Fashion and ALP out of step on smoking
The Sydney Morning Herald

The fashion industry has declared smoking is out - but the vogue has yet to catch on with the NSW Labor Party.

Fronted by a model called Mink, the Australian fashion industry, with Federal Government support, yesterday launched a campaign in Canberra to combat the "guerilla marketing" of smoking within the fashion industry.

But while the industry has said it will no longer tolerate attempts by tobacco companies to "infiltrate" fashion events, the ALP stands by its acceptance of tobacco money in return for naming rights at party events.

British American Tobacco has paid the party about $15,000 to become an "associate sponsor" at party fundraisers.

This means it will be named along with other sponsors at the $220-a-plate "great debate" between the Premier, Bob Carr, and his Queensland counterpart, Peter Beattie, next Thursday.

The NSW ALP state secretary, Eric Roozendaal, yesterday denied any clash between the party's acceptance of funding from the tobacco industry and the Labor Government's rejection of cigarette promotion.

"I don't accept we are promoting a tobacco company," he said.

"We are merely acknowledging the support of a corporate donor ... We don't in any way support smoking ... I think they are two separate issues."

An anti-smoking group, Action On Smoking and Health, has damned the party's acceptance of tobacco money as hypocritical.

"Why should political parties be the only organisations exempt from receiving donations from tobacco companies?" asked the group's director, Anne Jones.

"I think people would be concerned that tobacco donations purchase influence."

Mink, who has strutted the catwalk for leading designers in Milan and Paris, said too many young models thought smoking was the thing to do.