be on every channel on my TV at one point.

I felt oddly pleased that he won the mayoral race. I say oddly because I was firmly in the Labour camp for many many years, but their ineptitude drove me away. Their nannying drove me further away. And their smoker ban drove me right over the edge. Don't get me wrong, I am not now a Conservative man. They are mere clones of the NuLabour clones and the Liberal Democrats are poor clones of the other clones.

Boris, I am delighted to say, is his own man. He is without doubt the single most powerful member of the Conservative Party right now, and we will watch and wait before digging out the "We love Boris" posters. He won the war, let's see what he does with the peace. We know that he lacks the power to overturn or amend this nasty ban, but we also know his ability to influence just shot up a thousandfold.

It is extremely rare these days to be able to show you a clear thinking politician willing to say that smoker bans are bad.

With that in mind, I would ask you all to point your peepers at this YouTube video and decide for yourselves what kind of man Boris is.

We have all witnessed, all too often, what happens to people when they climb the power ladder: they all seem to contract amnesia.

Mayor Johnson, here is a reminder.

This ought to be shocking news, but I can confirm that my eyebrows remained firmly in place.

For over three years we have openly accused scientists of lying about their findings. "Sour grapes!", or worse, "Filthy stupid addicts!", was the cry from the anti-smokers.

Yet again, we show you that when we make a claim, we do not do so lightly. Yet again, we bring you the cold, hard proof that we spoke the truth.

After all, the truth is with us, so we have nothing to fear.

One of the aims of Freedom to Choose is to educate any and all in the monumental fraud that is the myth of harm caused by second hand smoke.

Pay attention now, the school bell just sounded.

In the link below we prove that over half of the 1,600 scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the American version of our Health & Safety Executive, have lied or falsified their results to suit a political agenda. Why weren't we surprised? Well, largely because this bunch classified tobacco smoke as a Class A carcinogen. The only way they could do that was to maul the basic rules of epidemiology. They mangled the numbers until they screamed. They were wrong to do so, as a federal Judge stated in his ruling. You'd imagine that having been nailed once they might be more careful in the future, but no. The pressure on these once good men and women is enormous. But, "Just following orders" was not accepted as an excuse at the Nuremburg Trials, and neither will it be accepted today.

A lie is a lie is a lie. It is time to prosecute the scientists, their managers, the politicians, or all three.

Until we get the truth, all of it, and nothing but, the discrimination of smokers, and their continued and unjustified persecution will never end.

Remember that for every study that says second hand smoke is harmful, there are six that say it isn't.

And the one study out of seven that claims harm comes from spineless men and women employed at agencies such as the EPA.

The truth, ladies and gentlemen, that's all we ask.

No more and no less.

Set yourselves free.

But quickly.

We have every reason to be smug.

We have every reason to shout "We told you so!".

But we won't.

Hey! All you pea-brained interfering anti-smokers!

Read it and weep.

Enough said.

EDIT: one of our eagle-eyed members suggests that you pay close attention to the "Related links" below the article. He wants to know why, even as smokers in Ireland INCREASED, smoking related "diseases" DECREASED?

We await an explanation, preferably from Professor Clancy of ASH Ireland, in quivering anticipation. Let's hear the excuses Prof. Make 'em good though, we smokers aren't as dumb as you make us out to be.

May 1st is just around the corner and we thought we should issue a timely reminder of what your government has done to the hospitality industry, society, smokers and their tolerant friends.

They say: smoking bans have caused no economic hardship to the pubs and clubs.

We say: perhaps you could explain that to the 2000 + venues that have closed down since July 1st 2007. For balance we can tell you that only 104 venues closed in 2005, and only 208 closed in 2006. Around 42,000 people are now unemployed thanks to this unnecessary smoker ban.

They say: smokers cost the NHS an exhorbitant sum to treat.

We say: smokers pump over £10 Billion into the Treasury every year. Treatment costs are around £1.5 billion. For every treatment we pay for for ourselves, we pay for an additional 5 treatments for non smokers. This is a very generous move on our part. And they call us selfish? The reverse is true. Of course, the Dutch study a few months ago has helped to put costs in perspective, and the figures bear repeating: the healthy cost £215,000 to treat over a lifetime, the obese cost £187,000 and we smokers? Just £165,000. Let's hear no more of this nonsense about smokers costing more. It is patently obvious that we do not.

They say: the science supports a smoker ban.

We say: in reality, it does not. For every study that claims second hand smoke is harmful, there are SIX that say it isn't.

They say: second hand smoke kills 13,000 people per year in the UK.

