A trade body has slammed an MSP's attempt to herald the success of the smoking ban before its impact on the trade has been properly assessed.
Patrick Browne of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association spoke out after Lib Dem MSP Andrew Arbuckle called on the executive to ban local authorities from investing money in the tobacco trade in light of the "success" of the ban.
Browne said: "It seems rather early for the Scottish Parliament to be patting itself on the back about the 'success' of the smoking ban in Scotland. Most people in the licensed trade in Scotland reckon it will be at least three months and perhaps as long as a year to get a meaningful picture of the impact of the ban on their businesses.
"It seems a bit premature for politicians to be making a snap judgement after just over a month, especially when a lot of the research commissioned by the Scottish Executive on the health impact of the ban won't be available until late next year at the earliest."
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Your CommentsPaul Andrew via email 04/05/2006"For those here patting themselves on the back over the smoking ban then I would say think again & think on. The pub you visit & enjoy so much at the moment may well have to close due to loss of revenue. The chain pubs may well survive the shortfall in trade but many independant publicans like myself will have a struggle on our hands... I am tied to a pubco , pay more for my beer than the free trade & now it looks as though & will have to exclude a certain amount of my regulars due to unwanted & unpopular legislation.
say it how you like but the Government lied in the manifesto & social engineering was the driving force.
Enjoy your local while you can , while its still there & not knocked down to even more housing."
Meredith Davenport via email 04/05/2006"If pub takings had fallen after the introduction of the smoking ban, Patrick Browne, of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, would be the first to claim the legislation was a disaster even after only one day. He would be complaining to anyone would who listen about how pubs were being hard done by and demanding compensation for publicans. It is extraordinary how publicans will not accept that the smoking ban has been a good thing. Profits are up, the health of bar staff is being (shock horror!) protected and smokers are not rioting in the streets as predicted.
The glass (of beer) is either half empty or half full.
Bill Gibson via email 04/05/2006"This is typical of the crackpot comments that one gets from politicians north of the border. He wants to stop investing in the tobacco companies...where does the pharma companies get their nicotine from for the patches etc. Yes from tobacco companies. Where does the NHS get part of thir funding from...yes the pharma companies as a result of an agreement signed in November 2002. Yes and to cap it all the products only have between a 3-6% success rate in stopping people from smoking. Or putting another way..a 94% failure rate. Wilpower is much cheaper and more effective."
John Daly (Smokers Against Discrimination Ireland http://www.sadireland.com), 05/05/2006Crusaders judge the results of their actions by how good it makes them feel and not by the consequences. Hardly a day goes by here in the Emerald Isle without the proponents and supporters of the smoking ban patting themselves on the back about the great success they have. Great Success ? Hundreds of pubs have closed in Ireland, particularly in rural areas, thousands have lost their jobs, cigarette sales and smokers smoking them have increased, the elderly no longer meeting their friends for a pint, fag and a chat have become isolated and marginalised, but sure isn't it a great success all the same!
The very same as happened in Ireland will happen in Scotland. Smokey Joe this month might just for one night forego one of his regular trips to the pub, deciding it's better to watch the box at home in comfort than spending half the night on a pavement outside his boozer. Next month it might happen on two occasions, the following month three times and so on until not only he, but his non smoking friends are hardly visiting the pub at all.
And don't be fooled by the Irish press and media who repeat the government line on the smoking ban in such a manner that would have made Pravda blush in it's heyday. Recently one leading Irish newspaper conducted a street survey to test 'the word on the street' as they put it. A great success according to the people they interviewed, all thought the ban was fantastic.
And just who were these people ? One was a doctor on a visit from Wales, another was a nun from Nigeria and the third of five people questioned was a gentleman from Mongolia! Sure isn't it a great success, the Irish people love the ban!
The biggest amount of smoke surrounding smoking bans is the smokescreen being created by it's proponents, presenting over exaggerated, hysteric and unproven theories as fact. The truth is the repressive smoking bans have more to do with the intolerant meddlers disdain for smoking and the smoker than any concern for his health or those around him.
What's wrong with freedom of choice? Why can't we have smoking and non smoking area's of recreation? There are plenty of compromises easily reached that will accommodate the wishes of both smoker and non smoker alike. Has freedom of choice become some sort of radical notion?
Give up your seat there Seamus for the old lady, oh and by the way, kick her out the door if she tries to light up a cigarette - A great sucess to be sure!
Robert Feal-Martinez, 06/05/2006So the success of bans is so great that the Anti Smoking lobbies lies get worse.
Anti-Smoking Groups Widely Giving False Testimony in Support of Smoking Bans; Groups Even Being Instructed to Give Testimony that is Inaccurate
April 27, 2006
By Michael Siegel
Anti-smoking groups have been quite widely presenting false testimony in support of smoking bans. The falsehood relates to misrepresentation of the science regarding the acute cardiovascular effects of secondhand smoke.
In a number of city council or state legislative hearings around the country, anti-smoking groups have claimed that 30 minutes of secondhand smoke exposure increases the risk of heart disease: coronary artery blood clots and heart attacks or hardening of the arteries.
The truth, however, is that a person cannot develop hardening of the arteries in just 30 minutes and a person without severe existing coronary artery disease is at no risk of coronary artery blood clots or a heart attack from a 30-minute exposure to secondhand smoke.
For example, according to testimony given in support of a workplace smoking ban by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: "Just 30 minutes of exposure changes the way your blood clots and your blood vessels react in a way that increases the risk of heart disease."
According to testimony given in support of a statewide workplace smoking ban by the Tobacco Prevention and Control division of the North Dakota Department of Health: "Exposure to secondhand smoke for as little as 30 minutes can increase the formation of blood clots and restrict flow to the heart, causing a heart attack."
According to testimony given by the American Heart Association in support of a proposed smoke-free restaurant ordinance in Rochester, Minnesota: "When you leave a restaurant after dining...[tobacco smoke has] made your blood 'stickier' promoting blood clots."
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