The smoking ban is shit

Rampton Hospital patients in smoking ban appeal

2009-02-25T17:09:00.000Z

Rampton Hospital patients in smoking ban appeal

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
THREE patients at a high security psychiatric hospital in Notts are to have a legal challenge against the smoking ban heard at the Court of Appeal in London tomorrow.
Lawyers representing the patients at Rampton Hospital, at Retford, will begin the appeal case, which is scheduled to last for two days.
They are seeking leave to appeal against a previous ruling in the High Court in London which said the smoking ban must be upheld on-site.
The patients feel the ban contravenes their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk

Conservative club fined for smoke ban breach
By Ewan Turney
A Conservative club in Wales has been forced to cough up £5,000 in fines and costs after breaking the smoking ban.

The Balfour Conservative Club in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire and steward John Phillips were each fined £1,000 and also have to pay £3,000 costs.

Council officers found three people smoking at the club on 12 June last year following a tip-off.

"£5,000 for such an offence seems to me to be over the top. It's disproportionate," Phillips told the BBC.

Council health manager Jeff Beynon added: "To put the interests of smokers above the health of others is wholly unacceptable."
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk

India film smoking ban is lifted The High Court in Delhi has overturned a government ban on showing smoking scenes in films.

2009-01-23T15:34:00.001Z

India film smoking ban is lifted

The High Court in Delhi has overturned a government ban on showing smoking scenes in films.

The court said that the ban violated the fundamental right of film-makers to freedom of speech and expression.

"The director of films should not have multifarious authorities breathing down their necks when indulging in creative art," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said.

Film-makers had condemned the ban when it was instigated in 2005 as an absurd infringement of artistic expression.

'Wrong target'

Mr Justice Kaul passed the order to revoke the ban as an "umpire judge" after a junior court had earlier given a split ruling on efforts by Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt to challenge curbs on scenes of smoking in films and on television.

Mr Justice Kaul agreed that a blanket ban on films that showed smoking scenes was a direct encroachment on the creativity and free artistic expression of the film-maker.

Movie-makers said that films were the wrong target in the drive to curb smoking.

The government had argued that 800,000 Indians a year died from smoking-related diseases and that it was wrong for films or TV programmes to glamorise the habit.

It said that old films - whether Indian or foreign - must carry warnings if they showed smoking scenes. It said all logos of tobacco products must be masked or cut out.

Mr Bhatt condemned the move at the time, saying: "One would understand a ban on surrogate advertising, but to completely ban [smoking] is ridiculous, a joke taken too far."

He and other film makers argued that the government should go after the source - people who produced tobacco.

But the World Health Organisation said the move would help cut India's smoking-related deaths because the portrayal of "attractive people smoking" had an influence on young people as "some of them identify with those on the screens".

In 2004, smoking was banned in public places in India and a ban imposed on tobacco firms' advertising in and sponsoring of sporting events.

Another law in 2005 required manufacturers to list tar and nicotine content on packets.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Smoking ban fails to persuade more to give up

2009-01-21T12:22:00.000Z

Smoking ban fails to persuade more to give up as number of successful quitters drops by a quarter

The number of smokers giving up has barely increased since the ban, despite a hike in the amount spent by the NHS on quitting services.
Figures show that nearly a quarter fewer smokers gave up the habit between April and September last year compared to 2007 - the year the ban on smoking in public places was brought in.
At the same time, the amount spent by the NHS on stop smoking services increased from £26million to £33million.

Critics of the ban said the figures showed that it has had only limited success and that, although many smokers quit soon after the laws were introduced in July 2007, the numbers trailed off.
However, ministers were quick to point out that the ban was designed principally to protect people from second hand smoke and not just to encourage smokers to give up.
The NHS counts someone as having successfully stopped smoking if they manage to stay off cigarettes for four weeks after first quitting.
The numbers doing so fell by 24 per cent from 176,277 in 2007 to 133,704 last year, according to figures for the NHS Information Centre.
It means that the amount the Health Service is paying for each successful quitter has risen by 65 per cent from £148 to £244.
In 2006, the year before the ban, 128,868 smokers managed to quit - 4,836 fewer than in 2008 - while the cost to the NHS per quitter was £181.
Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: 'The nanny state is becoming more expensive and less effective by the day.
'The Government seems to love glossy advertising and expensive television adverts but these figures show they are very ineffective. If the authorities stop heckling people so much, they might get a better reception.'
Last month, the Daily Mail revealed that the proportion of men who smoke has actually risen since the ban, while there has been no change among women.
A survey of 7,000 Britons also found that the average smoker still smokes the same amount of cigarettes each day, while men aged 16 to 34 have actually increased their consumption by one and a half cigarettes.
Tim Straughton, chief executive of the NHS Information Centre, said: 'The NHS is spending more than ever to support people to quit through its Stop Smoking services.
'The numbers who kicked the habit in April to September 2008 were substantially lower than in 2007 when the smoking ban came in. However, they were still higher than the same period in 2006 which was a more typical year to compare them with.'
Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said: 'NHS Stop Smoking Services remain extremely costeffective.
'The Department of Health will continue to work hard to attract smokers to quit with NHS support. Smokers who use such support are four times more likely to succeed than those who try to quit by willpower alone.'

By Daniel Martin
http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Waveney pubs breach smoke ban

Fewer people giving up smoking

A fifth of pubs were found to be in breach of smoke-free legislation during a four-day blitz in the Waveney area.

The clampdown by Waveney District Council's licensing team and Suffolk Police saw 122 pubs, clubs, hotels and other alcohol-licensed premises visited to assess compliance with relevant legislation.

During the campaign more than 90pc of establishments open in Waveney on a Friday and Saturday were assessed, including all but a handful of the pubs.

But while there were a number of examples of excellent practice, the inspectors also discovered breaches.

They found around 40pc of premises with technical offences regarding licences, 25pc with breaches relating to designated premises supervisors, the person responsible for the operation of the premises and the contact for any concerns, 20pc breached smoke-free requirements and five were permitting smoking in prohibited areas.

Police focused on underage and excess alcohol sales at premises with officers giving advice to licensees, and this will be followed up via further checks, including test purchase operations with trading standards, at a later date.

The council said the campaign would result in a number of advisory and warning letters being issued to licensees and that one establishment was temporarily closed due to significant breaches.

There are also likely to be two prosecutions as a result of the inspections. At least two premises gave rise to concern regarding significant noise nuisance, which officers will continue to monitor.

Ken Sale, Waveney District Council portfolio holder for the environment said: “These inspections, carried out at a time when they were perhaps least expected, send out a clear message that licensing conditions must be observed and that both the council as licensing authority and the police, are prepared to work together to monitor levels of compliance, even on the busiest nights of the week.

“A licence is only granted on the understanding that that the applicant will abide by its conditions. We will not tolerate breaches, or indeed any activity likely to compromise the four licensing objectives of preventing crime and disorder, ensuring public safety, preventing public nuisance and the protection children from harm. Officers will take formal action where appropriate to deal with persistent or serious offenders.”

Inspector Nick Aitken from Suffolk Police said the campaign had been beneficial: “As a result, officers have more confidence around licensing legislation. We have adopted a friendly approach to licensees and continue to work to build our partnership with them through the ongoing Nightsafe initiative.”

