A BILL to ban the advertising and promotion of tobacco has now received its second reading in the House of Lords.

The draconian nature of the Bill is illustrated by the fact that, in addition to a ban on magazine and bill board advertising, smokers will in future be unable to receive, on a request and direct to their homes, information about a legal product that they have chosen of their own free will to consume.

Politicians have no business banning the promotion of a perfectly legal product. To be consistent, surely tobacco itself should be declared illegal? That of course is never going to happen because tobacco is a massive source of revenue to the Treasury (more than £7bn a year) and since there are more smokers than New Labour voters it would take a very brave (or foolish) government to alienate such a large constituency.

Since this Government is neither brave nor foolish, the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill is a compromise, combining humbug and political correctness in equal measure.

Like a smoker drawing on his favourite cigarette, it sucks.

SIMON CLARK,

Director FOREST

(Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco),

13 Palace Street,

London.