Smoking In Pubs Debate Opened Again As MP Calls For Lifting Of Ban

Using the governments intended review and destruction of health and safety legislation as an excuse, a group of MPs have called for the reversal of the law which protects workers from tobacco smoke.

The public health charity, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), has responded to the call for the re-introduction of smoking in pubs, arguing that research proves there is little public support for such a measure.

In fact, ASH says its research, conducted between 2007 and 2010 by YouGov, suggests the opposite to be true, ie that smokers would welcome an extension of the smoking ban rather than a relaxation of the law.

In addition, ASH says that returning to “the bad old days of smoky pubs” would be a disastrous move because:
recent research from the University of Bath shows how smoke-free legislation has accelerated the reduction in heart attacks (a drop of 2.5% on top of the long-term trend) and saved the NHS in England more than £8 million in the first year with every passing year, the smoke-free law gets more and more popular and now commands the support of 80% of English adults with support growing fastest among smokers in response to claims that the law has been bad for the licensed trade, government figures show the number of premises licensed for “on sales” actually increased by 5% the year England and Wales went smoke free the law has worked well and if anything the Government should be looking at ways to strengthen it.

Martin Dockrell, ASH’s Director of Policy and Research, said: “All the evidence points to high and growing support for the smoke-free law, including among smokers. There just isn’t the evidence to support a return to the bad old days of smoky pubs and clubs. Instead of rolling back a law that is working well, we would urge the Government to focus on a comprehensive tobacco control strategy that will continue to drive down smoking rates and improve public health.”

Source: Croners

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