Landlord Smoke Campaign Is "Silly, Pointless And Misguided", UK

Main Category: Smoking / Quit Smoking
Article Date: 07 Nov 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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A publican who persistently broke the law that protects the public from secondhand smoke will have to pay a fine and the cost of his prosecution at Blackpool Magistrate's Court. The judge described the campaign by Hugh Howitt as "silly pointless and misguided".

Martin Dockrell, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Action on Smoking & Health welcomed the decision.

"More than 95% of pubs are sticking to the law, it would be unfair to them and unhealthy for bar staff and customers to allow a handful of pubs to get away with breaking the law. The judge was careful not to make a martyr out of this man but nor has he given him a "smoking permit". Howitt says he will carry on breaking the law, if he does Blackpool Council are duty bound to carry on prosecuting him."

A YouGov survey[1] of over 1,500 adults in England conducted for ASH this summer found that 83% agreed that smokefree legislation had been good for the health of bar workers compared to only 3% who disagreed. 78% agreed that 'The law banning smoking in the workplace is good for the health of the general public'

[1] All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,532 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 22nd - 28th August 2007. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all ENGLISH adults (aged 18 ).

http://www.ash.org.uk