Consumer Choice Center

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The Consumer Choice Center (CCC) is a US lobby organisation based in Washington DC, operating since 2017.1 CCC has received funding from transnational tobacco companies and has lobbied against the regulation of tobacco products in the EU and elsewhere, including against plain packaging, tobacco taxation, a US ban on menthol tobacco, and the UK tobacco endgame.

It also lobbies and campaigns against restrictions on newer nicotine and tobacco products, via multiple linked organisations including the ‘World Vapers Alliance’ (set up in 2020), Considerate Pouchers (2023) and Clearing the Air (2024). Additionally, CCC has paid a substantial fee to UK-based consultant, Mark Oates. All these organisations state that they are independent and represent consumers (see below for details).

CCC has also been linked to the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA), the Adam Smith Institute (ASI), EPICENTER and Forest EU. See Other Affiliations below.

Background

CCC was set up in February 2017,2 and held launch events in Brussels, Belgium and Ottawa, Canada.34 CCC was approved for tax exempt status in the US in 2019, on the basis of it being a non-profit “social welfare organisation”.56

CCC has stated that it lobbies against “paternalistic” government regulations,2 including “food and agriculture policies, fat/sugar tax, soda tax, food labelling, health care and harm reduction, trade initiatives (TTIP/TTP), transportation and aviation regulations”.7 It has described itself as a “consumer advocacy group” and a “grassroots movement”,89 which “champions the benefits of freedom of choice, innovation, and abundance in everyday life.”4

Its website states that it “works currently with tens of thousands of consumers and partner organizations in North America, Europe, South America, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and many more”,4 and that it engages with policymakers and regulators “in order to warn how respective regulations can harm the choice of consumers.”4

Set up by Students For Liberty

CCC’s parent organisation is Students For Liberty (SFL),1011 an American libertarian organisation linked to billionaires Charles and David Koch.12 It is also a partner of the Atlas Network,13 which has been described as a “strategic ally” of the tobacco industry.14 SFL receives funding from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.1516

CCC was listed as a partner of the Atlas Network in its 2018 Annual Report.17

In 2017, SFL launched CCC with a budget of US$210,296.18 CCC has described itself as “totally open” to corporate donations.19

According to CCC’s 2021 tax return it paid over US$170,000 to Students for Liberty for “operations”.2021

  • See also Other Affiliations below.

Income and funding

On the EU Transparency register, CCC declared total income of close to EU€7.8 million in its first two years of operation, in the form of donations from unspecified sources.2223 In 2019 the figure was around EU€1 million.2425

CCC was approved for tax exempt status in the US in December 2019.526 Its 2020 tax return (filed in November 2021) indicates that it received contributions and grants totalling just over US$1 million.27 In 2021 this figure rose to US$4.4 million,2021 with US$4.2 million recorded for 2022.2028 It increased again to US$6.1 million in 2023 (figures rounded),29 and US$6.3 million in 2024.30 However, there is no detail on the sources of CCC’s funding.

Lack of Transparency

CCC does not publish a list of its members. On its website it refers to corporate “supporters” and “partners”.431 It previously stated that it received financial support from the fast moving consumer goods industry (FMCG, which includes tobacco), as well as the energy, manufacturing, digital, healthcare, cryptocurrency and fin-tech industries.32 In 2024, the list also included nicotine, alcohol, airlines, agriculture, chemicals, and banking.4 It has received funding from the Atlas Network,33 the Geneva Network,934 and directly from transnational tobacco companies (see below).935

CCC states that it “operate[s] without interference in our editorial processes, sourcing, editing, and publishing.”31 Its code of ethics stated in 2022 that its “campaigns, op-eds, and videos are not sent to supporters before they are released. Partners see our content and outputs at the same time as the general public.”9

CCC was removed from the EU Transparency Register in 2022.36 WVA was suspended in 2024,37 and removed in late 2025.38As of October 2025, Considerate Pouchers is not registered.

