NEWS RELEASE FROM THE LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE
In Association with the Libertarian International

Release Date: 3 June 2004
Release Time: Immediate

Contact Details: Sean Gabb, 07956 472 199, sean@libertarian.co.uk
Chris R. Tame, 07957 644 519, chris@libertarian.co.uk
For other contact and link details, www.libertarian.co.uk/news/nr018.htm

"STUB OUT THIS EVIL 'CHARITY': CUT OFF ALL PUBLIC FUNDING TO ACTION ON SMOKING AND HEALTH", SAYS FREE MARKET AND CIVIL LIBERTIES THINK TANK

Today's call by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) to ban research on new flavourings in cigarettes is an attack on freedom of choice, says the Libertarian Alliance, the radical free market and civil liberties think tank and pressure group.

Libertarian Alliance Director of Communications, Dr Sean Gabb commented:

"ASH is a sinister bunch of self-appointed health fascists that would not exist without various kinds of funding from our tax money. This funding should be immediately removed. Indeed, all charitable status should be removed from ASH. It is a corruption of language to associate the word charity with a group that exists only to destroy the freedom on choice from which true charity proceeds.

"We celebrate the enterprise and initiative of British American Tobacco for its efforts to include chocolate and vanilla and alcoholic flavourings to its products. This will offer a wider choice to all smokers. The Libertarian Alliance sends its best wishes to the directors of this great transatlantic company."

The Libertarian Alliance advocates the following with regard to tobacco:

• No controls of any kind on the marketing of tobacco products to adults;
• No controls by law on the use of tobacco products in places of public resort;
• Reform of the tort laws to relieve tobacco manufacturers - and indeed all business - from frivolous law suits for compensation;
• At least substantial reductions in excise duty on tobacco products;
• The cutting off of all tax-payer funding for any group that disagrees with the above.

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Note to Editors

Dr Sean Gabb is the Director of Communications for the Libertarian Alliance and edits its journal “Free Life”. His latest CD, War and the National Interest: Arguments for a British Foreign Policy, Read by Sean Gabb is available at http://www.seangabb.co.uk/buy.htm. His books are available from Hampden Press at www.hampdenpress.co.uk.

He can be contacted for further comment on 07956 472 199 or by email at sean@libertarian.co.uk

Extended Contact Details:

The Libertarian Alliance is Britain’s most radical free market and civil liberties policy institute. It has published over 700 articles, pamphlets and books in support of freedom and against statism in all its forms. These are freely available at http://www.libertarian.co.uk

Our postal address is

The Libertarian Alliance
Suite 35
2 Lansdowne Row
Mayfair
London
W1J 6HL
Tel: 07956 472 199

Associated Organisations

The Libertarian International - http://www.libertarian.to - is a sister organisation to the Libertarian Alliance. Its mission is to coordinate various initiatives in the defence of individual liberty throughout the world.

Sean Gabb's personal website - http://www.seangabb.co.uk - contains about a milion words of writings on themes interesting to libertarians and conservatives

Liberalia - http://www.liberalia.com - maintained by by LA Executive member Christian Michel, Liberalia publishes in-depth papers in French and English on libertarianism and free enterprise. It is a prime source of documentation on these issues for students and scholars.

Libertarian Samizdata - http://www.samizdata.net - works in association with the Libertarian Alliance and has an ever larger following. Check it out.