We say: if this were true, the government would have no trouble at all responding with just three names of those slaughtered. We continue to ask, as we have for over three years now, and the answer is always the same: "We cannot name three. We have no conclusive evidence that SHS kills anyone".

I could go on with dozens of examples of their disjointed and unproven thinking but I am fairly certain you get the picture. Not only have they backed the wrong horse, they continue to take betting advice from a bent bookie.

You may be feeling a little powerless right now. But the good news is that collectively, we hold all the cards. We have the power to determine who gets those plum jobs on May 2nd. We have an opportunity to send the politico's a message that will hurt them for years. If we get it right.

The Labour party stopped listening to you and me many years ago. They need a short sharp rap on the knuckles. We need to ensure that they do not ignore us again. Despite their own ONS survey in which 67% of the nation said they favoured restrictions on public smoking, not a blanket ban, they went ahead anyway. I would like you to have a look at the link below which will tell you how they voted on February 14th 2007. If your local MP voted for the blanket ban, do not tick his/her box on May 1st. If they voted against, and you feel they are worthy of your support, by all means vote for them. If they abstained, I suggest you do the same. Abstain from voting for them if they couldn't be bothered to vote for your freedoms.

The Liberal Democrats obviously share the same information source as the Labour party. Again, check the list, and vote accordingly. LibDems who voted against the ban are very thin on the ground. Let's demonstrate the power of the smoking vote to this disgraceful excuse for a political party.

The Conservatives? In actual fact, around two thirds of them voted against a blanket ban and you would think that they intended to restore choice for all. In reality, David Cameron, who has quit smoking, is on the record as saying that the smoker ban is just fine and peachy. So, no hope there. Once more, you should have a look at the list and do what's right.

Which leaves us with UKIP. This is the only party that have promised to redress the balance and re-introduce choice to the citizens, and to the owners/managers of our pubs and clubs. Voting for UKIP on May 1st is, in my humble opinion, a very clever thing to do. They are the only sensible party that stand out against the rest. The "big" three are indivisible. They are clones of each other and they all sup from the same tainted well of information. They do not deserve your vote. They are out of touch with Britons and they should be strongly reminded of that fact.

This is your chance to remind MP's that they serve us. Not the other way around. They are the servants, we are the master.

Use the information below to vote strategically.

Use the information below to send your message.

Use the information below to regain control.

Use the information below to punish them for the harm they have done to our hospitality industry, to our social lives, and for the lies they have told.

Use the information below to say "Enough is enough".

It gives me enormous pleasure to announce that the Freedom to Choose Smoking Ban Survey, and its stunning results, is available below for you to read.

The work that went into this survey was herculean and we simply do not have an adequate way of thanking Tim and YORVIEW. Independent experts have opined that this survey is significant, and its findings are very important.

Tim, we owe you a very great debt. Thank you very, very much. I am especially grateful for your hard work as it allows us to make the news, instead of merely reporting what others have said.

I will not spoil it by trotting out the figures, the comments, the shocks, and the surprises here.

Instead, I ask you to follow the link below and decide for yourself whether this spiteful ban is:

a) working

b) wanted

c) popular

or

d) helping or hindering our beleaguered friends in the hospitality industry.

I will, however, say this to the ban fans: look what you did. Still feel proud?

To our incompetent government: no ban damage? Really?

And to our many thousands of supporters here in the UK and abroad: we did warn them, did we not?

Our search for the truth, or its corruption, continues unabated.

The attached film, Zeitgeist, tells us a thousand things we did not want to know. The biggest issue in my life is the smoking ban. Or at least, it was. It seems that we have bigger worries coming.

We have consistently proved the "hazards" of second hand smoke to be a lie. Dozens of other, bigger, fatter lies are shown to us in this amazing film. My point is that the lies in this film are the most humongous lies ever told to the world, and if they can get away with them, second hand smoke is mere child's play.

It lasts for one hour fifty six minutes and thirty three seconds.

I need to issue a few warnings:

If you are religious, you had better skip the first part.

If you believe that 9/11 and 7/7 happened they way they say it did, skip the second part.

If you believe that the world you live in is free and democratic, skip the third part.

On the other hand, if you are unafraid of the truth, watch it all.

It is a powerful film and it will shock you. Once you have recovered, do the only thing you can do.

Fight back.

.....and 80,000 jobs.

The bloodbath continues.

The cause of this unprecedented loss of venues? Alistair Darling's budget.

Or so they would have you believe.

The realists amongst us know that the vile smoker ban is the true villain. Chancellors down the years have always picked on easy targets. Those who drink, those who smoke, those who eat, those who work, and those who drive.