Fewer people giving up smoking
EMILY DENNIS

http://new.edp24.co.uk

Smoking bans can kill pub workers

2009-01-10T10:06:00.000Z

Smoking bans can kill pub workers

From Mr Michael J. McFadden.

Sir, Matthew Engel ("How our pubs have run out of puff", Outside Edge, January 2/3) did a beautiful job of describing what the smoking ban has done to pubs and the bizarre consequences of such bans, but he overlooked one of the most important consequences: the devastating effect on the lives and health of the thousands of workers who have lost their jobs on the holy altar of the anti-smokers.

Have some workers possibly been spared an extra chance in a thousand of getting lung cancer 40 years down the road? I actually don't believe so from my own research, but even if it were true, what is the trade-off? A loss of 50 or so pubs per week in the UK and Ireland translates into a five-year loss of roughly 100,000 jobs if we assume the average pub employs 10 people. The general impact on the economy of these people being forced to go on the dole or work at menial jobs has severe health consequences in and of itself.

A British Medical Journal study several years ago examined income inequality and its effect on mortality. It estimated that a 1 per cent difference in income translated into 21 deaths per 100,000 per year. If we assume that the estimated 100,000 workers who lose their jobs over five years had their income cut by 50 per cent, that would be over 1,000 extra deaths per year caused by the smoking bans. That's 1,000 per year, right now, as opposed to 100 claimed/theorised to happen 40 years from now without a ban. Sure, it is all statistics, and with some juggling things might not seem quite so dire, but it is clear that no amount of juggling could ever eliminate such a massive disparity.

The smoking bans in the UK and Ireland are killing people, not saving them. Those bans need to be reversed and the people who promoted them and the politicians who voted them in, knowing the consequences, need to be held responsible.

Michael J. McFadden,

Philadelphia, PA, US

Author of Dissecting Antismokers' Brains
http://www.ft.com

Leicestershire Shisha cafe owner fined for smoking ban breach

2008-12-18T10:36:00.000Z

Shisha cafe owner fined for smoking ban breach

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 09:30
A shisha cafe has fallen foul of the laws which forbid smoking in public places.
Marhaba, in Evington, has become the third such business in Leicester to be hit with a fine since a ban was introduced in July last year.
The cafe's manager was ordered to pay £1,650 in fines and costs following a court hearing yesterday.
Suhayl Ismail (26), of Buxton Street, Spinney Hill, Leicester, pleaded guilty at the city magistrates' court to failing to stop people smoking at Marhaba on March 16.
Katherine Jamieson, for the council, said environmental health officer Steve Joyce stopped outside the bar, in Evington Road, at 12.50am.
He saw a member of the public enter and a number of people sitting at tables smoking shisha pipes.
"When he was interviewed, the defendant accepted he had spoken to the officer, but thought smoking was allowed as it was out of hours," Ms Jamieson said.
"He said the event was a private party for friends and family members only, not open to the public.
"There were no signs on the door saying it was closed to the public and the door was unlocked."
Mrs Jamieson said prior to the smoking ban's introduction, information had been sent to all businesses likely to be affected, including shisha cafes.
"Mr Ismail requested a meeting with council officers on September 6, 2007, to see if smoking could be allowed at private functions.
"He was told it would not be allowed," Ms Jamieson said.
Ismail had also been given a caution by the council.
Louise McGhee, for Ismail, said he accepted he had fallen foul of the legislation by allowing shisha pipes to be smoked at a private party.
She said: "He honestly believed that, as it was out of hours and a private function, he could allow this.
"It was not a deliberate contravention of the law."
She said the business was floundering and he had been trying to sell the lease for some time.
"By 11pm, all the members of the public had left. It was just a reunion party for friends and family," she said.
"They were helping themselves to drinks and had brought their own food."
District judge Richard Holland said Ismail's claim that he believed smoking was allowed at private parties was counterbalanced by the fact that he had been told the opposite at a meeting with the council.
He said: "The officer saw what appeared to be a member of the public going into the premises and there were no signs saying it was a private party with the public not allowed."
At yesterday's hearing, Ismail was fined £650 and ordered to pay £1,000 towards Leicester City Council's costs.
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk

14 area bars win exemptions to smoking ban-HARRISBURG-Pennsylvania

2008-12-11T17:18:00.000Z

14 area bars win exemptions to smoking ban-HARRISBURG-Pennsylvania
By Rodney L. Sherman, Clarion News Editor

HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Department of Health has granted 14 Clarion County bars exemptions to the recently enacted Clean Indoor Air Act.

The Clean Indoor Air Act went into effect Sept. 11 and banned smoking in most public places, including restaurants, workplaces and a portion of casino floors.

The bill, however, allowed for some exceptions, including private residences (except those being used at the time for the provision of child-care services), private social functions where the site involved is under the control of the sponsor (except when the club is open to the public for a club-sponsored event, or used for a private event that is not club sponsored) and a wholesale or retail tobacco shop.

According to information posted on the Department of Health’s website, 14 exemptions have been granted in Clarion County .

The list doe not include which businesses applied for exemptions. The exemptions granted include:

All-Stars Bar in East Brady.

Mike’s Restaurant and Lounge in Salem Township .

Mac’s Bar and Grill in Knox.

Knotty Pines in Farmington Township .

BK’s near Lucinda.

The Dew Drop Inn in Paint Township .

The Woodland ’s Tavern near Mayport.

The Blue Town Tavern north of New Bethlehem.

Desperado’s Bar in New Bethlehem.

Diddy’s Bar in New Bethlehem.

Chadz Lounge outside Rimersburg.

Doc’s Tavern in Rimersburg.

Savelli’s Tavern in Huey.

The Shippen Inn just outside Shippenville.

In order to be granted an exemption to the Clean Indoor Air Act, the establishment had to prove:

It has a valid restaurant liquor license or an eating place retail dispenser license.

It has total annual (calendar year) sales of food sold for on-premises consumption of less than or equal to 20 percent of the combined gross sales.

It does not permit individuals under the age of 18 years of age in the establishment at any time or for any reason. This includes children of business owners or children accompanied by adults entering the establishment to pick up take out food. The establishment had to post signage at all entrances stating “No one under the age of 18 permitted.”

It posts signage at all entrances stating smoking is permitted.

A second exemption classification allows a drinking establishment to apply for an exception if on Sept. 11, the effective date of the CIAA, the drinking establishment had an enclosed bar area within its bar-restaurant that meets the following requirements:

It has a valid restaurant liquor license or an eating place retail dispenser license.

The bar area is a physically connected or adjacent enclosed area which is separate from the eating area.

The bar area has a separate air system and a separate outside entrance.

The same age restriction and signage requirements listed above are met.

The sales of food consumed in the enclosed bar area where smoking is permitted must be less than or equal to 20 percent of the combined annual (calendar year) gross sales within the permitted smoking area.
http://www2.theclarionnews.com

Financial crisis and smoking ban forcing pubs to call time, MPs told

2008-12-10T10:38:00.001Z

Financial crisis and smoking ban forcing pubs to call time, MPs told
10 December 2008
By Jonathan Reed
THE banking crisis and smoking ban have combined to hit the pub industry and force down the number which survive, MPs have been told.
The number of new pubs opening has "fallen off a cliff" in the past year as bank lending has dried up.

