Pro-smoking supper before ban

Updated 16.20 Tue Jun 12 2007

Keywords: Forest, smoking, July 1

A celebrity chef will be chief guest at a swanky dinner for smokers, just days before the nationwide smoking ban on July 1.

Antony Worrall Thompson, high-profile cook and the patron of Forest, the smokers' lobby group organising the event, will be one of the diners at the £95 per head three-course "freedom dinner" at The Savoy hotel in London on June 25.

A flier advertising the London event says "tolerant non-smokers" are welcome

Forest say the event will be "one of the last opportunities" for people to smoke to their hearts' content at a "major public venue" before the ban comes into force.

The evening will include dinner with wine, after-dinner speakers, live jazz and other entertainment.

Speaking ahead of the Revolt in Style: A Freedom Dinner, Antony Worrall Thompson said: "July 1 will be a sad day. Supporting smokers is worth doing. Nobody else wants to because they want to be politically correct."

A flier advertising the London event says "tolerant non-smokers" are welcome.