Caterpillar's smoking ban

Caterpillar's smoking ban
Caterpillar's smoking ban riles union, which files complaint with the National Labor Relations Board
Associated Press
May 31, 2008

EAST PEORIA, Ill. — The United Auto Workers union has filed an unfair-labor-practice complaint against Caterpillar Inc. because of its decision to ban smoking on all of its U.S. properties beginning Sunday.

The union claims the ban goes against guarantees in the Peoria-based manufacturing giant's contract with the UAW, adding that whether workers can smoke should be subjected to collective bargaining.

The dispute over smoking, which the union says has been a contractual privilege for 60 years, has Caterpillar officials worried about a possible strike. However, union bargaining chairman Bill Scott says the UAW is not encouraging any work stoppage over the issue. He noted the union and Caterpillar have a "no strike, no lockout" clause in their contract.

Caterpillar labor relations manager Dan Day said in a statement that the company "cares about the health of its employees and wants to ensure that everyone who works on or visits Caterpillar property has access to the healthiest and safest work environment possible."

Caterpillar announced last fall that it would ban smoking on its campuses, after the state legislature approved a ban on smoking in public places and workplaces. But the company did not set a date for the ban to take effect until May 9.

The union filed an unfair labor practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board on May 15.

Scott said the complaint was about the right to bargain, not smoking.

He said workers who smoke follow state law by smoking outside and at least 15 feet from doorways.
http://www.chicagotribune.com

Calif. Bill To Ban Smoking In Apartments Advances

Calif. Bill To Ban Smoking In Apartments Advances

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The California Senate has cleared the way for a law that would ban smoking in apartments statewide.

SB 1598, authored by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, is aimed at protecting nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

"This year, consumer protection bills are getting an added emphasis, given the limitations presented by the budget," Padilla told the Los Angeles Times.
Click here to find out more!

The legislation would allow landlords to impose smoking bans in buildings that they own.

Supporters said the legislation will protect children from smokers.

Opponents, including Sen. Dick Ackerman of Irvine, said the bill is unnecessary meddling.

It now heads to the state Assembly for approval.
http://www.knbc.com

THE HERALD'S PLYMOUTH PUB QUESTIONNAIRE

THE HERALD'S PLYMOUTH PUB QUESTIONNAIRE
The face of the British pub is changing. As we approach the first anniversary of the introduction of the smoking ban on July 1, 2007, The Herald has quizzed landlords across the city to find out if the traditional local is at the end of the road. Eleanor Radford reports.

Questions:

1. How's business?


2. Has the smoking ban affected you?

3. Have supermarkets affected you?

4. Do you think the era of the Great British pub is over?

1. THE ADMIRAL MCBRIDE Scott Ledger - Licensee/Landlord

1. "It's been a tough winter, hoping for a good summer. People have less money to spend."

2. "Smoking ban undoubtedly had some impact. There were a few noticeable absences of locals who are heavy smokers.

3."They're staying at home drinking cheap booze from the super markets.

"When people can get cans of beer for less than £1, it's a struggle.

4. "It's not over, but there will be a shake-up. We'll lose a lot of pubs. Traditional boozers are suffering the most. We have to focus on food.

2. THE PLOUGHBOY INN, SALTASH Sheila Lennox-Boyd, Lessee 07808164388, 842861

1. "We're busy-ready for another refurb. With all the development in the area, estates have built up around and it's gone from strength to strength. We did 684 meals on Mothering Sunday.

2. "Not so affected by smoking ban because we have a nice garden and a children's play area.

3. "Prices at supermarkets are killing our trade. The price wars with the supermarkets means that booze is so cheap and accessible for kids. We're in control here in Saltash-We have schemes in place to clamp down on kids, and they are getting caught out. We have many activities for kids to do, so they're not so bored.

4. "It's gone. It's a very sad situation, they're all chains. We are careful with our prices, because we have to be. We have home-made produce, and serve things like liver and mash.

"I've been in the trade for 28 years and it's never been so hard. Our cleaner has got used to cleaning with the lights out because we spend £21,800 a year in electricity. It's so expensive. I've always been proud of our English pubs but the government needs to get a hold of the situation. Our dustbin bills have gone up by £200 a quarter.

"We're victims of rents and overheads.

"We used to run four pubs but had to pull them all into one to afford it.

"We're here for people, like counsellors. can you say the same in the chains? They are full, of student staff who don't care, they have no soul.

"We're here for a cheery word, a pint of ale and a nice meal.

3. BRITANNIA INN, (Wetherspoons) Wolseley Road 607596

Ruth Shift Manager

1. Doing well

2. Not majorly affected business, we're the only pub in the area so not particularly affected.

3. Not really affected

4. "Era of pub is beginning to look like it's over - not like it used to be - summertime isn't so bad because people can sit outside."

4. CHERRY TREE PUBLIC HOUSE 771981

Tracy Burgess, Bar maid

1. Pretty good "Things are picking up. We're getting bands in and focusing on live music to get punters in.

2. "In the winter it affected us, but not now, not really.

4. Regulars are loyal to the Great British pub. Even when they don't like the management!"

5. CORNWALLS GATE, Normandy Way 510902

1. Still quiet - trade dropped off last May - before the smoking ban - there's a change in social habits.

2. No

3. "Yes supermarkets definitely affecting business."

4. "There's going to be a contraction - big changes. The heavy boozing sessions are over, it's a more pleasant environment."

6. CROWN AND COLUMN 562833

1. "Slow, businesses are closing.

"If you don't do food, you're going downhill.

2. Not too much "We have nice, big back garden."

3. Supermarkets are effecting business.

4. "Yep - I'm 52 and I've been drinking since, whatever, you can't just go into pubs and have a good time. Prices, smoking-ban, supermarkets selling cheap drinks.