More pubs than expected have also closed because of the smoking ban, industry experts told the Commons Business Select Committee, and last night Chancellor Alistair Darling admitted the legislation had forced some out of business.

Yesterday two of the major pub companies were also dragged before the committee amid concern the conditions they impose make it increasingly difficult to make a living out of running a pub, forcing more to close.

The claims over the impact of the banking crisis and smoking ban were made as the committee investigates the pub industry, which is losing five establishments every day. The recent Government announcement of an increase in alcohol duties to counteract the temporary cut in VAT is feared to make things even worse.

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, said the banking crisis was partly to blame for problems in the past year, with only 403 pubs opening up to September this year, compared to 1,035 in the full year in 2007.

"The banks shut up shop, actually, about a year ago and getting into the business has become much, much more arduous," he said.

Meanwhile the British Beer and Pub Association said it warned then-public health minister Caroline Flint before the smoking ban came in that it would result in 5,000 pubs closing.

Chief executive Rob Hayward said: "I think everything's gone to show it's accelerated that."

Later Mr Darling also admitted the smoking ban was a factor in the decline of pubs as he defended the decision to increase duties, saying he had done it for a reason – to keep the level of taxation on alcohol the same when VAT was cut.

The Chancellor said: "There's a lot of different things going on here. People's drinking habits are changing, people buy alcohol from the supermarkets, the smoking ban has made a difference."

Yesterday pub groups Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns also faced a grilling from MPs, some of whom blame them for making it increasingly difficult for licensees to run them viably.

The British Beer and Pub Association said the industry was experiencing "one of the most severe and sustained periods of pressure on record".

Longer-term trends of people moving away from going to the pub have been "dramatically sharpened" by the economic downturn and exacerbated by tax and regulation changes, it added.

With communities increasingly losing their pub, a lifeline in rural areas, it wants the Government to scrap duty increases, enforce existing laws instead of creating new ones and to offer active support for the British pub.
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

Fears cigarette ban may finish newsagents

2008-12-10T10:36:00.001Z

Fears cigarette ban may finish newsagents

10 December 2008
By David Coates, Business Reporter
Newsagents fear plans to force them to take cigarettes off display in their shops maybe the final nail in the coffin.
One newsagent in Preston said if his cigarette sales were to drop he would be relying on "meagre" sales of lottery tickets and scratch cards to survive.

Health Secretary Alan Johnston said yesterday supermarkets would be hit first by the ban which aims to cut the number of underage smokers.

He claimed corner shops and newsagents would have to diversify anyone as smoking rates dropped.

David Sturzaker, who has run Cop Lane News in Penwortham, near Preston, for 25 years, said the majority of underage smokers bought cigarettes from vending machines which the government has ruled out banning.

He said: "There are 200,000 kids smoking, what about the five million adults who legally buy cigarettes and we legally sell too?

"We have a strict rule that we do not sell to anyone under-18 anyway, so this is unlikely to have any effect on us anyway and I think these kids will find cigarettes from somewhere if they really want them."

Danny Chauhan, who runs a newsagents on Beech Drive in Fulwood, Preston, said he would wait to see the government's proposals in full but said newsagents were concerned about the impact it could have.

The plans announced by Mr Johnson will ban prominent displays and advertising in shops.

The Health Secretary said: "Advertising has been removed from television, film and newspapers, the only point now where there is advertising is point-of-sale.

"Other countries have found when they banned point-of-sale displays, they reduced the number of young people taking up smoking."

In a written statement to Parliament, he promised a "fully inclusive" implementation with all possible help given to businesses to deal with any impact.
http://www.lep.co.uk

Cigarette sales forced 'under the counter'

2008-12-09T11:06:00.001Z

Cigarette sales forced 'under the counter'

By Joe Churcher, PA
Tuesday, 9 December 2008
The Health Secretary today unveiled plans to force cigarette sales "under the counter" in an attempt to cut smoking by children.

Alan Johnson also announced that the Government was taking on powers to make it more difficult for under-18s to use cigarette vending machines - and may ban them if that does not work.

The move to ban prominent displays of tobacco products and advertising at the point of sale provoked storms of protest from shopkeepers, who argue it will cost them much-needed business during the economic crisis.

The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association warned that the change would hit corner shops hardest as customers buy more of their cigarettes from supermarkets. But Mr Johnson said that the ban will be introduced in supermarkets first, and that corner shop owners would anyway have to "diversify" as smoking rates fall.

The Health Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Any sane, rational and sensible Government will be focusing on removing what is the biggest public health risk."

Evidence from abroad shows that under-age smoking rates have been cut by as much as 10 per cent, while no retailers have been forced to close, said the Department of Health.

Mr Johnson said that the cost of changing shop layouts to accommodate the ban would not be "horrendous", citing evidence from Canada suggesting it came to about £500 a shop.

Official statistics show that almost 200,000 children aged between 11-15 were regular smokers in 2007.

And the "overwhelming majority" of the 100,000 responses to a consultation on the new measures backed a ban on point-of-sale displays as a good way of protecting these young people from the dangers of smoking.

Mr Johnson revealed that he had ditched a plan to ban the sale of cigarettes in packs of 10, which are thought to be within the range of pocket money purchasers. The consultation revealed concerns that this might erect a further obstacle for adults trying to cut down their intake.

He said: "This is primarily about children - 11 to 15-year-olds. Advertising has been removed from television, film and newspapers. The only point now where there is advertising is point-of-sale.

"Other countries have found when they banned point-of-sale displays, they reduced the number of young people taking up smoking.

"That is the primary concern we have here. Also, having these displays prompts impulse purchases and makes it more difficult for people who are determined to quit to actually quit."

In a written statement to Parliament today, Mr Johnson will promise a "fully inclusive" implementation across England with all possible help given to businesses to deal with any impact.

Vending machines, believed to be the source of cigarettes for up to a fifth of young smokers, will also face a ban or age-proofing measures such as a requirement to buy tokens for the machines rather than using cash.

And there will be a promise of more research on whether forcing cigarette firms to sell their products in plain packaging could further reduce the appeal to under 18s.

TMA director Chris Ogden told Today: "We are in the grip of a recession and it is hardly the time to knock small businesses by measures such as these.

"It is the retailers more than the manufacturers that are going to be hit by these proposals, and we feel a great deal of concern for them.

"They rely significantly on tobacco sales for their income and by losing sales to the bigger outlets, which is the inevitable result of this, they will also lose opportunity sales from smokers such as newspapers and chocolate bars."

He defended point-of-sale displays: "It is a legal product and it allows consumer choice and competition between manufacturers and retailers."

Mr Johnson said: "We will remove point-of-sale display from big supermarkets first."

But he warned that smaller shops will anyway not be able to rely on tobacco to provide a large slice of their income in future: "The number of people smoking is reducing and will continue to reduce so there needs to be diversification because that is going to happen remorselessly."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told MPs last month that it was "not good enough" that smoking rates among children had only been cut from 13 per cent to 6 per cent.

The Government has already raised the age limit for buying tobacco from 16 to 18.
http://www.independent.co.uk

Hamilton considers smoking ban in public housing

2008-11-26T14:15:00.001Z

Hamilton considers smoking ban in public housing
Proposed ban has raised questions about whether prohibiting smoking in private homes could be a violation of human rights
November 25, 2008

THE CANADIAN PRESS

HAMILTON – This southern Ontario city is considering banning smoking in its public housing.

