THE Health Secretary is being asked to stop a float of `unrepentant smokers' entering a Manchester International Festival parade.
Promoters have advertised in tobacconists and on the internet for smokers to join the festival launch parade, which is costing an estimated £250,000.
The hour-long extravaganza, called Procession, is being put together by Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller who has been given a commission reputedly worth £50,000 to showcase the city, its history, traditions and characters.
Festival bosses decided on Thursday to press ahead with the smoking element of the spectacle, partly paid for by the 10 councils of Greater Manchester, despite criticism from town hall chiefs.
Now Pat Karney, NHS director of Smoke-Free Manchester, is writing to Leigh MP and health secretary Andy Burnham to stop the smokers taking part in the parade.
It is understood Coun Karney has the support of Sheila Newman, Manchester council's director of children's services, and former Lord Mayor of Manchester Glynn Evans, the council's executive member for health.
Coun Karney told the M.E.N.: "It's a family event and there's going to be thousands of children and young people there.
"Featuring smokers makes a mockery of the millions that has been spent on smoking cessation programmes.
"There's no doubt that kids do see smoking everywhere and that it's a free society but to spend public money in this way would be a complete disgrace and bring shame on Manchester."
Manchester council's communities and neighbourhoods committee unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning the smoking element as `an appalling waste of taxpayers' money'.
Senior doctors, led by anti-smoking campaigner and director of public health for Bury, Dr Peter Elton, are to petition Manchester International Festival bosses for a meeting.
Dr Peter Elton told the MEN: "The issue is that there are hardened smokers going on this float. Processions are very attractive to children. Our concern is that it could make smoking attractive."
Other floats include the Alternative Project, featuring the young people who hang around outside Urbis, a musical tribute to Oldham's first fish and chip shop, and a debut of a new piece of music played through the sound systems of souped-up cars.
Procession organisers are also calling on mill workers, rose queens, ramblers, Happy Mondays fans and descendants of people involved in the 1819 Peterloo Massacre to join in.
The parade wil travel down Deansgate, from Liverpool Road to Manchester Cathedral, on July 5 - the opening weekend of the two-and-a-half week arts extravaganza which is expected to cost around £9.6m.
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It will be interesting to know if there will be a 'Alcohol float' considering Manchester's long history in the brewery industry & how will that sit on the moral shoulders of Coun Pat Karney ?
Have these people nothing better to do?
Why stop there ? Just ban the floats,their engines smoke too.
"The hour-long extravaganza, called Procession, is being put together by Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller who has been given a commission reputedly worth £50,000 to showcase the city"
If an element of the parade is forceably removed at the whim of bullying, control freak politicians, then, in a bizarre way, that will showcase another characteristic of the city which has existed for some time.
Hey smokers. You stink, have yellow teeth and stained fingers.
What is immoral is the millions of pounds of tax payers money wasted on campaigns to villify and degrade a quarter of the population. Namely the smokers.
Firstly Pat Karney get a life,and remember who let the Scots wreck Manchester, people have long memories. Next Dr Peter Elton 'Processions are very attractive to children. Our concern is that it could make smoking attractive'. Throwing the image of a man on a bonfire on Nov 5th is very 'attractive', will that make our children want to do that because it's 'attractive'?
What about banning the Gay Floats, People in the City in August get offened to this, Men dressing up as Woman and showing all their bits Hmmm???
''It's a family event and there's going to be thousands of children and young people there''.
Is this the same councillor who encouraged the Rangers fans down and relaxed the booze ban? I was shopping with my family that day and was in one shop when at 10.15am four men urinated up against the window in full view of me and my family who were inside. We were subjected to racist bile, sectarian songs, swearing, puking at 9am on the train as they were drunk at that time, fightig etc. That is more shocking than a few people smoking cigarettes in a parade.