"We focus on pool tournaments, Sunday lunches, anything to get business in."

7. DRAKES DRUM, Radford Park Road, 402613 Jamie Curle, Manager

1. Business is going well

2. Not affected

3. No affected

4. Focusing on food, music, entertainment.

8. THE FALCON, Melville Road

Tom Stevenson, 569669

1. "Business is going well. Took over pub a year ago. Focusing on food, entertainment, football, music.

2. "Smoking ban slowed things down, but everyone got used to it.

3. Not really affected, lots of locals

4. "Era is definitely not over, but people are focusing on different areas. Lots of smaller pubs closed, but the bigger pubs do better."

9. THE DOLPHIN

Leanne Kelly, Barmaid, 660876

1. Business is going well with the Transat action. We've had Blues, Jazz music and a pianist.

2. Affected a little

3. "No, we're a local pub and always got the locals. Same people coming for years and they're gonna carry on coming. "We've introduced new ales, like Tribute."

4. "No-way"

10 FOXHOUND INN, Brixton

Sharon Martin, Landlady, 880271

1. Not too bad

2. "Changed, more food-lead. Thinking of ideas to keep going.

3. "Supermarkets have definitely affected the industry as a whole.

4. "I hope the era is not over, but it probably is."

11. THE RED LION Paul Deans, manager, 256881

1. "Getting better, we've been here two years, and have been doing it up since Christmas."

2. "Smoking ban has really affected business.. We notice it when it's raining, definitely a lot quieter.

3. "I've been in the trade for donkeys years and noticed the difference last year. Also the tax hikes by the Chancellor. We get through by hard work, and smiles.

"It's just about cracking on and learning to adapt. We have bands and singers, which is going down really well. It's starting to look a lot better."

12. KINGS ARMS, Tamerton Foliot Peter Smith, 773213

1. "There is still the potential in the trade which is being crushed by the big PLC's- Wetherspoons and the like."

"People seem to accept changes. Trade is slightly increasing - not a lot of profit to be made. We made a simple change, we put in a pie and pasty warmer which is going well. We also put on a fillet steak night."

2. "There's a lot of moaning about it (smoking) but not much change.

3. "The supermarkets have been around a long time, people have always gone away to France on booze cruises."

4. "People have always had the choice of cheaper social clubs, but they've always gone back to the pub."

13. EXETER INN, Modbury, Ivybridge. Michelle Hill, Licensee 01548 830 239

1. "doing really well"

2. "Smoking ban hasn't effected us, we have food, live music, a pool room."

3. "Supermarkets may have affected a little."

4. "It's not like it used to be, more food than drink these days. The old men sitting in the corner and drinking, smoking on their pipe - times are changing."

14.LOPES ARMS, Roborough

Katherine Biscombe, Manager (brewery)

1. "Business is ok."

2. "Not really effected, we have a sheltered smoking area."

3. "Trade in general has been hit, it is more unpredictable with more ups and downs. We are a food-lead pub, we have darts teams, pool and live music on Wednesdays."

4. "The era is not over yet."

15. THE FRIENDSHIP INN, Amity Place

Bill Light, Landlord for 12 years 221362

1. "It's been the worst winter since I've been here - people don't want to smoke outside, we have a shelter but the wind blows in."

2. "Supermarkets, offie's, extra bars - over the past five years pubs have closed round here to be replaced with bars, like up on North Hill. Of the 12 years I've been here it's definitely the worst winter, but before was bad too - the community around here has been taken over by students. They have different patterns, they go out a lot later. Trends are changing."

4. "Era not over yet, but not far away."

16. THE CORNWOOD INN, Ivybridge Leaseholder Barbara Williams, 837225

1. "We have been affected by the ban, we have lost, and certainly haven't gained any smokers. It costs money to get a brolly up outside. We are affected by red tape and health and safety

2. "The supermarkets have affected us, if we didn't do food, we wouldn't exist."

4. "The era is definitely over, my biggest gripe is that choice has gone, people and staff smoking should be up to you.

"There were no Tesco's or cars - Your locals used to be your locals, your villagers were your villagers - Real pubs in the country will die out."

"Rates are just so high."

17. THE FORTESCUE, Mutley Plain Sarah Kenny, staff for 10 years 660673

1/2. "Trade is fantastic, but the smoking ban did affect us, people used to stay for three or four pints, now they have two and go. The atmosphere is different, people are up and down to the beer garden to smoke, conversation gets missed - it's disjointed."

3. "Well we have a lot of real ale drinkers, out the barrel." (can't get that at supermarket)

4. "The era is over which is very sad, peoples habits have been forced to change, for example with the smoking ban."

18. THE MARITIME INN, Southside St Rosamund Davies, 664898

1/2. "We have been 40% down since the smoking ban, it wasn't even a bad winter for weather, it's lovely weather but where do the non-smokers go for fresh air? All the smokers are outside - the ban was for the non-smokers, but where are they? If we are 40% down then we haven't gained any non-smokers.

"The butts are now a massive litter problem"

"Most bar staff are smokers, so we end up paying for smoking breaks all day. We think it should have been made law that really good air filter systems were fitted for fresh air in the pub.

3. "Cheap booze definitely affects us. The supermarkets supply the cheap booze but we get the blame for the boozers, it's a major problem with the youngsters. Too many outlets that sell booze 24 hours, but pubs don't. There's too much irresponsible selling of booze."

4. "There are 91 pubs in Plymouth up for sale, or not in use. I read that Wetherspoons are £400 million in debt. If they can't make it, nobody can."

"I hope the era isn't over, but unless somebody sits down and talks to the trades people to find out what the people want, for example rules that say pubs can be half smoking and half non-smoking with really good extractors. "The Brit pub is a tradition, who was the ban done for? The non-smokers are still not here.

