Friday 5 March 2010

ASH Wales: still in the pay of Big Pharma


ASH Wales' financial accounts have finally come online. I have written previously about how the charity failed to send the Charity Commission the breakdown of where it's money was coming from. 

As expected, it transpires that—after the Welsh government—Pfizer is its biggest sponsor. Pfizer does, of course, sell the stop-smoking drugs Nicorette and Chantix/Champix. In addition, ASH Wales' Tobacco Control Conference will be sponsored by Pfizer, McNeil, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, all of whom manufacture or market nicotine drugs.

ASH Wales 2008/09 accounts run as follows:

Welsh Assembly Government: £115,800

Pfizer Foundation: £45,168

British Heart Foundation: £24,666

Donations: £2,697

Other: £351

Total: £188,682

Take note of the amount of voluntary donations: just £2,697. Less than 2% of this charity's income comes from the public. Meanwhile, Old Holborn has just announced that the blog-reading public has raised over £9,000 to free the Nick Hogan. Hogan should be released within hours, an extraordinary achievement all done in under a week with virtually no mainstream publicity. Perhaps the MSM will pick up on this story now?




7 comments:

Ann W. said...

Chris, this is much the same thing in Canada but we have more anti groups that are registered as charities.

For some time I couldn't figure out why they didn't just go non profit as it is far less restrictive in what they can do and then I read this.........

" Now with Butt Ugly recently being accepted as a registered charity in Canada, Foreman is hoping it could grow even more. “It gives us some legitimacy,” Foreman said. “Not just anybody can become a charity. So obviously our aims, our goals, our purposes fit with a charitable intent.” She said it means their processes will be transparent and follow rigorous controls. The organization can also give out tax receipts and it could mean more opportunities to apply for funding."
http://www.albertalocalnews.com/reddeeradvocate/community/home_fronts/Home_Front_-_October_27.html

Anonymous said...

In the world of the future, once government has achieved total control over the citizen and makes all the choices for them, once private industry has been killed off once and for all except for monopolistic and fascist state/corporate/media-compliant industry is the only "free enterprise" permitted to exist, all the small business owners driven out - then I presume that the real "economic growth" and "job opportunity" - will be coming mainly from quangos and fake-charities - commissioned to suck off the taxpayer teat - a replay of the old USSR we thought died off, but only just resurrected itself on the other side of the wall for a while when it was allowed to escape.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Good work. I hate to bash Big Pharma, but in this case it is entirely deserved.

When I'm in charge, will I be allowed to send them an invoice for all the 'free' advertising they've had, i.e. NHS stop smoking services and so on?

Anonymous said...

It is a great story I donated to Mr
Hogan and did so gladly.
Will the MSM report it .
I doubt it they seem to do as they are told nowadays.
I despise the ASH fake charities now.
The worse kind of quangoesque parasites.

timbone said...

MSM pick up on this story? Doubt it very much. If it does get it's nominal minute of air time or 3 sentences on an inside page, it will be to inform the public that the Tobacco Industry were behind it.

Mac the Knife said...

"Perhaps the MSM will pick up on this story now?"

Oh, absolutely. I'm sure we can expect thoughtful and balanced reportage any time now.

Any, time..... Now?

*crickets*

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