New entities

New EU lobbying rules were introduced in May 2021, requiring greater transparency including declaring sources of funding.3940 According to DeSmog, an organisation that monitors lobbying on climate, CCC was removed from the EU register in May 2022, following complaints and “a quality check by the secretariat aimed at detecting potential inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the register”.364142CCC had not updated its funding sources since April 2021.43

In August 2023, Corporate Europe Observatory reported that the lobby register secretariat had invited CCC to “provide an explanation and submit a new application to register such activities, where relevant, in the Transparency Register in a comprehensive and transparent manner.”44

In December 2023 a new entity ‘Policy Practices Institute Inc’ was registered in Florida, US as a ‘domestic non-profit’.4546 On 20 March 2024, it changed name to Consumer Choice Center Europe (referred to as CCC EU here), the same date it was registered on the EU Transparency Register.4748

All the listed directors and officers also hold roles in CCC.647 Its listed fields of interest include “business and industry”, “research and innovation” and “consumers”.48 It states that it “Does not represent commercial interests”.48

CCC EU states on the EU Transparency Register that it “does not receive any funding from Consumer Choice Center and does not plan to receive any in the future.”48 As of 2024, it had declared funding from Google and Meta.48

Another entity, Consumer Choice Center UNK, was registered as a not for profit corporation in the US.4950 However, as of January 2025, this company’s status appeared as “revoked”.5152

Relationship with the Tobacco Industry

CCC has received funding from three of the ‘Big Four’ transnational tobacco companies:

JTI

Japan Tobacco International (JTI) co-funded CCC’s launch event.353 JTI was also a member of CCC in 2017.95455 Upon request, JTI declined to disclose what this membership entailed and how much financial support was linked to it.56

In addition, CCC Managing Director Frederik Roeder contributed to “Regulating Consumers?”, a Euractiv Special Report sponsored by JTI for EU€10,000.5758

PMI

In 2018, CCC stated that it had received funding from Philip Morris International (PMI).3

Altria

donated an unspecified amount of money to CCC annually since 2018.59606162636465

BAT

CCC has received funding from British American Tobacco (BAT), in support of CCC’s “tobacco harm reduction advocacy”.933 From early 2023, this was no longer stated on the CCC website.66 From February 2025, BAT stated on its EU Transparency register entry that, while not a member, it “supports” CCC.6768

See below for CCC’s activities and outputs relating to e-cigarettes and harm reduction.

Staff

CCC’s Managing Director is Frederik Roeder.69707172 Prior to working for CCC, Roeder worked for SFL where he co-founded their European Branch.33 Roeder is President of CCC EU,47 and the person with legal responsibility for the organisation in the EU.48 CCC’s tax returns show that in 2020, CCC paid US$100,000 to Roeder’s Estonia-registered company Healthcare Solutions OU for consulting.202773

Other key staff:

  • Yaël Ossowski, Deputy Director72
  • Bill Wirtz, Senior Policy Analyst72
  • Jeff Stier, Senior Fellow717475
  • David Clement, North American Affairs Manager.71 CCC’s 2024 tax return also listed Clement as an “independent contractor” paid US$120,000 for consultancy.30
  • Egle Markeviciute, Head of Digital & Innovation Policy76 Secretary of CCC EU,47 in charge of EU relations.48
  • Urmas Jaerve, Vice President of CCC6 Director of CCC EU.47 Management Board Member of Healthcare Solutions OU.73
  • Chad Swarthout, Secretary of CCC6 Treasurer of CCC EU.47

Previous staff:

  • Adam Cleave, Senior Adviser (previously worked for Imperial Tobacco)7778
  • Luca Bertoletti, European Affairs Manager7079
  • Maria Chaplia, Research Manager23

Many CCC staff have previously held, or currently hold, roles within SFL.7280

Roeder, Bertoletti and Chaplia were previously registered EU lobbyists for CCC in 2017/18.23 Bertolleti is also a co-founder and Government Affairs Director of a public relations company called B&K Agency.8182

CCC lists ‘country associates’ (as of 2025, in UK and India), and policy fellows (in Latin America, South Africa, Nigeria, Taiwan, Indonesia and Switzerland)72 Maxwell Marlow, Director of Public Affairs at the UK-based Adam Smith Institute (ASI),83 has also been listed as a Fellow on the CCC website.72

Connections with Governments

Peter Liese, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), has participated in activities of the World Vapers’ Alliance, which was set up by CCC (see below).338485