19. THE CROOKED INN, Saltash

Justin Arnold, Landlord, 20years.

1. "We have been affected by smoking ban."

2. No

3. "We are busy, it's going ok, we do food and accommodation."

4. "No, era isn't over but the breweries screw over the pubs. Free-holds do ok

"People who take leases have no chance, breweries put rent up, they are evil. Their profits are massive, food is the way forward."

20. THE SWALLOW, Bretonside

Colin Damp, Landlord, 18 years

1. "Business is down 20%, that's' £5,000 a week. I'm surviving by the skin of my teeth and have been struggling in the past five years to keep within my overdraft which is in five figures."

2. "We have no capacity for smoking, there's been a downward slump since July and we've had to cut staff."

3. "The 24 hour rule and supermarkets affect us. We used to be busy at nine, now its ten, because people are drinking cheap tinnies at home. There has been a shift in drinking patterns."

4. "Chains are shutting down so perhaps there is hope for independents, we pay more to the supplier than the chains charge."

21. THE PRINCE MAURICE, Eggbuckland Rick Doggs, 771515

"Anyone who tells you they are not affected by all these things are telling porky pies."

22. KINGS HEAD TAVERN, Bretonside 665619

"We are affected by all these things."

23. THE NOWHERE INN

Phil Cawse, Licensee 670592

1.(general chat about all points) "Pubs are closing left, right and centre. It is a combination lots of things, We are £500 down a week, definitely for the last six months.

"We are lucky as we have loyal customers, we're a real pub with real ales, no machines and no TV.

"Pubs need to diversify, but they need help of big the breweries, to help reduce rent.

"Where pubs used to be a meeting place, this is not the case anymore, it's not so much fun. There is no pride left, it's turned to being all about the money.

"People are scared because of the violence and intimidation of thugs. You don't get old people out in pubs anymore, like you don't get old people going out for a walk at night time. It's a social disease.

3. "The supermarkets are not affecting trade, but are causing problems. Booze is too easy to obtain with youngans.

"I can't compete with Sainsburys, they're selling booze cheaper than I can buy it." "We need help."

"Breweries selling for so much, no-one can buy elsewhere.

"20 pubs have closed since January. The Mutley Tavern, a lovely pub, The First and Last, The Walrus, they've all shut."

24. THE OLD FRIARY, Bretonside.

672921 Dave Northcott, Landlord

1. "We're doing alright, we get a lot of local trade."

2. "Smoking ban has affected us a lot. A lot of the regulars - you don't see them half as much.

3. "People go down the supermarket, buy all the cans for a tenner and sit and smoke at home.

We have food and live music at the weekends - to keep trade going."

4. "The era has definitely changed, and not for the better - the smoking is the main problem, there's definitely a younger crowd. Students come out a lot later."

25. The Mark of Friendship, Torpoint

Jenny Brazier, has run pub for seven years 822253

1. "slow"

2. "The ban is probably affecting us now. It's a strange one, since the new year trade is markedly different. It's our worst year in the trade - people are tightening their belts, more people drinking and smoking at home. "We do food, darts, and live music, but even the music isn't working as well to get people in.

4. "The era is close to ending, and once it has gone, it is never to return."

"I think pubs have been in demise ever since the rise of the Wetherspoons pubs.

"You can't compete with cheap booze, cheap food, maybe if you're a free-hold, but not an Enterprise."

26. THE MECHANICS ARMS, Stonehouse

Barman Pete Osbourne

1. "Trade is going up.

2. "The ban hasn't affected us.

3. "We provide entertainment, in three weeks we'll start doing food. We have great personality, atmosphere, and we're clean - come and see for yourself!

4. "I hope the era is not over.

27. The West Hoe, Bishops Place

Licensee Rebecca Stone, 262041

1. "Trade not too bad, starting to pick up.

2. "Smoking ban hit us hard, it's been an awful winter.

"We started doing food since the smoking ban, we had to or we'd have sunk.

3."Supermarkets have not really affected, we're very local and the old boys are starting to come out again after the smoking ban. We do real ale.

4. "I think the era is looking like it's over. I feel we've been pushed out by the government. Everything is too expensive to run.

28. The Yard Arm, Citadel Road

Nigel Ledger, Landlord 407927

1. "We're busy."

2. "We catered for the ban with two outside smoking areas, heated and non-heated. It's a nicer atmosphere without the smoking but our trade comes from doing good food.

3. "The chains are more of a concern than supermarkets. Pubs doing buy-one-get-one-free knocks it a bit, but we hold on to clients through our location, food and accommodation.

4. "I hope it's not the end, we're all struggling as a whole, being attacked by the government on all sides with taxes, price increases, and many pubs are under the hammer but you have to attract people. We do smaller portions for older people - a roast for £3.95, it gets them out of the house."

29. THE BILLACOMBE TAVERN, Billacombe Road

Liz Levers, Licensee 407927

1. "Week days are not fantastic but the weekends are ok."

2. "Pubs as a whole are suffering, there's a lot of movement in the trade.

"We focus on food, you've got to give people a reason to come to the pub

3. "People will sit in and drink a £3 bottle of wine but you can't beat the atmosphere of the pub.

"We've got an outside area, I think most people have accepted the changes - there's a whole new social life outside.

4. "I'd love to think it's not over, it's what makes us British - all the different people mingling, who might not talk to each other in their normal daily lives, but come together because of the pub. I hope it's just a blip.

"I think pubs will evolve. Quiz, Wii and poker nights are all becoming popular. People are coming in for activities, rather than just drinking. Perhaps it could become more about the food, more relaxed, like Mediterranean culture, but without losing the essence of the British pub."

30. THE VICTORY INN, Farm Lane.

773635, Sharon Anstis, Landlady

1. "Business is rubbish."

