President defends smokers

2008-09-05 07:55

Brasilia - Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday gave a rare defence of smokers' rights, arguing that people should be allowed to smoke where they choose, local newspapers reported.

"Really, I am defending the idea that people be allowed to smoke anywhere they choose," Lula told the daily Agora.

And "the only people who smoke are those who are hooked", Lula said, when asked about draft legislation seeking to ban smoking in enclosed places.

He may not be entirely impartial in his views.

The president was smoking a small cigar during the interview, the reporter said.

In recent years Brazil's government has tightened restrictions on smoking. Packs of cigarettes now carry photos of smokers who are deathly ill.

The Health Ministry has proposed a ban on smoking in all public enclosed spaces. Lula, however, did not give his opinion on the subject.

"I send the proposal to Congress and don't vote," Lula said.

- AFP