Smirnoff laser pen promotion attacked
A licensee has refused to run a Smirnoff promotion that offers drinkers free laser pens for fear that they can damage people's eyesight.
Diageo's "If Smirnoff made Morse Code" promotion provides pub-goers with a free Smirnoff toy laser by either buying a round of Smirnoff drinks or collecting points on a card.
But Shaun Carrick of the Calcaria pub in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, has labelled the initiative as "silly" and is calling on other publicans to reject the promotion.
"There's no way we're running this as pubs have been trying to ban laser pens for years," pledged Mr Carrick. "There have been plenty of publicised cases where people's eyesight has been damaged by their misuse and in the hands of drunken people in an enclosed area it's totally irresponsible. As a licensee I don't know where I stand if someone in my pub gets hurt."
Laser pens are classified in terms of strength with class I and class II deemed suitable for consumer use and class III and IV reserved for professional use only.
A spokesperson for Diageo was quick to re-assure the trade that the laser pens posed no danger to either staff or customers.
"When we were developing the promotion we spoke with the Health & Safety Executive and the British Standards Institution about lasers and followed their guidance," he said.
"The lasers are class II and are UK and EU approved. Indeed the fact that the laser beam also has to pass through a piece of plastic to project symbols on to surfaces further diffuses the beam."
Pictured: Diageo's Smirnoff Ice.