2. "Smoking ban killed it - we're a proper working mans pub where people would sit with a beer in one hand, a fag in the other.

3. "We've most definitely affected by supermarkets, Tesco's is just a two minute walk from here. We've tried everything, lowering price of beer, doing specials but it doesn't work. People want to sit and smoke.

4. "The era is over. We've just got to move on."
http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk

Pub smoking ban rebel Smith now opens the Puff-Inn in Calderdale

Pub smoking ban rebel Smith now opens the Puff-Inn in Calderdale
SMOKING rebel Stuart Smith has given his backing to a pub offering smokers the chance to enjoy a cigarette and a pint when it re-opens on Friday.
Smith - who has appeared in court accused of flouting the smoking ban - says he is supporting his friend Gil Cushing, leaseholder of the former Mellor's Bar in New Hey Road, Rastrick, who is reopening the pub under the name The Puff-Inn.

When the bar opens at 5pm Mr Cushing says he will be serving pints dressed as Richard the Lionheart while Mr Smith, dressed as St George, says he will be having a drink and a cigarette with customers.

Mr Cushing, 26, will be applying for the lecense for the premises. He accepted he would probably be the next one before the courts.

"Even thought I'm a non-smoker, I feel strongly about this and I'm prepared to face the consequences if I have to," he said.
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk

What's the future for working men's clubs?

What's the future for working men's clubs?
By James Wallin

Christine Midwinter from the Westcott Place Working Men's Club
WORKING men's clubs across Swindon are suffering because of the smoking ban and competition from supermarkets.

Club secretaries say that customers are choosing to drink alcohol at home because of the difference in price and the freedom to smoke.

It comes after the Adver revealed that Gorse Hill Working Men's Club abruptly closed because of outstanding debts.

The club had already been removed from a national list of clubs registered by the Working Men's Club and Institute Union (CIU) in October, for not following the basic rules.

Christine Midwinter, from Westcott Place Working Men's Club, said: "What goes with a drink is a cigarette. It's as simple as that and anyone who smokes will tell you that.

"With a doubt our trade has been hit by the smoking ban. Our members now have to go and stand outside on the pavement if they want to have a cigarette.

"People don't want to come out for a drink and stand outside.

"Plus they can buy beer dirt cheap from the supermarkets.

"It's a real struggle."

Matt Carruthers, the manager at Purton Working Men's Club said that although his club had suffered less than some, he had noticed a decline in trade.

He said: "The smoking ban has had an effect but we are surviving.

"I think the fact that we have built a shelter and that a few of the pubs nearby have shut down has helped us.

"It will be hard though. The younger people generally don't come here and we are being hit hard by the prices in the supermarket.

"That's the real problem. I can't buy the alcohol as cheaply as they are selling it.

"I think there is a custom developing for English people to have a party at their house and drink from cans rather than go out."

Nick Labosquet, from the High Street Club, said that the smoking ban had been more of an inconvenience than a problem for them.

He said: "It hasn't affected us that much in terms of takings but I know it has been a great inconvenience to some people.

"The ridiculous thing is that in the summer non-smokers will be sat outside with other people smoking around them.

"We've been fortunate but I know it's been really difficult for clubs and pubs without a smoking area.

"I can understand people wanting a smoke-free environment and without a doubt that's what we have here.

"But I think what is important is to concentrate on good value and good quality of service for the members."
http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk

Fears over Welsh pub closures

Fears over Welsh pub closures

23 May, 2008

By James Wilmore

Trade chief claims 100 pubs will close in next six months

A Welsh pub trade chief has claimed around 100 pubs in the valleys could shut in the next six months – mainly due to the smoking ban.

John Price, secretary of the Licensed Victuallers Association in Wales, told thepublican.com: “I’ll give us six months and you won’t see many pubs left in the valleys at all.”

He said many older people were not prepared to go outside for a cigarette, since the ban was introduced in April 2007.

“It’s the weather. Old people will not go outside if it’s raining,” he added.

“And the areas that don’t have passing trade are the ones that are really in trouble”.

Price said that seven pubs in Swansea had closed recently and nightclubs were suffering as well.

Rising overheads and utilities were also a reason for the negative on the trade, Price said.

He pointed the finger at the government, saying: “Somebody has to think about what they are doing to help pubs out. They have never said how they are going to help us.”

Price, licensee of the Bush Inn, in Clydach Vale, also expressed fears that councils would be stepping up their monitoring of pubs with regard the legislation.

“It’s going to go haywire from now on,” he said. “But if you are serving behind the bar you can’t be in the toilet watching everybody’s movements.”
http://www.thepublican.com

fear of being attacked can be used as a defence

fear of being attacked can be used as a defence
An environmental health boss says fear of being attacked can be used as a defence for not upholding the smoking ban.

Ian Gray, principal policy officer at the Chartered

Institute of Environmental Health, gave the advice in a written statement to magistrates.

Gray was called as a witness by Westminster Council in the trial of smoke rebel Dave West.

Last week West and his firm Jewelite Trading were fined for two offences of allowing smoking at the HeyJo club in Mayfair.

Gray's statement, seen by the MA, says: "If he [the person in control of the licensed premises] alleges that he considered that he would be at genuine threat of violence or fear of reprisals for asking an individual to stop smoking, he could offer this as a defence."

Harry Barnett, HeyJo executive, said West planned to use the evidence in a High Court appeal — with Cherie Blair employed in the fight.

But MA legal editor Peter Coulson said: "While fear of attack is a defence, there have to be special circumstances or clear evidence of threats for this to be a factor.

"I think it would be very difficult for a court to accept this defence."

West and Jewelite were fined £500 each and ordered to pay £5,591 costs.

