NEWS RELEASE | Monday 25 September 2006

Smokers are voters, too, FOREST tells
Labour party conference

FOLLOWING the decision to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, the smokers' lobby group FOREST has chosen to remind the government that Britain's 12 million smokers could make a difference at the next General Election.

The group is targeting Labour ministers, MPs and activists at the party conference in Manchester with a series of advertisements and mobile posters that declare 'Enough Is Enough', 'Smokers Are Voters, Too', 'Don't Push Them Too Far' and 'Nanny State? No Thanks'. 

Under the slogan 'Smokers Are Voters, Too', one poster features musician Joe Jackson who is quoted saying: "Smokers are now the only minority whose minority status is quoted as justification for abuse." 

According to Jackson, an outspoken opponent of the smoking ban, "Britain is becoming a society in which the extreme agendas of health officials and lobby groups are allowed to determine public policy. Freedom of choice, tradition, tolerance, pleasure, property rights, market forces and public opinion are being swept aside by a fanatical fringe."

Another poster features the slogan: 'Don't Push Them Too Far', adding: 'Remember, smokers are voters, too.'  

Advertisements have also been placed in The Daily, the official Labour conference newsletter. They feature the messages 'Smokers Are Voters, Too' and 'Nanny State? No Thanks'.  

Simon Clark, director of Forest, said, "The smoking ban is the tip of the iceberg as far as this government is concerned. Smokers are being systematically attacked and abused by politicians and campaigners. Some have already called for smoking to be banned in outdoor public areas and even in the home.

"If the government continues to target and vilify a significant minority of the population with outright bans and slogans like 'If you smoke, you stink', many people could rebel and vote for a party that adopts a more reasonable approach. If none of the leading parties is willing to compromise, many smokers will simply abstain in protest."