The Mautner Project today launched a unique new anti-smoking campaign aimed at lesbian smokers who are 40-years- old and older. The “Delicious Lesbian Kisses Campaign,” is part of an ongoing effort from the Mautner Project to raise awareness of lesbian health issues.

“The Mautner Project is taking a provocative approach to draw attention to the dangers of smoking for lesbians,” said Kathleen DeBold, Executive Director of the Mautner Project, headquartered in Washington, D.C. “With prejudice and discrimination against lesbians rampant in society and with the discomfort they often experience when seeking health care, lesbians have little incentive to quit smoking. Our campaign offers support and smoking cessation information using positive, sexy images designed by and for women who partner with women.” Posters and postcards will be distributed to lesbian bars, women’s health clinics, and regions of the country identified in the 2000 Census as having a higher concentration of lesbians living in the area. A television PSA will be distributed next year to those regions as well. Funding for the campaign comes from a grant from the American Legacy Foundation, the national anti-smoking well known for its support of “The Truth About Smoking” campaign and the current “Mary Quits” campaign.

One campaign poster illustrates a very suggestive substitution to smoking. Juxtaposing images of women’s lips and panties, the tagline reads: “Want to kiss me all night? All over? Put that cigarette away. Let’s put your lips to better use.”

The “Delicious Lesbian Kisses” campaign will work in partnership with other women’s health organizations and local departments of health. It will be piloted in five cities including Washington, DC, Philadelphia, PA, Madison, WI, Phoenix, AZ, and Rehoboth, DE beginning with the introduction in the Metro Washington, DC area on November 18, 2004 – the 27th anniversary of the Great American SmokeOut.

The Mautner Project will also launch a “Delicious Lesbian Kisses” section on their web site to provide women with statistics about the negative health effects of smoking on their health. It will also provide up-to-date information about smoking cessation programs in local areas beginning with Washington, DC, as well as testimonials from women who have benefited from smoking cessation support groups.