Westminster's environmental health manager Andy Ralph said: "Westminster Council does not expect staff at licensed premises to put themselves at risk if they encounter difficult customers. However, where we believe a venue is failing to take its responsibilities under the Health Act seriously, we will look at instigating legal proceedings."
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk

Rampton patients lose bid to overturn smoking ban

Rampton patients lose bid to overturn smoking ban

Lord Justice PillPSYCHIATRIC patients should not be allowed to endanger their own and others' health by lighting up whilst detained in Rampton high security mental hospital, top judges ruled today.
In a case costing tens of thousands of pounds of public money, three patients argued that a ban on them smoking "in the privacy of their own home" violated their human rights.

But, after a four-day High Court hearing, two judges ruled that any inADVERTISEMENTterfence with their rights was justified and keeping Rampton "smoke free" was in the interests of patients' health.

Lawyers for three mental patients argued they were being unfairly singled out by the ban on smoking in any part of the Notts hospital - even outside in the grounds.

But, in a ruling which will force Rampton's smokers to kick the habit, Lord Justice Pill said: "There is very strong evidence that smoking causes disease and endangers the health of the smokers themselves and other people who live and work in their vicinity."

"There is, in our view, powerful evidence that, in the interests of public health, strict limitations upon smoking, and a complete ban in appropriate circumstances, are justified."

"A duty to protect others from smoke pollution arises with respect to patients, some of whom may be vulnerable, and to staff."

"On the view we take of the evidence, substantial health benefits arise from the ban and the disbenefits are insubstantial."

"Rampton is operated as a hospital by National Health Service staff and distinction between it and prisons and other accommodation is justified."

"Like other hospitals, it is smoke-free. Both health and security considerations justify the ban even though smoking in the grounds, which may be possible at other hospitals, is not feasible at Rampton."

The judge added that the smoking ban was also justified by security difficulties posed by allowing inmates - many of whom have "dangerous, violent or criminal propensities" - to smoke outside in Rampton's grounds.

Lawyers for the patients had argued that the smoking ban meant they would be the only group of people in the country banned from smoking "in the privacy of their own home".

Paul Bowen, for the patients, argued that others whose homes are in public spaces - such as soldiers and care home patients - will still be able to smoke under special exemptions once the ban comes into force in July and the total ban at Rampton amounted to unlawful discrimination.

Patients' average stay at Rampton is eight years, though for some it is much longer, and for some it is for life, and Mr Bowen argued that forcing them to give up smoking was a disproportionate interference with their right to privacy within their own home.

From 1st July, all mental health units would have a complete ban on smoking indoors. Even smoking in designated rooms would no longer be permitted and, at Rampton, smoking outdoors in the grounds would also be prohibited after the NHS said it was not feasible on security grounds.

The patients had also challenged the legality of a decision by Notts Healthcare NHS Trust, which manages Rampton, to impose the ban from April last year - months ahead of the smoke-free policy deadline - but their judicial review challenge was dismissed.

The three patients who brought the case, all of them legally aided, were denied permission to appeal against the High Court's ruling.
http://www.worksopguardian.co.uk

Goodbye country pubs, hello dull Norwegian clean living

Goodbye country pubs, hello dull Norwegian clean living
Excellent news! One thousand pubs have closed since the ban on smoking in the workplace, and who knows what further social and cultural glories might follow, with the present generation of Pecksniffs in power? For when they decide that something shall happen, so happen it usually does -- but in an unfailingly dysfunctional and unintended way. Thus the relationship between the State and the Irish country pub: sooner or later, the former will be the death of the latter -- and not through design, but through busy-body stupidity and bone-headed arrogance,

Now, when the smoking ban was introduced in pubs five years ago, I warned that the consequences would be horrendous; but even I was not prepared for the slaughter which was to follow. Pub licences which once changed hands for hundreds of thousands of pounds are now as useless as Hospital Sweeps Tickets from the 1950s. A social calamity is befalling one of the great staples of Irish life, with worse to come.

The same is true in the North, where the Republic's pioneering in blundering, statist intrusion into people's private lives is being followed with a slavishness which must make Craigavon turn in his grave, and cause Brookeborough to wonder why he ever bothered. The smoking ban there killed 100 pubs in its first year alone, with hundreds more to follow. And these things accelerate, as people realise how uncomfortable smoking outside is, especially in winter, and they gradually start to drink at home instead.

I loathe cigarette smoke, and it was monstrous that we non-smokers should have had to endure smokers' bronchial waste in our lungs and in our hair. But proportion in all things: a happy medium was possible -- such as, certain pubs being licensed to allow smoking, or for pubs to have allocated particular rooms for smoking, with effective air-conditioning. But no -- we went down the absolutist route of His Eminence, John Charles McQuaid: one total authority, laying down the law, without subtlety or nuance or human understanding. That was the austere, ranting Calvinist God in ornate Catholic vestments, Ireland's unique contribution to Christian practice. Thus the Ireland of yesterday, which banned condoms, divorce, abortion, hundreds of magazines and thousands of books, and which treated personal sin as legal crime.

Well, the archbishop is gone, and so, too, is his God, as Irish Catholicism morphs into an agnostic and unprincipled mishmash of whatever you're having yourself, Father Sean. The place of the hierarchy has been taken by a political caste of secular authoritarians, a blessed tribe who -- like John Charles and Dev himself -- merely have to look into their own hearts to divine what is right for the Irish people. And from its particular cardiac organ, the Road Safety Authority has decided that the blood-alcohol level should be reduced from 80mg to 50mg per 100ml of blood, and -- this is the best bit -- that for learner drivers it should be 20mg.

So the RSA thinks learner drivers should be able to have a little drink before they drive? Are they mad? Learners shouldn't be allowed anywhere near drink, at all: and nor should experienced drivers. Yet the RSA also thinks that the blood-alcohol level for mature drivers should be cut by nearly 40pc of the present level.

