Today is the day...

...that Freedom2Choose holds it's AGM. And through marital commitments to my ailing wife I cannot be there but I do hope they have a good one, which I know they will.

Freedom2Choose was borne out of a forum, pre smoking ban, in 2004/5 and went on to become the F2C forum we know today, in 2007. In March 2007 I joined the now defunct The Big Debate after a 7 day stay at our wonderful NHS local hospital for a skin ailment that for years before was called by our esteemed doctors and consultants as eczema but, after much prodding, pulling and a biopsy they came down on the side of Psoriasis? No wonder I have no faith in the medical profession these days.

It was many months before the smoking ban when I was asked to go in and to say I was not happy about it is an understatement. It was not the fear of the hospital but the knowledge that I could not smoke, which I didn't want to do inside anyway, but there where signs up everywhere outside with the ubiquitous red symbol that said you could not smoke...where I/we eventually stood with other smokers underneath those very same signs, smokers with an FU attitude. The hospital even had a very large tarpaulin banner for visitors to see as they drove in saying: WELCOME TO A SMOKEFREE MIDDLESBROUGH. Boy were the anti smokers reveling in their victory to be enacted shortly afterwards on the 1st of July 2007...which started my quest to find justice for smokers who will not bend to lies and deceit by those who seek to denormalise them/me!

I was never so happy when I left that place seven days later.

I was in shock, or denial, that the smoking ban would ever happen but determined to find out if there were other people out there like me who were stunned by this cataclysmic piece of legislation. Things did not bode well when, after release from the hospital, my first port of call was my local for a pint and a cigarette. Talking to a local with my views he said he was not a smoker and he was glad of the legislation as smoking and smokers was foul etc. etc. After that it was then I found The Big Debate on the Internet.

Towards the end of 2008 we on the forum decided to become an organisation getting it's funding by membership and on the 24th of December 2008 I became the proud owner of Membership Card No 1. I managed to go to the first AGM but had problems ever since to get to them, but I have digressed enough.

Today's AGM is our two yearly proposed change of the executive and I am sad to announce that Phil Johnson will not be standing for reselection as Chairman due to health problems. This is a great loss to F2C as Phil has brought the Shisha bar associations as well as the CIU into our way of thinking, not that they had to think much, and kept them onboard to F2C's initiatives and direction.

As Chairman Phil has made a mistake or two, haven't we all, but has stuck by his resolve to bin this vile ban. Like no other chairman before he has been to meet members locally and visited us here in the North East at our meetings at a pub outside Leeds, which has now lost it's anti smoking ban landlord, and you all know why.

Phil will stay with F2C and for six months will mentor our new chairman elect Dave Atherton to get him up to speed. Phil will also stay as our pubs and clubs liaison officer.

To paraphrase: The king has gone, (Phil Johnson), long live the king, (Dave Atherton.)

NHS North keep on spending the news?

Whether or not the cutbacks are coming we don't as yet know for certain. If they are then it will be very interesting to find out just which parts of the NHS are going to be slaughtered. Duffy (Sheila) is screaming in Scotland lest they cut 'most important' funding for smoke cessation programmes-not that she'll lose a penny of her luxurious wages if they do, well you paid for the most part of it!

Arnott is in similar position in England and similarly waged, but why she still has a 'job' after the complete exposure of her 'con job' concerning the Tobacco display Ban I do not know!

Step forward NHS North for the latest salvo against smokers.

Of course, the latest weapon "it's for childrens sake" is being touted far and wide but what about the cost in these cash strapped times?

NHS North have now started their assault on 'illegal' tobacco. Now you may ask, considering tobacco is a legal commodity "what the hell is illegal about it then?"

One of the pictures presented is of a user of 'abroad facility' and the question is "Why is she going abroad again?"

Because she want's to sell your body to the child sex slave industry, they need non smoking childred for sex!
Well, she might have a French lover, could be a Belgian pimp or possibly she has an interest in a bar in the Netherlands-who knows? The picture & caption lead you to believe that she is going abroad solely to bring back tobacco products. Why?, because that's what they want you to believe.

So what if she does go abroad 4 times per year, it has nothing to do with NHS North, Sheila Duffy, our Debs or the bloody milkman really. If she brings back'x' pouches of tobacco for her own personal use then that's fine but NHS would have you believe otherwise, they obviously envisage her driving a 40 ton wagon stocked to the gunnels with illegal tobacco.

They say that illegal tobacco is the curse of our country, it's finding it's way to our children but where is the proof of these claims?

They also say that illegal tobacco is, Quote:- Cheaper prices-less than £3.50 per pack of 20.

Aha! now we are getting to the nub of the matter. They want all toabacco bought and paid for in this country so that the tobacco tax can be collected to fund the NHS, ASH CRUK et al. Of course, tobacco from abroad doesn't quite cost the same as here does it! Now I see the problem.

Now this is quite amusing for our friend "Johnny Rebel" ( Facebook) has advocated exactly the opposite course of action. He wants us to buy our fags & tobacco abroad for the simple reason that they are using our tobacco tax against us!

Now, as a quiet, moderate, law abiding sorta fella I can see what NHS North are getting excited about but I cannot see for the life of me how they expect 25% of the population to fund causes aimed directly against them-the logic defies me!

Oh, of course..."...the children". But it's illegal to smoke under age isn't it, and to sell tobacco products to them? So what is wrong with present legislation that prohibits this?

In a FAQA's section, they ask where 'illegal' tobacco is being sold? Happily, I can answer that one for them - Nationwide!

Nobody in their right mind is going to give Mr Mahmoud £12.36 for a 50gm pack when 'billy' at No 46 is knocking it out at £6.50 cash - that's cheaper than the amount of revenue the government steal off each 50gm pack!

The point of this is to show, yet again, how the anti smoking brigade waste our money so frivolously. Have a look through the site and see what you think-oh, and ignore the YOU-GOV survey, the questions are so lopsided I'm amazed they didn't fall over!

Hat Tip to the Visigoth from the Freedom2Choose Forum.

See yet again how smokers are portrayed as peodophiles