Of course, the criminal responsible for these unheard of losses has got away scot free. The Man Who Would Be King Of The EU, Tony Blair. He sold 15 million smokers down the river to ensure that he was crowned King of the United States of Europe. He followed the flawed thinking that Brussels are famous for: when in doubt, enact a law. Tax and ban, tax and ban, tax and ban. If that fails, wield a big knobbly stick and beat the proles into submission.

We link you to the story in the Morning Advertiser. The opening paragraph reads thus:

"Shepherd Neame boss Jonathan Neame has slammed the "arrogance" and "thoughtlesness" of the Government and warned 8,000 pubs could close".

Bit late Jonny boy. You should have "slammed" the government two years ago. Smokers and their friends would still be filling your pubs. They would do so today, regardless of a 4p increase per pint.

Keep ignoring that elephant in the sitting room. Keep pretending it doesn't exist. But at least make an attempt at seeing the reality of the situation.

We'll even lay it out for you, nice and simple. You ready?

These, are the facts, Jonny:

The 4p increase is nothing.

The freedom decrease is the problem.

Fix the smoker ban and we will return, in our millions.

Not a good week for the Conservative Party, as far as smokers, and their tolerant non smoking friends are concerned.

First we heard from David Cameron "The smoker ban is great. Besides, we lost the argument and we moved on".

Wonderful. I can't wait for this man to lead the UK. Can you imagine? "Well", says Dave, to the assembled COBRA meeting, "That was the Iranians. They said they were going to nuke us. I lost the argument. We'd better move on. Let your families know that they have 16 minutes to live".

Then we saw an email that was alleged to have come from the office of Boris Johnson saying, "Boris feels that the smoking ban has actually been implemented with very few problems.  It was designed to ensure that workplaces are free from smoke so employees were not exposed to the harmful effects of smoke". (follow link below to this story)

Is this the same man whose columns I have been reading, mostly with growing respect, for the last three years? The same man who was utterly outraged by this extreme nannyism by a pathetic Labour government? Has he dumped his beliefs because he has his eyes on the prize? The big fancy necklace and the opportunity to spend £11 billion in his new fiefdom?

And then there's this:

"Thank you for your email of 24th March about smoking, and about general interference by the Labour Government in our every day way of life. I voted against the ban on smoking in public places, onthe grounds that I thought it would be better done by good manners and self-regulation and by the market, rather than by Government diktat. Having said that, I have really encounterted very little opposition to the ban, and indeed many people tell me that they find pubs and restaurants more comfortable as a result of the ban, and I therefore detect very little appetite for a repeal by an incoming Conservative Government.  I know that this is not the news that you would like to hear, but I fear it is the reality".

The above is from yet another Conservative MP who says later on in his letter to one of our members, that he is from the "libertarian wing" of the Conservative Party. I have not named the MP because this excerpt forms part of a personal letter to our member.

The message is loud, and the message is clear: the Conservatives do not need the smoker vote.

NuLabour do not deserve the smoker vote.

The LibDems? They don't have a spine amongst them. Most are undergoing daily treatments to alleviate fence-sitting related injuries.

Who does that leave? The Greens? You may recall that five minutes after we were all ejected from the warmth and safety of our pubs and clubs, they wanted to ban our outdoor heaters. They don't care enough about us to attract our vote. The feeling is mutual.

UKIP? I say "Yes" for all sorts of reasons. They are the only party to have supported us in our quest for fairness, reason, and common sense. They would restore the licensees freedom to choose whether he/she wanted people smoking in their pubs. They are the only party capable of saving a 2000 year old British institution: the humble pub. They are the only party that would get us out of Europe. Those unelected numbskulls in Brussels take our cash, and send back ridiculous laws. We can do better if we cancel our subscription to this destructive 27 nation club. We managed without them for a very, very long time. We will manage without them just like those other nations that trade within Europe without paying punitive fees for the right to do so.

Smokers, and all your friends, it is not for us to sway you. Your own conscience will decide for you in the end.

But please, remember this:

The Tories don't think they need your vote.

The LibDems don't think they need your vote.

NuLabour don't deserve your vote. They also, rather moronically, don't think they need your vote.

You might want to think about voting for a party that deserves your vote, wants your vote, and needs your vote.

If you want more and more and more of your freedoms to be ripped away from you, vote Labour in again.

If you want a party led by a guy who gives up without a whimper, vote the Conservatives in.

If you want the UK to be the laughing stock of the Western world, vote the LibDems in.

Or, you can dare to be different. It's up to you.

I just know that I want my country back. I want my identity back.

I want my freedom back.

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