B ut there is no evidence that people who are drinking a couple of pints of beer are causing road-deaths. Indeed, we know that reckless youngsters -- who are ignoring both alcohol and speed limits -- are the primary drink-driving threat to others' lives. Punishing the rest of us because of their excesses is not merely crazy, but it is economically and socially ruinous.

Firstly, our brewing industry cannot survive these assaults on their main outlet: off-sales will not compensate for the loss of the pub. And rural society will be infinitely poorer if isolated farmers are unable to gather over a few leisurely drinks, without risk of prosecution. For how many drinks does the 50mg limit allow? And who is going to risk it, as the entire weight of the law, the courts and the insurance industry is lined up to punish some lonely old farmer who has merely had a couple drinks, and who is driving reasonably skilfully and safely homewards?

The proposed law will be either ignored or enforced. With the former, it joins the vast plethora of laws which Dail Eireann regularly passes, and which it no more intends to be enforced than it means to re-route the Liffey back into the Wicklow hills. But if it is enforced, it will solely punish moderate drinkers, who have not harmed anyone, and are not likely to. Indeed, they are its target-group, and this is morally infamous and legally inexcusable.

Finally, traditional music -- the great and unique glory of Irish life -- has always depended on the rural pub for a venue: the publican got the business, the musicians got some drink free, and maybe a few quid, and the customers got the music and the crack.

This was a three-way unwritten, cultural contract, which benefited everyone and which gave social cohesion and pleasure to the most remote communities in Ireland. With firstly, the abominable and totalitarian smoking ban, and now the proposed drink-driving laws, say goodbye to the lot, and mumble despairingly, hello Norway.

kmyers@independent.ie

- Kevin Myers
http://www.independent.ie

Billionaire nightclub owner fined for flouting smoking ban

Billionaire nightclub owner fined for flouting smoking ban


The billionaire owner of a central London nightclub who hired Cherie Blair to challenge the smoking ban has been fined for breaching the prohibition.

Dave West, owner of the Abracadabra restaurant and HeyJo erotic-themed club, vowed to flout the ban when it was introduced on July 1 last year.

Westminster City Council brought a prosecution against him after environmental health officers twice visited his bar and reported he was permitting customers to smoke.

Mr West and his company Jewelite Trading were each convicted at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court of two counts of allowing smoking within an enclosed premises.

They were fined a total of £2,000 with costs of £5,591 for the offences on August 4 and 10 last year, the council said.

Councillor Daniel Astaire, Westminster's cabinet member for community protection and licensing, said: "Dave West has repeatedly broken the law since the smoking ban came into effect.

"Over 30,000 businesses are affected by the smoking legislation in Westminster but HeyJo is, tellingly, the only premises where we have resorted to enforcement action.

"Everyone else has adopted a responsible attitude to the legislation and the positive effects of a smoke-free environment.

"While we are always disappointed to resort to legal action, Mr West has made some ludicrous claims and has wasted valuable court and council time and money."

Mr West, who describes the smoking ban as "an encroachment upon our civil liberties", denied the charges and plans to appeal against his conviction.
http://www.24dash.com

LAST ROLL OF THE DICE FOR CASINO

LAST ROLL OF THE DICE FOR CASINO
A casino which promised to bring a touch of Las Vegas glamour when it opened is closing because of changes to the gaming law and the introduction of the smoking ban.

The company, which runs the Triangle Casino in Bristol, announced it was looking to close it, with the loss of 31 jobs.

Gambling giant Genting Stanley said changes to the law and the downturn in the economy had led to a cost- cutting drive which was likely to mean 120 job losses and the closure of two casinos.

The Clifton casino opened in February, 2004, to a fanfare of publicity but the owners Stanley were taken over by a Malaysian firm two years later in a deal worth more than £600 million.

Genting Stanley said it had looked at every possible way of balancing books but has been forced into announcing the review of its staffing levels.

Workers at the Triangle and at a casino in Luton were warned to brace themselves for redundancy.

Executive deputy chairman Peter Brooks said: "The new gaming taxes the Government introduced last year without any consultation with the industry has had a big impact on our business.

"The casino industry has also been hit by the global economic downturn, as well as the smoking ban and the loss of some gaming machines.

"We have sought to control costs right across our business but have concluded, with the greatest reluctance, that we need to take further action."
http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk

Variety artists call on Equity to lobby parliament over smoking ban

Variety artists call on Equity to lobby parliament over smoking ban
by Alistair Smith

Light entertainers are calling on Equity to lobby government to demand changes to the current smoking ban, which they claim is having a “catastrophic effect” on working opportunities for variety artists.

According to performers, the new legislation, which was introduced in July 2007, is causing clubs and pubs to close, creating a knock-on effect for artists who had previously been booked to perform in them. They claim opportunities for work are dropping by up to 50%.

Kevin Smyth, director of the Club and Institute Union, which represents working men’s clubs - one of light entertainment’s biggest employers - said he “totally understood” the calls for Equity to lobby parliament. Smyth has previously complained that the smoking ban has caused the rate of club closures to increase dramatically.

He added: “Within the next month, the CIU is sending out a questionnaire to all our member clubs. Amongst the questions they [club officials] will be asked is what their takings are now compared to a given date before the smoking ban and if they feel their takings are down because of the smoking ban.

“I have accepted an invitation from Equity North East Variety Branch to attend a meeting at which we will talk about the smoking ban to their members.”

Equity’s North East Variety Branch has submitted a motion to the union’s Annual Representative Conference calling on Equity to take up the issue with government. The ARC will take place on May 18-19 and a full report on the event will appear in next week’s edition of The Stage.
http://www.thestage.co.uk

Fake cigarette is put to the test around Glasgow

Fake cigarette is put to the test around Glasgow
May 11 2008

IT'S the answer to smokers' prayers - an £89 electronic cigarette that lets them puff in public legally.