In 2022, CCC’s website stated that it was the ‘secretariat’ for a cross party group in the EU Parliament called “Innovation, Brands, and IP – The future of Europe group”, also referred to as “MEPS4Innovation”.8486 Claiming over 30 members “representing most EU states”, its work areas were listed as: “Digital; Healthcare; Agriculture; Harm Reduction; Consumer Goods” (all of potential interest to tobacco companies).86 Despite the use of the EU Parliament logo on its webpage, this group was not on the list of parliamentary intergroups and appeared to have no official role.8487 After 2023 the CCC’s related web page was no longer available.88

In January 2022, UK Conservative peer Lord Wharton joined CCC as a Strategic Adviser.7089 James Wharton was previously an adviser to Boris Johnson, became a member of the UK House of Lords in September 2020, and from April 2021 to July 2024 was Chair of the Office for Students (OfS).909192 Wharton listed CCC as one of his Directorships on the UK Government register of interests until February 2023.93 He also listed his Directorship of GBMW Ltd, a company providing strategic and management advice.93 According to the OfS registers of interests in 2022 and 2023, the Consumer Choice Center was a client of GBMW.9495 Lord Wharton is no longer listed as an advisor on the CCC website.71

Alexander Kvitashvili also joined CCC as Public Health Advisor in January 2022. An independent consultant to the World Health Organization, Kvitashvili was Minister of Healthcare of Ukraine (to 2016), and prior to that Minister of Health of Georgia.707189

Lobbying for Newer Nicotine and Tobacco Products

Research with Twitter data by Bath TCRG highlighted the nature of CCC’s activity around meeting of the 8th Conference of the Parties (COP 8), and those of other tobacco industry allies.96

The researchers concluded that this was:

“highly consistent with PMI’s 2014 corporate affairs strategy, which described engaging tobacco harm reduction advocates to ‘amplify and leverage the debate on harm reduction’ around events such as the COP.”96

In January , Ossowski wrote an article for CCC’s website, blaming “the public health lobby” for a rise in smoking rates.97 David Clement, CCC’s North American Affairs Manager, wrote an op-ed in the Financial Post in June 2022 that argued “heavy-handed vaping regulations and taxation do nothing but create more smokers”.7098

2018: Criticises WHO & FCTC at COP 8

In September 2018, in the run up to the meeting of the 8th Conference of the Parties (COP 8) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), CCC scheduled three roundtables to discuss “WHO’s shortcomings in working towards better global public health and how the WHO actively blocks healthier technologies in the area of harm reduction”.99100101

In London and Brussels, policy analyst Bill Wirtz’s talk was titled: “Too busy with the wrong Priorities: Does the WHO suffer from Mission Creep?”, and managing director Fred Roeder’s: “Foreign Aid for Public Health and Clandestine Maneuvering: Insights from the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control”.99100 Lobbyist Luca Bertolleti spoke in Rome. 101None of the invited speakers had public health qualifications. They included Christopher Snowdon, from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and Daniel Pryor, from the Adam Smith Institute.99

During the meeting of the 8th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the WHO FCTC in October 2018, the CCC organised the “Nicotine is Not Your Enemy Soirée”. The event advertisement criticised the WHO for “condemning nicotine” and refusing to “support harm reduction”.102 Professor Bernd Mayer, who later joined the advisory board of the World Vapers’ Alliance (see below) spoke at the event, which also included “live demonstrations of harm-reducing technologies.”102103104

CCC Director Roeder and Co-Director Ossowski registered as journalists at COP 8, citing their contributions to libertarian news sites, which gave them access to the event’s sessions. However, their press badges were later suspended for “misrepresentation.”33104

This lobbying continued after COP 8 when CCC received funding from BAT.

2020: Sets up ‘World Vapers’ Alliance’

In 2020, CCC set up the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA), which lobbies for the promotion of e-cigarettes and against their regulation.1051106107 WVA was initially presented as an independent partner organisation of CCC.1108 WVA later acknowledged it had been established by CCC.106

WVA also received direct support from BAT since 2020, and the company was closely involved in its campaigns.105 Red Flag Consulting, a lobbying company which had both BAT and CCC as clients, maintained the WVA website.

CCC’s 2021 tax return shows that it paid Red Flag over US$2.2 million for “strategic communications”.2120 CCC paid further sums in 2022 to Red Flag and WVA Director Michael Landl.2820109 CCC also contracted a Barcelona-based events company which lists WVA as a client.28110

In June 2020, CCC called for the “liberalisation of vaping”,111 argued that the US State of Georgia’s proposed tax on e-cigarettes would “harm poor consumers”,112 and lobbied politicians in Alaska to reject a proposed e-cigarette tax.113

In September, CCC published a report called “Why Vape Flavors Matter”, co-written with the WVA, which argued against proposals to ban e-cigarette flavours in the US and EU,114 and lobbied against proposed state-level flavour bans.115116117 In October, CCC/WVA published a report called “Vaping and the Gateway Myth.118119 Neither report stated that CCC receives tobacco industry funding.