A report on banning smoking in all public housing buildings, as well as beaches and parks, is expected to be released in June 2009.

The proposed ban has raised questions about whether prohibiting smoking in private homes could be a violation of human rights.

John Fraser, a program director at the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation in Toronto, said because people with lower incomes are over-represented in the smoking population, imposing the ban could be construed as discrimination against low-income families.

"Social tenants don't have a choice to be there. They're living there because they don't have a lot of other options," he said.

But several tenants in public housing say they would support a city-sanctioned ban on smoking in their homes.

Tracy Woods, a long-time smoker, said she would support the move.

She said she currently smokes in her home, but only away from her kids.

"Yes, it's my right, but at the same time, it's not your right when you're polluting your kids and the people around you."

Maria Rose said she also supports the ban.

Rose is also a smoker, though she already abides by a strict "no smoking in the house" policy.

Afroze Edwards of the Ontario Human Rights Commission said if the city were to go ahead with the ban, it could be challenged on the basis that smoking is a disability "because of the addictive nature of it."

(Hamilton Spectator)

thestar.com

Dutch policy going up in smoke: Bars ignoring smoking ban, saying business being threatened

2008-11-19T17:08:00.001Z

Dutch policy going up in smoke: Bars ignoring smoking ban, saying business being threatened
By MIKE CORDER | Associated Press Writer
8:21 AM EST, November 19, 2008
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) _ A growing number of Dutch bar and cafe owners are slapping ashtrays back on their tables just months after a nationwide smoking ban came into force for bars and restaurants, saying the measure is driving hundreds of small businesses toward bankruptcy.

"The minister is leaving bar owners out in the cold," said Lodewijk van der Grinten, after a meeting late Tuesday with Health Minister Ab Klink. "Some 1,500-3,000 bars could go under because of this ban."

Van der Grinten leads a nationwide umbrella group of restaurant owners lobbying the government to either enforce the ban better or scrap it altogether. He also wants the law adjusted to punish smokers instead of bar owners, and for the government to compensate small cafe owners who are hardest hit.

Owners say they are losing up to 30 percent of their turnover since the ban came into force July 1, and the government enforcement agency is handing out a growing number of fines ranging from euro300 to euro2,400($380-$3,000).

This is the first winter that bars and cafes are having to deal with the restriction in a country where temperatures can drop below freezing in winter. The ban also is being imposed at a time of a global financial crisis and grim economic news.

Amid widespread reports that small cafes are allowing smokers to light up again, Klink wrote to Parliament this week to underscore that the government takes the issue seriously.

"Let there be no misunderstanding," he wrote. "In this country, laws have to be respected and that applies to everybody."

In the first months of the ban, bars were given warnings if they allowed smokers to light up, said Astrid Bergman, a spokeswoman for the government's Food and Wares Authority, which oversees the ban.

That changed on Oct. 1, and since then the authority has fined some 500 establishments, Bergman said Wednesday. She stressed that the majority of bars and restaurants are sticking to the ban.

Others are building special sealed smoking areas or providing covered outdoor seating and heaters for smokers.

The Netherlands is one of the last European countries to impose smoking restrictions in public eateries in an effort to reduce the effects of passive smoking.

The European Commission estimates that nearly 80,000 people die each year in the 27-nation bloc from inhaling other people's tobacco.

All EU nations have rules limiting smoking in public places, but they vary from country to country. Some permit exemptions allowing smoking to continue in bars and cafes, posing health concerns for those that work there.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com

Shameless mocks smoking laws
Monday, November 17, 2008, 15:31

Shameless layabout Frank Gallagher flouts the smoking ban in the new series of the Manchester drama, which returns to our screens in January.
Series six of Shameless sees a boycott of the local boozer by the Chatsworth Estate residents because of the smoking laws.
So staff decide to let the customers smoke in the pub rather than face financial ruin.
Other controversial storylines tackled in the new series include benefit fraud, brothels, stints in jail and stings gone wrong, fake suicides, cold turkey, joyriding, lesbian romps and lingerie parties.
The show has just won Best Continuing Drama for the second year running at the RTS North West Awards and actor Sean Gilder won Best Performance in a Continuing Drama for his role of Paddy Maguire.
Producer Lawrence Till said: "I am delighted to be making television that I would want to watch. Series six is exciting, ambitious and daring - taking stories into areas we don't know and places we have never been.
"We can delight in the surprising nature of ordinary people with drama that unpeels the enormous emotional complexity of their lives".
http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk

Enterprise Inns calls time on 200 pubs
Wednesday, 19 November 2008

Midlands-based pub giant Enterprise Inns is selling off around 200 pubs because of falling sales due to the credit crunch and last year's smoking ban.

It made the announcement after reporting a 12.6% slump in full-year pre-tax profits. Profits stood at £263 million for the year to September 30, compared to £301 million the year before.

"A vicious economic downturn, last year's smoking ban, a hike in beer duty, poor summer weather and cheap offers in supermarkets have all combined to encourage drinkers to stay at home," said chief executive, Ted Tuppen.

The group currently owns 7,700 pubs, a portfolio which had grown from just 368 when Enterprise was founded in 1991.

http://www.talkingdrinks.com

Smokers face ban from fostering

2008-10-30T21:36:00.001Z

Smokers face ban from fostering

The council said it would help existing foster carers to quit smoking
Smokers will be banned from fostering children in a London borough, if a council's plans go ahead.

Redbridge Council, in north-east London, said it wants to protect children from "the damaging effects of passive and second-hand smoke".

If the plan is approved on Tuesday, smokers will be unable to foster children from 2010 unless there are "exceptional circumstances".

Redbridge Foster Care Association welcomed the plan as "a good idea".

Under the plan, existing foster carers who smoke will be given support to help them quit.

The council claimed the policy was the result of scientific evidence which showed that "second-hand smoke is a cause of lung cancer and childhood respiratory disease".

Councillor Michael Stark said: "While the council recognises the proven skills and abilities of its carers who smoke, it is essential that the health of our looked-after children is protected.

"Unlike adults, children have little choice about whether or not to be in a smoky environment so I hope the cabinet will take the decision to limit the harmful effects this drug can have on them."

Redbridge Foster Care Association chairwoman Norma Gregory said: "Foster carers in Redbridge think this is a good idea and would support anything that safeguards children.

"However, they have been aware of the impact that passive smoking has on children's health for the past three years and most either don't smoke because they have kicked the habit or, if they do, they don't smoke in the company of children."

Last year the Fostering Network charity advised UK local authorities to ban smokers from looking after children under the age of five.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7699911.stm

Bid to ban smoking in cars

2008-10-07T20:41:00.000+01:00

Bid to ban smoking in cars

Anti-smoking lobbyists have said the Government should consider banning smoking in cars.

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) claims the pollution caused by one cigarette in a car is as bad as a pub filled with smoke.

In its report, Beyond Smoking Kills, it states that stopping smoking in cars is "vital in cutting the exposure of children and young people to the toxins in second-hand tobacco smoke".

Ash's director Deborah Arnott said: "It's a serious health issue. Research from Canada shows if you smoke once in a car you get the same pollution as you used to get at the end of an evening in a pub.

"The level of exposure you get in an enclosed vehicle is extremely high and it's not at all good for your health."