The SuperSmoker certainly looks like a real fag and its makers claim it also tastes and smokes like the real thing, too.

It gives users a hit of nicotine and can be "smoked" anywhere as nothing is actually lit.

That means there is no harmful smoke. Nor does it give users a dose of tar. But the fake ciggie - endorsed by Rolling Stones legend Bill Wyman - glows at its tip and produces a puff of steam vapour that disappears without a trace.

And as the nicotine is vaporised instead of burned, it is legal to light up despite the smoking ban.

If you are challenged by the publican, you can show them the accompanying "passport" that proves it is not real smoke.

Heather Greenaway asked law student Tierney Gallagher, 20, of Glasgow, to road-test the gizmo out and about in the city.

HORSESHOE BAR

THE fake cigarette attracted lots of attention at the famous pub. Barmaid Allison Sweeney, 37, quickly pointed out the smoking ban before realising the cigarette was harmless.

Tierney said: "The minute I stepped into the Horseshoe with a cigarette, all eyes were on me and the staff were quick to ask me what I was doing.

"It has only been two years since the ban but it is as if no one ever smoked in public places in Scotland before.

"I was quite surprised at the impact my smoking had on people."

TAYLOR FERGUSON

TIERNEY slipped into the celebrity hairdresser's and took a seat at the mirror.

All eyes were on her when she slipped the electronic fag from her bag.

The boss was quickly summoned and Taylor asked her to stop smoking inside.

Tierney said: "The salon used to be a place for a quick cigarette and a coffee between haircuts.

"But all that has changed as Taylor told me to put it out.

"He said he remembered the days when you could smoke in the salon but now much prefers working in a smoke-free environment.

"Once again, the cigarette had been filled and it tasted like the real thing to me."

MANNA RESTAURANT

THE test in this restaurant caused gasps of disbelief when Tierney took a puff.

And it wasn't long before supervisor Debbie Manson, 31, asked her to stub it out.

Tierney said: "I missed being able to have a quick cigarette with a glass of wine, so it was fun to light up in the restaurant.

"But I felt self-conscious as everyone around me was staring at me, accusing me.

"After two puffs, the boss came flying over and asked me politely to put it out.

"But once I explained it was not real and showed how it worked, everything was fine.

"It was amazing how quickly people noticed I was smoking. How things have changed."

SILVERBURN

THE student really set the cat among the pigeons when she took a shopping trip to Silverburn.

Sitting on a bench in the main mall and lighting up her fake ciggie brought the security guards running to tell her to put it out.

Mum Lauren Convery, 22, of Pollok, took great exception when the part-time model apparently puffed away close to her five-month-old daughter Oriana's pram.

Tierney said: "The security guards started radioing each other the second they caught sight of me smoking.

"They approached me and said if I didn't stop, I would have to go outside. They were quite impressed when I showed them it was not real.

"I did feel really bad, though, when a mother asked me to stop smoking near her child.

"It just shows you how strictly the ban is being enforced everywhere.

"There was not one shopper who did not look at me in horror."
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk

Is the smoking ban good for us?

Is the smoking ban good for us?
Has the smoking ban reduced heart attacks?
Tessa Mayes
Wednesday, 31st October 2007

Enforced abstention may not lead to fewer heart attacks

It is not just the ban itself that angers smokers, however, nor the assumption by the government that it is a better guardian of our health than we are; the real fag end of all this is the way science has been misused by policy-makers, in the first place to impose the ban, and then to justify it.

Few would deny that smoking can be harmful to the health of smokers. After decades of research, scientists have shown that smoking causes most lung cancers. Smoking is also a risk factor in heart disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.

Even so, it does not follow that smokers should be prevented from sparking up in public places. The science is one thing; how society should respond to it is another. Arguments in support of public policy should take scientific evidence into account but not be dictated by it, as many scientists would agree.

Yet the opposite is happening, thanks to so-called ‘evidence-based’ public policy-making. Championed as long ago as 1999 in the government white paper ‘Modernising Government’, the evidence-based approach was supposed to offer a means of forming policies on the basis of a clear evaluation of evidence — and rational argument. But there’s been precious little rational argument. What has happened is that the science has been allowed to determine and justify policy: political debate has had to yield to science, to the point almost where scientists have become policy-makers. In practice, the evidence-based approach tends to stress the scientific evidence at the expense of political debate.

Sometimes, however, the scientific evidence itself is flawed, or wrongly interpreted. According to a recent Scottish study, for example, there has been a 17 per cent drop in hospital admissions for heart attacks since the March 2006 smoking ban was imposed in Scotland. Gill Pell, consultant in public health at Glasgow University, found that this compared to a 3 per cent annual decline during the previous decade.


But these findings were not presented in an apolitical, scientific forum. Instead they were revealed at a two-day international conference in Edinburgh last month on the effects of the smoking ban. The conference was called ‘Towards a Smoke-Free Society’, and policy-makers were quick to seize on the results. Peter Donnelly, the Scottish deputy chief medical officer, saw them as evidence that the ban caused ‘significant’ public health benefits. Sally Haw, principal public health adviser at Health Scotland (part of NHS Scotland), concluded that the results ‘will help support countries worldwide in their efforts to develop and implement smoke-free legislation’. Shona Robison, Scotland’s public health minister, told the conference that the research was ‘impressive’ and justified the smoking ban in Scotland — as if science is sufficient proof of the policy’s correctness. No mention was made of the nine out of ten Scots who, last year, thought the ban had gone far enough, according to a Populus opinion poll for Forest.

What of the science itself? It is impossible to judge. The full results aren’t even public yet. I asked the press officer at Glasgow University whether I could see a copy of the results, and he told me, ‘They’ve not been published yet in an academic journal.’