2021: COP 9 and the WVA

In February 2021, CCC submitted evidence to the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping’s COP 9 inquiry. The submission said the UK should object to the FCTC’s e-cigarette treaty proposals and instead “champion… harm-reducing technologies such as vaping,” adding: “with the United Kingdom’s influence, the FCTC could once more achieve its purpose of reducing tobacco consumption around the world.”120

In October, a month before COP 9, CCC co-signed a letter “calling on the Biden administration’s WHO delegation to recognise the value of tobacco harm reduction.” The letter said the WHO pursued “quit or die” policies that “keep people using cigarettes.”121

Investigations by Le Monde and The Investigative Desk showed that WVA was actively lobbying against the regulation of e-cigarettes before and during COP 9 in November 2021.33 Videos on the WVA YouTube channel depicted the organisation’s activities, including its “Back Vaping Beat Smoking” branded campaign van and its presence in Geneva (although COP was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic).122

2023: COP 10 and the WVA

WVA was again active in the 2023 run-up to COP 10, and during the event which took place in February 2024. It criticised the “exclusion of consumers from the decision-making process”.123

2023: Sets up Considerate Pouchers

Considerate Pouchers describes itself as an “independent platform” representing consumers of snus and nicotine pouches,124 and as “a consumer advocacy group set up by pouchers for pouchers”.125 However it was set up by CCC,1124126 which applied for a trademark for this brand in January 2025.127

Considerate Pouchers states that “We educate society and policymakers about the role of pouches in a comprehensive approach to ending smoking”.124 In effect it campaigns against the regulation and taxation of nicotine pouches.128129 Although it appears to conduct lobbying activities in the , it is not registered in the EU transparency register.

2023: Pays director of We Vape and SNPUA

In 2023, CCC paid Oates Consulting Ltd US$300,000,29 and a further US$522,000 in 2024.30 Mark Oates is the sole director of Oates Consulting, which was registered as a company in the UK in 2018.130 He is a fellow of the Adam Smith Institute.131

Oates is also sole director of the UK-based lobbying and campaigning organisations We Vape and the Snus & Nicotine Pouch Users Alliance (SNPUA). Both were set up in 2020 and are registered as limited companies in the UK. 132133134135 UK Companies House states that both We Vape and SNPUA conduct “Activities of political organisations”.132134

SNPUA also supports the CCC platform Considerate Pouchers.136

2024: Finances ‘Clearing the Air’

Launched in February 2024, this website has an EU domain name (clearingtheair.eu) and states that it “receives support from the Consumer Choice Center”.137138

The Clearing the Air website states that it is not a campaigning organisation itself but aims to be a “supportive network” for campaigning organisations advocating for harm reduction and consumer choice.138 According to its website, it provides campaigning tools, advocacy material and information on European legislation to help its members influence public policy.137 The members’ area contains resources on e-cigarettes, focusing on ‘disposable’ products, and the ‘Swedish Snus Example’ (see Snus and The Swedish Experience).139

The website states that Clearing the Air is operated by the public affairs and communication consultancy Three Six One.140141 Three Six One runs an EU parliament candidate database on the Clearing the Air website, providing contact information for politicians and candidates across Europe.142143144 Peter Beckett, one of the founders of Three Six One, was previously the director of public policy for JUUL Labs.145146

CCC’s 2024 tax return shows that it paid Three Six One nearly US$280,000 for “production”.30 As of September 2025, CCC was not listed as a Three Six One client on the EU Transparency Register.147148

A range of articles on harm reduction, newer products and regulations around the world are published on the Clearing the Air website although authorship and primary sources are unclear. Multiple infographics tailored for individual countries state that “the European Commission consulted [country] citizens and academics to find out what they thought about tobacco harm reduction” and that there were 15,000 citizen responses.149 It is unclear what consultation this refers to as there is no link or citation. (The EU conducted a consultation relating to tobacco control regulation in 2023, with a similar number of citizen responses, but it was not specific to harm reduction.)150

Clearing the Air has also published articles attacking European cancer and tobacco control advocacy organisations,151152 and WHO employees working in tobacco control. (This article quoted Oates, but did not mention payments to Oates Consulting from CCC.)153

There is no information available on the website about the authors of these and other articles, given as Alastair Cohen, Tim Hong and Ali Anderson.