She added that Ash was not calling for an immediate ban, but wanted an investigation into whether legislation should be introduced.

"We want a proper debate, not a knee-jerk reaction," she said.

"What we need to do is engage people as to why smoking in cars is dangerous. It's not just dangerous for children, it's dangerous for adults as well.

"We do not call for a legislative ban on smoking in cars. Give smokers access to alternatives. What we'd like to see is if smokers are in the car and desperate, they chew some gum. We need education."

The Beyond Smoking Kills report found that the annual cost to the NHS of smoking had risen from £1.7 billion in 1998 to £2.7 billion this year.

Among its recommendations are the introduction of plain packaging and a ban on shop displays of all tobacco products in a bid to encourage 4.5 million smokers to quit by 2015.

Simon Clark, director of pro-tobacco group Forest, said smokers were facing a "war" and wanted an end to Government interference.

Mr Clark said: "We're strongly against any further legislation on smoking in cars.

"We think parents should err on the side of caution when it comes to smoking around children, but to ban it would be a gross overreaction.

"There's simply no evidence that smoking in cars is a serious distraction and causes accidents. I think this is part of the war on tobacco and I think it would be difficult to enforce.

"A car is a private space and if people choose to smoke in their car, that is a matter for them."
http://www.capitalradio.co.uk

Chorley landlord could move abroad after losing smoking ban appeal

2008-09-29T18:01:00.001+01:00

Chorley landlord could move abroad after losing smoking ban appeal
By Andrew Greaves

A Chorley landlord is thinking of selling up and moving abroad after losing an appeal against his conviction for allowing customers of his former pub to smoke on the premises.

Nick Hogan, licensee of The Swan With Two Necks, Water Street, and, at the time, Barristers in Bolton, was found guilty of four charges of failing to prevent people from smoking in his pubs following a trial at Bolton Magistrates Court in January.

Mr Hogan, who lives in Summerseat, appealed against three counts on the grounds he had not been aware and could not have been reasonably expected to be aware that people were smoking in his pub.

Now, after losing his appeal against the conviction - and a fine of £3,000 - Mr Hogan says he is ready to take the fight to the High Court and, if necessary, the European courts.

He said: “I told the court that I was not in the pub at the time so could not possibly have seen the people smoking.

"I am now bankrupt so the Swan With Two Necks is my wife Denise's pub but I would seriously consider packing up and moving abroad because all I am asking for is fairness.

“Gordon Brown said at the Labour conference that he wanted to create a fair society but he is not doing that with the smoking band.

“They have different rules in places like Spain and they work well but in this country the Draconian measures this Government has introduced is killing the industry.

“Only the UKIP party is willing to stand up for what we believe in and I am fully supporting their political campaign.

"We are now fighting this on a political level because I cannot believe that a Labour government would do this to working class people.”

At Bolton Crown Court, Judge Angela Nield said Mr Hogan’s well-publicised opposition to the ban, would have ‘encouraged’ customers to smoke and he would have known this.

The original fine of £3,000 - £750 for each conviction - that Mr Hogan received still stands.

He was ordered to pay an additional £1,000 in costs, on top of the initial £7,121.
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk

Will Young Launches A One-Man War On The Smoking Ban
Matthew Laidlow

Hey, guess what! Will Young has a new album coming out. How do we know this?

The Pop Idol winner has been thankfully away from our TVs and radio for a good healthy period of time. But now he’s back making all sorts of grand pronouncements. Bum. When popstars aren’t around to annoy us, no-one gives a toss about them. But when albums are released, quotes from press interviews are suddenly given massive importance. Erm… just like we’re doing right now. Bum.

You see, Will Young’s decided to come out (not literally - we’ve had a hunch for a while) with a random statement about one of the main loves in his life – the good old cigarette.

Will Young is one of those people whose main vice in life is to fill his mouth with the sweet taste of smoke. Mmm, if ever there was a sexy thought to cross our minds. Well, the thought of the stubbly lady from the off license is a close second. Sadly for Will and millions of other fag lovers, the government decided to go and outlaw smoking in pubs and public buildings, effectively making sure you can’t light up anywhere.

Hooray! Non-smokers won’t die of cancer from the evil gases that come from cigarettes. We can now wander the street with only the fear of being shot at or being stabbed in our minds instead. God bless Britain.

Some famous folk have decided to ignore the ban on smoking and do radical things like smoking on stage at gigs. But Will Young wouldn’t do that! Oh no. Probably because parents of the under-18 gigs he plays wouldn’t be happy. If their 12-year-old children want to smoke, it should be their choice. Being influenced by a past-it Pop Idol bloke won’t help.

Nevertheless, Will Young is pissed off with not being able to smoke anywhere. He told Now magazine that he’d reverse the smoking ban if he had the power. Something that’s as likely to happen as Jordan not having any more surgery on her tits. Will said:

“If I could pass any law I’d reverse the smoking ban. The amount of times I’m outside a building, in a public place, and someone says: “You can’t smoke here.” And I’m like: “I’m on the pavement; just you try and stop me!”

Yeah! Just try and stop him. What you gonna do? Remember he sang in a competition once and now has more power then you could ever have? Leave him alone. He’s done nothing to you. At least in his mind, he can make a difference. So just go with him before things get tasty and bits of your leg go missing.

We have an idea of how Will can get his fix of smoke for free. We are all financially fucked at the minute, remember. All you need to do is get in your car and have the engine running. The fumes it emits will entice the Pop Idol bod to come and smack his lips right round the exhaust. As he breathes it all in, the option of reversing the car over him is entirely up to you. Just remember, we didn’t plant that idea in your head. Not even if the judge asks.
http://www.hecklerspray.com/will-young-launches-a-one-man-war-on-the-smoking-ban

Bolton pub smoking ban rebel loses appeal

2008-09-24T15:24:00.001+01:00

Bolton pub smoking ban rebel loses appeal

The former landlord of a Bolton pub has lost his appeal against a conviction for allowing customers to smoke on the premises.

Nick Hogan, who was the licensee of The Swan and Barristers in Bradshawgate, was found guilty of four charges of failing to prevent people from smoking in his pubs following a trial at Bolton Magistrates Court in January.

He appealed against three counts on the grounds he had not been aware and could not have been reasonably expected to be aware that people were smoking in his pub.

At Bolton Crown Court today, Judge Angela Nield said his well-publicised opposition to the ban, including coverage of his views in The Bolton News, a protest in the pub on July 1, the day the measure was introduced, and letters in the pub stating his opinions, would have ‘encouraged’ customers to smoke and he would have known this.

She said: “He made it clear he did not intend to take any action to stop anyone smoking.

“This would have encouraged people to smoke on his premises.

“The appeal is refused and the conviction stands, the sentence is like penalties.”

Mr Hogan became the first pub landlord in Greater Manchester to be convicted of allowing customers to defy the smoking ban.

If he had won his appeal, there could have been major legal implications.

Mr Hogan, who is now landlord of The Swan With Two Necks in Chorley, said: “ The original fine of £3,000 - £750 for each conviction - that Mr Hogan received still stands.