The results presented at the Edinburgh conference have to be viewed alongside other evidence. For example, the rate of emergency admissions for heart attacks in Scotland declined by 14 per cent in the three months before the smoking ban. Rates of admission fluctuate.

In the scientific research on heart attacks and the effects of passive smoking, epidemiologists warn against reaching hasty conclusions about the alleged dramatic short-term effects of a smoking ban on health.

Last month a study published in the American Journal of Public Health on the effects of the July 2003 smoking ban in New York State concluded that it had resulted in 8 per cent fewer people being admitted to hospital with heart attacks in the first year and a half of enforcement. Since the number of smokers had not decreased, the researchers concluded that the fall in admissions was due to the declining exposure to second-hand smoke.


Yet others disagree with the conclusion. On his blog, Professor Michael Siegel, epidemiologist at the Boston University School of Public Health, points out that there was no control study and neither did the research establish heart-attack trends among New York smokers and non-smokers. He says that heart-attack rates have also decreased in all other US states (where data is available) during 2003-04, the same period under study in New York State, but that none of these states had introduced a smoking ban at that time. And in South Carolina and Nebraska, the rates decreased by more than in New York State — and they hadn’t introduced a smoking ban then, either.

Siegel raises the question: if US-wide heart-attack rates are declining anyway, can the decline in the rates of New Yorkers having heart attacks really be attributed to the smoking ban? He concludes: ‘The point is that there are large year-to-year variations in heart attacks that have nothing to do with smoking bans.’

What makes Siegel especially interesting is that he is part of the anti-smoking lobby; he campaigns for smoking bans. He will not, however, condone weak science — even if it appears to support his political stand. As he writes on his blog: ‘As much as we might like to believe that reducing secondhand-smoke exposure prevents thousands of heart attacks in a matter of months, the evidence is simply not there to support such a conclusion.’

What is the truth about heart-attack rates and the effects of passive smoking? That question must be answered by the scientists. But even if scientific studies did eventually lead to the conclusion that smoking bans actually caused a decline in heart attacks, what would the policy-mongers do next? Ban alcohol in pubs and restaurants on the grounds that all the ex-smokers must have upped their alcohol intake — and will therefore be blocking NHS beds with their alcohol-related illnesses?

It is bad enough that science should always trump political debate, as it now seems to. It is completely unacceptable when that science is itself — at the very least — inconclusive.

RANK PLEA FOR BINGO HELP

RANK PLEA FOR BINGO HELP

Thursday May 8,2008
By David Shand RANK Group is hoping the Government will honour its pledge to help the bingo industry as the smoking ban and changes to legislation have extended the company’s losing streak in the first four months of this year.

It suffered an 8 per cent drop in like-for-like revenues over the period compared with the previous year. Hardest hit was Mecca Bingo, down 14 per cent, although that was a slight improvement on the previous four months.

Grosvenor casinos reported an 8 per cent fall. However, the Blue Square betting operation increased revenues by 10 per cent. Rank said: “We are encouraged by the start to 2008. We have achieved a degree of success in adjusting to the smoking ban and the new gaming regulations.

“Nevertheless, we are conscious that the difficult consumer climate is likely to make 2008 a challenging year for the gaming sector.”

Rank said it was disappointed the Government had rejected calls for reform of bingo taxation. But analysts said comments by Culture Minister Gerry Sutcliffe indicated a written statement was imminent “good news”.

Rank shares fell 5.25p to 89p.
http://www.express.co.uk

Smoking Ban To Be Reversed?

Smoking Ban To Be Reversed?

Bookmakers William Hill are offering odds of 33/1 that the UK smoking ban will be overturned by the next General Election.

The smoking ban has proved hugely unpopular with pub-goers and landlords. The ban has caused a massive drop in the number of customers and led to job losses.

The smoking ban legislation was introduced on 1 July last year with numerous reassuring claims that non-smoking customers would visit pubs more often - a claim which proved to be incorrect.

Labour's poor showing in the recent local election results may be partially blamed on anger at the smoking ban as customers see their local pubs, bingo halls and working men's clubs empty and close down.

Labour's disastrious local election results - in which their projected share of the national vote dropped to 24%, pushing them into third place behind the Lib Dems - were topped by Ken Livingstone's defeat by Conservative Boris Johnson in London's mayoral race.

UKIP (UK Independence Party) could gain a massive boost from smokers in the next General Election as they are the only main political party to have stated in their manifesto that they intend to repeal the smoking ban.

UKIP are currently a 1000/1 outsider with William Hill to win the next General Election but these odds could tumble as more smokers and annoyed pub-regulars learn of UKIP's manifesto pledge.
http://www.casinobeacon.co.uk

Isle of Man prisoners go on hunger strike over smoking ban

Isle of Man prisoners go on hunger strike over smoking ban

VICTORIA ROAD: The ban on smoking in the workplace, introduced at the end of March, was applied to the prison in Victoria Road and its grounds protesting against the smoking ban have gone on hunger strike.
The ban on smoking in the workplace, introduced at the end of March, was applied to the prison in Victoria Road and its grounds. It will extend to the new jail in Jurby when it becomes operational.

This week friends and relatives of prisoners contacted the Isle of Man Newspapers claiming up to 16 of 32 prisoners on A wing had launched a hunger strike in protest.

Prison officials, however, claimed 'a very small number' of inmates were refusing to eat.

Patients back compromise in mental health units

Patients back compromise in mental health units

writes Louise Hunt
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has questioned whether psychiatric units should have to adopt a full smoking ban.

A survey of psychiatric inpatients showed attitudes towards a smoking ban differed considerably from those of the general public, and suggested a compromise could be struck when mental health trusts are required to bring in the ban on 1 July.

Mental health units were given a 12-month exemption from enforcing the smoking ban in public places which was introduced last year.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk