Free speech doesn’t apply when you want to talk about cancer and alternatives to Big Pharma. One group that has tried to do just that has been barred by its local council from holding a public meeting – and is now being investigated by government officials.
The Arcturus Clinic in Totnes, Devon has been told to cancel its meeting on Saturday, which was to feature Italian oncologist Tullio Simoncini, who has postulated that some cancers are fungal infections that can be treated by sodium bicarbonate.
But local MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, a GP, believes the views of Simoncini and other speakers are dangerous, and the conference falls foul of the 1939 Cancer Act. The act forbids anyone to publicize an offer to treat cancer, prescribe a remedy or give any advice about treatment.
Totnes Council has withdrawn its permission to use the town’s civic hall for the meeting, and the local trading standards officials are investigating the clinic, which offers complementary help to cancer patients.
(Source: BBC website, March 21, 2012).