He was ordered to pay an additional £1,000 in costs, on top of the initial £7,121.
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk

I'm left fuming

2008-09-24T15:20:00.000+01:00

I'm left fuming

Having been a smoker for many years before giving it up nine years ago, I was appalled to read that they want to ban people from smoking outside a pub in Coalville (Mercury, September 20).
How much longer are people's human rights going to be eroded because of so-called do-gooders. Pubs are already under pressure because people have to sit outside like second class citizens in all weathers. Why not just round all smokers up and stick them in prison and be done with it.
It's enough to make me want to start smoking again – just out of spite.
Brian Heathcote, Aylestone.
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk

MPs barred from Blackpool pubs

2008-09-13T16:29:00.000+01:00

MPs barred from Blackpool pubs

Nine bars in Foxhall Village have signed a declaration stating they will not allow Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden or Blackpool North and Fleetwood colleague Joan Humble inside their premises.

The document - signed by the licensees of The Happy Scots Karaoke Bar, Del Boys Sports Bar, The Boardwalk, The Princess, The Jaggy Thistle, The Bierkellar, Sportsbar, Lifeboat and Gaiety Bar - states both MPs are banned from the pubs until "they stop the destruction of the Great British pub".

Smoking-ban rebel landlord Hamish Howitt, who runs The Happy Scots and Del Boys, organised the move after getting fed up neither Mrs Humble or Mr Marsden had given him an explanation of why they voted for the ban on smoking in all public places, which came into force in July 2007.

The 56-year-old, who set up his own political party in opposition of the smoking ban called Fight Against Government Suppression (FAGS), has made numerous court appearances for allowing customers to light up in his bars.

He said: "I have 100 per cent backing of all the independent bars from Manchester Square to the town centre. Every single independent bar signed the barring notice in Foxhall Village.

"We hope it might provoke some sort of reaction from them because they still have not explained why they voted, in a free vote, for the smoking ban.

"They seem to have just kept avoiding the issue. We hope this will send out a message to the Government as well. The smoking ban in a recipe for enforced bankruptcy.

"Everybody I speak to in the industry is on their knees. The traditional pubs were in decline anyway, but the Government out the boot in with the smoking ban.

"If Gordon Marsden or Joan Humble turned up at my pub, I would have to say to them 'I'm sorry, you're barred."

Joan Humble, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood, said she was disappointed to hear of the ban.

She said: "I do not often go out to pubs in that area, but when I've spoken to other publicans in Blackpool, many have told me the smoking ban has helped them bring in new customers and have welcomed it.

"We must not under-estimate the pressure on our pubs at the moment.

There is a challenge for the local pubs, but banning Gordon and I is not the way to tackle it.

"Hamish and his colleagues are focusing on one issue, but there are many complex issues, including the fact people can buy cheaper alcohol in supermarkets and drink at home."

The pub industry says it has been hit by a damaging cocktail of the smoking ban, rising food and utility costs, declining consumer spending and cheap alcohol in supermarkets.

Around 60 pubs a week are closing nationally with many publicans blaming the effect of the smoking ban.
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk

100 pub jobs lost as firm folds
13 September 2008
By Peter Ranscombe
THE effects of the smoking ban and a downturn in trade caused by the credit crunch were yesterday blamed for the voluntary liquidation of CMC Management, which will result in the closure of 15 pubs across Scotland.

Crawford Mitchell and Gary Colton, CMC Management's directors, said the a significant downturn in trade had made it "impossible" for the pubs to continue trading.

About 100 jobs will be lost following liquidation, which was granted by Falkirk SherADVERTISEMENTiff Court on Wednesday.

Pubs affected by the voluntary liquidation include the Gray Horse, in Edinburgh, the Stirling Arms, in Dunblane, and the Victoria Hotel, in Nairn.

Maureen Leslie, of MLM Insolvency, said: "We were appointed by the court after CMC Management directors applied for voluntary liquidation.

"It is our understanding that a general downturn in business after the smoking ban was introduced and the significant reduction in trade due to the credit crunch are the two main factors behind the business failing.

"In this case, the directors have no further comment to make." Leslie said the directors would carry on with CMC Inns, their other business, which includes about five other pubs on different terms from the breweries, with longer leases.

She added that the units within CMC Inns were better performing pubs.

Leslie said: "We are seeing more and more businesses going into liquidation as a result of the credit crunch.

"Businesses are increasingly finding it much more challenging to make ends meet as people spend less and the cost of running a business increases."
http://business.scotsman.com

Agyness Deyn flouts smoking ban at New York Fashion Week

2008-09-11T21:21:00.001+01:00

Agyness Deyn flouts smoking ban at New York Fashion Week
Supermodel has a sneaky fag backstage at catwalk show

Agyness Deyn has been snapped having a crafty cigarette backstage at New York Fashion Week.

The supermodel flouted the ban in front of a 'No Smoking' sign as she relaxed in the VIP area at Anna Sui’s catwalk show.

She had earlier strutted the catwalk in a gold leaf-print jacket and chunky accessories.

Agyness, 25, is dating Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr, 28.
http://www.nowmagazine.co.uk

BRAINTREE: Bar battle goes up in smoke
Thursday, September 11, 2008, 16:52
Be the first reader to comment on this story.

A LANDLORD who single-handedly took on Braintree District Council over the smoking ban has been forced to close his bar.
Paul Keenan, co-owner of Hogs Wine Bar, Bradford Street, repeatedly flouted the ban after the council ruled his outside smoking area, which he built as part of a £200,000 refit, was a noise nuisance to neighbours.
Now Paul blames the "massive" impact of the ban, followed by the "final nail in the coffin" – the credit crunch – for sending his business under.
"Anyone outside the town centre is in trouble," he said. "So many landlords are not going to recover from the smoking ban. At the age of 42, I have to start all over again."
He says he has lost £200,000-worth of investment in the bar, plus £500,000 of equity on the building which he says he "couldn't give away".

Paul's plight is a reflection of a national trend which is seeing pub closures accelerate at an alarming rate.
Fellow anti-smoking ban landlord Brendan Flynn, who introduced electronic cigarettes in his bar, Brendan's, in East Street, earlier this year, said the situation was desperate.
"Pubs are being absolutely destroyed." he said. "I know of four or five pubs in this town alone that may fold in the space of the next few weeks. If the recession gets any harder, I will be in trouble too."
http://www.thisistotalessex.co.uk

Smokers hit by 'seven screws' ban

2008-08-28T22:53:00.000+01:00

Smokers hit by 'seven screws' ban

The gazebo was put up in the pub's garden to cater for smokers
A York pub landlord has been told to knock down a gazebo put up for smokers in his garden because of seven screws.

Robin Watson built the facility in The Shoulder of Mutton's beer garden after the introduction of the smoking ban.

He used the screws to secure the gazebo to the ground, but York Council said the move breached planning rules.

Because it is fixed to the concrete and has been in place for more than a year, it requires planning permission, said a council spokeswoman.

Such a structure is deemed "permanent", she explained.

Mr Watson said he was sent a letter from the council which gave him three choices: Apply for planning permission, take the structure down, or be liable for a £20,000 fine. The council seem to see it as a way to make more money out of businesses

Mr Watson said: "They know how many pubs are closing down at the moment. I can't understand why they are pressing on with something so petty as this.

"If you did this in your own back garden there would be no pressure whatsoever.

"We pay all our council rates. The council seems to see it as a way to make more money out of businesses."