2024: Targets EU ‘Consumer Champs’

Around the same time that Clearing the Air was set up, CCC also started targeting the elections for the EU Parliament, sending out a survey to prospective MEPs as part of its “Consumer Champs” initiative.154155

The Consumer Champs website stated that its mission was to:156

“spotlight the values and stances of parties and individual politicians at the European level. Will they uphold bureaucratic norms with a centralized approach, or will they champion change by prioritizing consumer rights and choice, limiting the overreach of centralized institutions”

The site does not appear to contain any reference to funding for this initiative.156 One question in the survey suggested the promotion of “new harm reduction technologies, such as vaping, heated tobacco devices and nicotine pouches” in order to “achieve the goals of the EU Cancer Action Plan”.157 A positive response to this question resulted in a higher score and ranking on the website.

(Note that the New Zealand Taxpayers Union, a lobby group which has received funding from BAT, ran a campaign called “Clear the Air” in New Zealand in 2023 – for details see Interference around COP 10 & MOP 3).

2024: Campaigns to ‘Leave Pouches Alone’ in Canada

In early 2024, as the Canadian government began discussing the regulation of nicotine pouches, in which all the major transnational tobacco companies have interests, CCC began lobbying. It set up a “Leave Pouches Alone” campaign, stating on its website that this “could include bans on flavours, restrictions on where pouches are sold, and possibly a ban”. It encouraged people to sign a petition and e-mail Health Canada (the Canadian Ministry of Health).158159

Lobbying Against UK Tobacco Endgame

CCC has lobbied against proposed generational ‘endgame’ policies in the UK. A campaign called “No2Prohibition”, which ran in 2023-24,160 argued that such “prohibitive” measures infringe on consumer rights and personal freedoms, and suggested that these policies set a “dangerous precedent for future regulations”. It also stated that the bill would “stop legal adults from buying cigarettes, Shisha tobacco, or even the less harmful Heat-Not-Burn products”.160

The campaign included media outreach and engagement with policymakers.160 Multiple advertisements ran on Facebook, Messenger and Instagram between 2 November 2023 and 22 April 2024 – all seemingly run without the disclaimers required by Meta for political advertising.161162163164165166167168

The ads linked to the No2Prohibition website, where the text changed over the course of the campaign. These changes appeared to have stopped by the time of the announcement of the UK General Election on 22 May. The website continues to state “Our government is creating a black market takeover! Defend your right not to fund criminal activities as a consumer”.160

CCC’s UK representative is listed on its website, whose role involves monitoring UK policy developments and connecting with “policy makers, organisations, and other public stakeholders”.169170

WVA has also campaigned against the UK tobacco endgame.171

Lobbying Against US Menthol Ban

In May 2022, Ossowski took part in a virtual seminar, titled “The Devastating Impact of the FDA’s Proposed Menthol & Flavored Cigar Ban”, convened by the Americans for Tax Reform (ATR, see Think Tanks).172 All but one of the panellists represented organisations which have accepted tobacco industry funding:

  • Tim Andrews represented ATR, which has accepted money from RJ Reynolds (a subsidiary of BAT), Altria, JTI and BAT.596062173
  • Guy Bentley represented The Reason Foundation, which has accepted money from Altria and is an Atlas Network partner.1359606162173
  • Major Neill Franklin represented the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, which in 2019 received more than a third of its funding from Reynolds American.174 It has also accepted money from Altria.59606162
  • Lindsey Stroud represented the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), which does not reveal its funding sources. TPA is an Atlas Network partner.33 Stroud worked for the Heritage Foundation from 2016 to 2020, which has received funding from Altria.173175

In June 2022 CCC hosted a session called “the Menthol Melee” which was chaired by Ossowski.176 The session included contributions from former law enforcement officers and Michael Landl (Director of the World Vapers’ Alliance), Jeff Stier (Senior Fellow at CCC and Taxpayers Protection Alliance) and Dr Pritika Kumar (Senior Fellow at R Street Institute).

The speakers argued banning menthol cigarettes would incentivise the illicit tobacco trade and bring police departments into further conflict with Black communities. The latter of these arguments is the same used by RJ Reynolds consultants.174

Lobbying on Illicit Trade

CCC also lobbies on illicit trade, including the illicit trade of tobacco products.177 In a July 2020 EU policy paper, “Illicit Trade is Dangerous for Consumers”, CCC argued that to prevent the illicit trade of tobacco products, plain packaging should be rejected, taxes should be limited and there should be no further restrictions on their marketing and advertisement.178

In November 2021, around the time of the second meeting of the Members of the Parties (MOP 2) to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, CCC organised a webinar on the topic.179180 This was introduced in a pre-recorded statement by the Irish MEP Sean Kelly.179

CCC submitted a response to the EU consultation on tobacco taxation in 2021, citing the risk of illicit trade.181 Its submission stated that:

“Smoking should be seen as a matter of consumer choice and personal responsibility. Tobacco products should not see any further scrutiny”.181

Citing concern over illicit trade is a well-documented industry argument against taxation.

Lobbying Against Plain Packaging

In 2018, CCC made a submission to a public consultation on the introduction of plain (standardised) packaging in Singapore, citing consumer choice arguments and arguing that it would lead to an increase in illicit trade.182 Roeder authored a media article on ‘brand freedom’, citing ‘slippery slope’ arguments relating to other products like sugar and alcohol.183

CCC called on EU policymakers to reject plain packing in a July 2020 policy paper, arguing that it “increased the presence of illicit tobacco in all the countries which implemented it.”177

In March 2021, CCC made a submission to the UK Government’s consultation on the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 and the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015. CCC argued “tobacco products should not see any further scrutiny”, that plain packaging “hasn’t proved to be effective” and nor have health warning labels “in helping smokers quit”.184

CCC also argued that “further bans of vaping products will drive more consumers to illegal products on the unregulated black market, where there is no guarantee of safety or quality. A larger black market will make it even easier for minors to purchase vaping products with no age verifications at all.”184

Opposed Intellectual Property Waiver on COVID-19 Vaccines

CCC opposed attempts by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to improve access to COVID-19 vaccines. WTO considered temporarily waiving intellectual property rights relating to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19, to allow WTO member countries to manufacture enough vaccines to cope with demand.185 CCC published an article in May 2021 criticising President Biden’s support of the waiver,186 and another in June 2022 arguing that the “TRIPS waiver will cost us decades of progress”.187 CCC also advocated for Germany and Canada to oppose the waiver,188189 and appears to have attempted to influence Members of the European Parliament on the subject, predominantly through its “Innovation, Brands and Intellectual Property- The Future of Europe” group.190

Tobacco companies with links to CCC had invested in COVID-19 vaccine development.

The tobacco industry has a history of using intellectual property arguments to oppose new tobacco control regulations, such as the introduction of plain packaging and graphic health warnings.191

Other Affiliations

  • In addition to being scheduled to speak at the anti-WHO event, the IEA was involved in launching the CCC in April 2017. Christopher Snowdon, the IEA’s “Head of Lifestyle Economics”, featured in the promotional video for the CCC’s launch event.192
  • At its launch event, the CCC disclosed that it “collaborated with” EPICENTER, a free-market think tank collective, set up and funded by the IEA.193
  • CCC was represented by Jeff Stier at the launch of Forest EU, a tobacco industry-funded pro-smoking group.194
  • Another US-based organisation linked to Students for Liberty also has links to CCC: ‘Young Voices’, described as a “nonprofit talent agency and PR firm for pro-liberty students and young professionals”.195 Young Voices’ board includes representatives of the Atlas Network, CCC, Reason Magazine (see the Reason Foundation) and R Street Institute.195 It has a platform targeting the EU, called ‘Young Voices Europe’. Several authors are employed by, or have links to, SFL, CCC or WVA.196197 Writers associated with ‘Young Voices Europe’ have published articles arguing against increases in tobacco taxes in the EU.198199

Relevant Links

Tobacco Tactics Resources

TCRG Research

Exploring the Twitter activity around the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, L. Robertson, A. Joshi, T. Legg et al, Tobacco Control, 11 November 2020, doi: 10.1136/tobaccocontrol-2020-055889

 

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References

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