We were in town on Saturday and gues what? We saw people smoking. On Deansgate (where teh parade will be held) guess what we saw? People smoking. Some walking down the street, most outside pubs. So why doesn't this councillor run a campaign top ban smoking outdoors fullstop or make pubgoers smoke around the back, not on Deansagte lest my children want to take it up there and then.
If I was the organiser I would just pull the whole lot.
Seig Heil !!!
Iran has greater freedom of speech and action.
He needs to ban the Buses as well from the City with the poison Black Fumes, that's just as bad....
I don't smoke but if Pat (F.....) Karney is trying to tell us what we can and can't do again then I will be on that float with my first fag in my mouth. When does it start and who do I need to contact to get myself on it. Pat, your job is to administer the running of the city centre, not to force your pathetic opinions upon us dictating our every move you freak.
Ban the whole thing!
I am sure there are many area's in the NHS, that Pat Karney could spend that money, or would it go to his expenses?
Pat Karney's authoritarian attitude is just anothe example of the Nu Labou'sr attacks on freedom and personal autonomy.
Which is the greater crime,having a cig or mugging an old lady? Debatable ! Get your priorities right you freaky zealots!!
follow the authority rules as they go along really.
Pat Karney seems to forget that smoking is a perfectly legal persuit.
Just because the government sees fit to waste millions upon millions of pounds trying to eradicate smoking with no success is no reason for banning smokers parades.
Are they going to ban vehicles because of exhaust fumes, will children be turned Gay if they see a Gay float, will everyone become a Christian if there is a Church of England Parade.
Why not ban people like Pat Karney who are petty hitlers and tyrants, the general public never voted for smokers to be persecuted by government stakeholder agencies, we would be much happier without anti smoking bigots.
Lets hope that no one bows to bigotry and bullying by the likes of Pat Karney.
Dr Peter Elton told the MEN: "The issue is that there are hardened smokers going on this float."
Maybe the organisers could agree to replace them with casual and social smokers as a compromise.
Would Manchester rather be seen as a tolerent, humane city, Mancunians as fair minded tolerant people by allowing the smokers float on this procession or would they prefer to be seen as intolerant bigoted thugs by banning it?
These are the two points of view that matter, at stake is the worlds perception of Manchester and her people, how does Manchester want the world to see her?
You, the people of Manchester are free to choose.
As somebody who suffers from a smoking related desease,(COPD)i cannot understand why these people want to promote smoking.forget the argument that people have a choice and people should have freedom of choice? tell that to the young people who are on heroin or some other drug.We should not promote things that kill people like smoking and other drugs.legal or otherwise. Why say to the young "Its great to fill your lungs with smoke" While knowing it kills.
There were people in charge of European countries who only allowed
art and lifestyles which conformed to their viewpoint. all other ideas were anti-social and against the State, and therefore unlawful.
welcome to the Brave New Policies of Pat Karney, a very dangerous man who only allows what he agrees with.
This is OUR City, not your personal political plaything.
when is he up for re-election ??
I just had a thought.
if they do ban smokers from the procession,
does that mean.
if i stand on the pavement on Deansgate smoking a fag,
that is legally allowed
but would I then be arrested if i stepped out onto the road and walked one step with the procession ??
interesting.
I've just read this report and I can see that the level of Government sponsored detestation has risen to new heights. The city of Manchester looks very bad from where I sit. This action is telling the intolerant, the bigotered and the puritanical that it's OK to hate. It's a green light from the Government of Manchester that these kind of people ( Smokers) are first in line to hate. Like a gun-slinger in Dodge City these people deserve to be ridden out of town, kept in the shadows and shunned. Who's next? drinkers? the overweight? anyone who's not "on message". This is getting very close to social apartheid. If I could get there I would join the smokers just to support them against this campaign of hate.
Lots of pitiable people seem to get a kick out of demanding that things are banned.
And a lot of people get nice wages from banning things too, and they need to keep finding more things to ban to justify their tax funded jobs.
@CorneredAllTheLuck, I dont have yellow teeth or stained fingers, infact, i think you owe me an appology, cash or cheque only