A spokeswoman for York Council said: "The council's planning enforcement team has written to the owners of the property asking them to take the structure down or apply for planning permission."

http://news.bbc.co.uk

A small victory for common sense, but the battle goes on

2008-08-19T19:09:00.001+01:00

A small victory for common sense, but the battle goes on
Saturday August 2, 2008
A ruling by a top court in Germany offers some hope to smokers, but it could yet end in tears. Joe Jackson reports.

You may have heard that a couple of days ago, the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany declared smoking bans unconstitutional and ordered them to be partially reversed. Unfortunately this is not quite the case, though the ruling is a provisional victory of sorts.

The situation is this:

(1) The Federal Government conceded the power to ban smoking to the 16 individual States (Lander). They all came up with different laws, which mostly went into effect in January 2008. Most of them, including the city-states of Berlin and Hamburg, allow separate smoking rooms (so long as they are not the ‘main room’). In Bavaria private clubs are exempt, so thousands of venues have just turned into ‘private clubs’.

(2) There has been great resistance to bans – not only bars etc defying the law but some city and state officials saying they won’t enforce it. Enforcement in Berlin has been pretty lax. Nevertheless business has gone down by at least 30% in nonsmoking bars, and unlike in, say, the UK, where the mainstream media and politicians declare the ban a great success even though pubs are going out of business, in Germany everyone seems to know about it. Thousands of customers are going across the borders to Poland or Belgium, where bars still allow smoking. Public opinion also seems to have been on the side of the small bar owners who have been most affected.

(3) A group of small bars, mostly from Berlin, forced a Judicial Review, on the basis that the ban was unfair on bars which were not able to have a separate room. The Constitutional Court has just ruled in their favour. BUT …

THE DOWN SIDE:
(a) The ruling is basically that there should be a ‘level playing field’: either let the small bars allow smoking or have a total ban everywhere. Thus this can be seen as opening the door to an even worse situation later.
(b) The antismoking fascists now have another year and a half to bombard us with propaganda and push for a more comprehensive ban.

THE UP SIDE:
(a) The states now have until the end of 2009 to re-write their laws, and until then, smoking is allowed.
(b) The rights of bar owners and the fact that smoking bans hurt business, have been officially recognised.
(c) It demonstrates that action can make a difference.
(d) We have another year and a half to fight the antismoking fascists.

In the meantime, I’m off to the corner pub for a beer and a fag.

Joe Jackson is a writer and musician
http://www.thefreesociety.org

Outside smoking banned at pub

2008-08-15T09:32:00.001+01:00

Outside smoking banned at pub
By John Harrington

A licensee has been ordered to refuse service to customers who smoke on the street outside her pub.

Back to article list
This message must be carried on signs at the entrance and on street-facing windows as a new condition of the licence at the Horse & Jockey in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire.

The unusual conditions were imposed at a review, called after a resident asked for the premises licence to be rescinded — and tenant Janis Harmer removed as designated premises supervisor (DPS) — due to noise from within the premises and from smokers outside.

The signs, which must be at least A4 in size, say: “Customers must not smoke on the street outside these premises. Any person failing to observe this condition will be refused further service at the bar upon re-entry.”

The Punch Taverns pub is also banned from using TVs or amplified music outside after 9pm.

Despite the restrictions, Harmer said the council’s decision was “a big relief”, adding, “I thought something would happen to the premises licence or I would be removed [as DPS]. That’s the pressure I was under.”

Harmer said the outdoor smoking ban had had a “marginal” effect on trade. However, she is making it clear that the decision is not hers, but “on the order of the council” according to the signs.

Morning Advertiser legal editor Peter Coulson said the outdoor ban appeared to be “unreasonable, but it’s the kind of condition that can be imposed at a review”.

He said: “The alternative is to go to the magistrates to say this condition is difficult to enforce, so can you think of one that’s more reasonable? But to appeal at the magistrates costs £400, which is a deterrent.”
http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk

Irish Republic-Convictions for flouting smoking ban on the rise

2008-08-15T09:31:00.001+01:00

Irish Republic-Convictions for flouting smoking ban on the rise

CONVICTIONS obtained under the smoking ban have jumped threefold, new figures reveal.

According to the figures, supplied by the Office of Tobacco Control, 16 convictions were obtained in 2004, with this figure hitting 49 in 2007. The smoking ban was brought in by former Health Minister Micheal Martin on March 29, 2004. Similar bans have since been introduced in countries such as Denmark and France.

Last year more than six convictions relating to incidents such as people smoking in front of publicans. Eleven related to people, like bar managers, permitting smoking in non-compliant outdoor smoking areas.

Twenty-nine were for permitting smoking in places such as a bar counter or within a pub or taxi.

There were also two convictions for obstruction and interference with an authorised officer, while another related to the failure to display the required signage.

Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) carry out prosecutions under the Public Health (Tobacco) Act.

There are more than 540 Environmental Health Officers dealing with environmental issues and tobacco control, a number which has not changed significantly since the introduction of the ban.

Fine Gael Health Spokesman, Dr James Reilly, last night branded the increase a "worrying trend".

"It an extremely serious public health issue. There are clearly people prepared to flout the law.

"Those who do this should face the full rigours of the law."

However, a spokesman for the Office of Tobacco Control last night defended the rate of compliance, insisting it was 95pc.
http://www.independent.ie

Hotel owner prosecuted for smoking on her own premises

2008-08-11T08:59:00.000+01:00

Hotel owner prosecuted for smoking on her own premises
A hotel owner has been prosecuted for smoking a cigarette in her property while nobody else was there.

By Chris Irvine
Patricia Coupeland was given a 12 month conditional discharge by Blackpool magistrates after she admitted smoking on a smoke-free premises.

Ms Coupeland, 50, of the Cheers Hotel in Blackpool, told a court the hotel was closed at the time and not taking in guests.

She said: "I was in the dining room doing my paperwork and having a cigarette. It was closed as a hotel at the time and was therefore my private home. There were no guests. I only had a friend stay. The health officer came across as vicious and a person with attitude."

Victoria Cartmell, prosecuting for Blackpool Council, told the court that on February 1 environmental health officer Alan Taylor arrived at the hotel to carry out a hygiene inspection.

She said: "The defendant returned from the kitchen with a cigarette which she continued to smoke in the bar area.

"The defendant confirmed it was a smoke-free hotel, but said it was her own home and she was free to smoke in her own home.

"The officer said smoking in her private quarters was okay, but not in the bar."

Ms Coupeland was issued a £50 on the spot fine, which would have been reduced to £30 had it been paid in 15 days, although the penalty was not paid.

Last month, a painter and decorator was left "dumbfounded" after receiving a £30 fine for smoking a cigarette in his own van.

Gordon Williams, 58, of Llanafan, Aberystwyth, says he had popped to the shops when he was pulled over by Ceredigion council officials.

He said: "I am dumbfounded - the van is only insured for private use and to get me to and from work.

"It's not my place of work - I decorate houses not vans."

Rules defining when a vehicle can be treated as a place of work are complex.

While company cars in which passengers are carried are classed as one, there is confusion over private vehicles depending on whether thay are mainly used for work.

Last year, the Rolling Stones were not prosecuted despite repeatedly flouting the smoking ban when performing at the O2 Arena in London - Greenwich borough council said nothing could be done because fans at the venue had not objected.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

There's no smoke without ire - that's the real outrage

2008-08-11T08:57:00.001+01:00

There's no smoke without ire - that's the real outrage
Victoria Coren The Observer, Sunday August 10 2008
Britain is gasping in sympathy with Linda Buchanan, the hapless Kent commuter who was pushed on to a railway track by two men she had 'ticked off' for smoking. Everyone is shaken by the idea of this ghastly, nightmarish experience. We are all standing closer to walls as we wait for trains. Poor, terrified Linda Buchanan.

Having said that ... On a bad day, I'd have shoved her off the platform myself.

Of course, this is a horrible story. But not just because there are people who push other people on to railway tracks. This was not a meeting of good and evil. It was a meeting of bad and worse.

Mrs Buchanan, who was helped off the track with a hurt wrist, has been hailed as a hero in the press. Shouting at the smokers, she did 'what any good citizen might do'. She is 'a woman unafraid to intervene when something is wrong'. She 'highlights what ordinary people risk by confronting thugs'.

Bollocks. This woman is not a Ben Kinsella (stabbed to death trying to break up a street brawl) or a Philip Lawrence (killed trying to protect the children at St George's school, where he was headmaster, from a gang of bullies), although one newspaper had the tasteless nerve to compare her to both. Mrs Buchanan wasn't being a hero, she was being a busybody.

People who step in when others are being attacked or threatened are not aiming purely to uphold the law. That's why it's so pointless and unhelpful for the police to advise us 'not to take the law into our own hands' in these situations. It is not about the law. It is what the law's about. Social responsibility, morality, right and wrong. If you see somebody in danger, you don't just walk past and leave them to their fate. Legal, illegal, who cares; it's morally wrong to ignore someone who is terrified, alone and needs help.

Easy for me to say, as a woman. I have twice got involved in situations where I thought somebody was about to get hurt - or, at least, was being terrorised - once when a biker was thumping on a female motorist's car after a skirmish at a traffic light, and once when a man in the street was trying to yank a baby from the arms of a woman (I assume his wife) and she was literally screaming for help.

It's much easier for a woman to walk up and try to calm the situation; you do it in the fairly confident assumption that you're not about to get attacked yourself. If it happens, it happens (better than going home, putting the kettle on and idly wondering if anyone got murdered), but in my experience so far it hasn't. This is statistically more dangerous for men. My father was always a one for: 'Leave that woman alone!' and: 'Give you my wallet? You'll have to kill me first!' and I hated it. I thought, one day, someone might.

Philip Lawrence and Ben Kinsella, and all men who put themselves at risk to protect others, are heroes. Not so a commuter who bustles up to unleash the sharp end of her tongue on a guy having a quiet cigarette while he waits for a train. He's not the bully; she is.

Non-smokers have won, do you understand? We, the weak and addicted, with our revolting habit, who will waste money and lose lovers and die young in our stupid helpless pursuit of small nicotine comforts, have lost the war. You, the strong and healthy and pure, have taken all your land back: you've got the aeroplanes, the cinemas, the theatres, the restaurants, the pubs, you've got the inside of the whole world.

And we stand outside, cold and miserable and addicted and embarrassed, on the naughty step, hunched over our desperate little 'treats'... and still you come scurrying over to shout at us. Outside railway stations, in the street, outside restaurants on the three days a year we can comfortably eat there; you lean across to revel in your power, demonstrate your superior self-denial, and tell us how disgusting we are. The powerful sneering at the losers.

Unfortunately for Mrs Buchanan, she picked the wrong victim. She inadvertently ticked off someone truly horrible, who exacted the inexcusable revenge of pushing her off the platform a couple of days later. Appalling, indefensible, I hope the police catch up with the man, or men, and throw away the key. (Assuming they have locked some sort of door with it first.) But that doesn't make Linda Buchanan right.

Have you seen the train platform at Farningham Road, Swanley? It's a great long stretch, completely open to the sky. It is a huge, airy Serengeti of space. Mrs Buchanan might just as well have trekked across the Sahara, shouting criticism through a megaphone at a distant farting nomad.

Since we have a priggish, disapproving, bullying, absolutist government, which refused to bring in a (good, correct) smoking ban by stages, the Farningham smokers were technically breaking the law even by having a crafty snout on an outdoor platform. But why was this Mrs Buchanan's problem? Anyone who didn't like it could have moved further down, in the fresh air. Nobody was getting hurt but the smokers themselves. They weren't breaking the Ten Commandments.

There's nothing heroic about 'ticking off' a smoker whose air you're not obliged to share. That's like 'ticking someone off' for parking on a yellow line, or for swearing in a private conversation: not doing something right, but something self-righteous. It is done by those who look around the world in smug disapproval of everything, who make personal remarks, who bitch and criticise, who feel superior. It's rude.

Poor Linda Buchanan, who suffered such a horrible assault. I'm very glad she is on the mend. But I'm even gladder that she doesn't live next door to me.
http://www.guardian.co.uk

Pubs report tough times following smoking ban

2008-07-22T11:40:00.000+01:00

Pubs report tough times following smoking ban

21 July 2008
By JACKIE TURLEY
PUBS and clubs anticipated tough times ahead when the smoking ban was introduced.
And a little more than three months on, pubs have reported a difficult transition.

Nigel Dobson, landlord of the Liverpool Arms, in Main Road, Baldrine, said that, as expected, trade was down on this time last year.

He said the drop could be down to a number of factors — last year being the TT's centenary year, prevailing economic conditions or the smoking ban.

'I have not heard anyone saying business is booming this year,' he said.
Mr Dobson, based on what he has seen in pubs in the UK, predicted a drop in trade over the first year.

He said that trade in pubs that were able to adjust and survive would then pick up in two or three years' time.

In order to deal with the drop he has been promoting food and has invested money in this side of the business.

An outside area was opened just in time for the TT and he said this was being used mainly by people eating.

The pub has lost some regular customers, but Mr Dobson thinks the 'real test will be during the winter when it is not so comfortable to stand outside for a cigarette'.

Colin Moore, manager of Legends Nightclub, Peveril Square, Douglas, and Macbeths, Victoria Street, Douglas, said the smoking ban was 'a nuisance' at the nightclub 'because it is another area we have to police, as well as the rest of the club'.

He predicted Legends would be insulated from the ban because it had an outside area, and he said this seemed to be the case.

At Macbeths, he said there was a downturn in trade when the ban was first introduced but thought business was picking up again as people got used to it.

He said: 'We are lucky in that our regulars are very loyal — they have kept coming to the pub and live with the fact they have to go outside to smoke.

'It's not the fact we are losing regular customers — it is more the fact people are coming out less often.

'Rather than spending many hours every night in the pub they will go home earlier and be out fewer nights.'

Mr Moore said that although there was no space for an outside smoking area, they were in the same position as a lot of Douglas pubs.

'We are confident we will weather the storm,' he added. 'It is an inconvenience and it always will be but we are faring as well in the trade as anyone else.'

Bushy's Brewery boss Martin Brunnschweiler said the firm hadn't experienced too much of a downturn in trade since the smoking ban was introduced.

He said: 'I think the Rovers Return in Douglas and, I suppose I can speak more for the Bay in Port Erin, I don't think we have been too badly affected.

'I think where the problems are going to be is in the winter. The mild weather means that it hasn't been too big a problem to go out for a smoke.

'I think people will think twice about going down the pub when there's the wind and the rain's horizontal.'
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