Campaigners launch bid to amend smoking ban
A new campaign to amend the smoking ban was launched in London today, backed by TV chef Antony Worrall Thompson and pro-smoking group Forest.
The campaign - Save Our Pubs & Clubs (SOPAC) - is aiming to get the ban amended when it comes up for review next year. This would mean licensees have the choice of allowing customers to smoke in their pub, either throughout the entire venue or in a designated smoking area.
Speaking at the launch at the Buckingham Arms, Westminster, Worrall Thompson, patron of Forest, said: "The smoking ban has had an extraordinarily detrimental effect on pubs and clubs and you can understand why.
"It is partly to blame for the demise of my own pubs and restaurants.
"Modern ventilation systems combined with separate rooms make it perfectly acceptable to smoke indoors.
"The legislation as it stands is excessive and I would like to see it amended."
MPs from three different political parties have also agreed to support the campaign, including Greg Knight, Conservative MP for East Yorkshire. "The smoking legislation in Spain, for example, is sensible and fair, this is not the case in the UK," he said.
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, was a guest in the crowd at the pub.
Asked to say a few words, he said: "I fully support everything I have seen here. I love smoking, I do it because I enjoy it, but since the ban I won't go to my local pub anymore if it's raining, it's very sad.
Mark Littlewood, director of communications for Progressive Vision, a liberal think tank which supports the campaign, said: "It must be possible to amend the law in a way that caters for smokers and non smokers."
He was also keen to point out that research into the harmful effects of second hand smoke was dubious to say the least.
In an interview with The Publican last year, Tory leader David Cameron admitted the argument had been lost on the smoking ban and "we've moved on".
"We are all better off, because we are not smoking, but for a lot of people it's a big change, because going to the pub for a pint and a fag was part of life," he said.
