Jump to full article: The Sun (uk), 2011-07-07
Author: GREG KNIGHT MP / MARTIN DOCKRELL of anti-smoking group ASH
Intro: MP Greg Knight wants a change to the smoking ban. Concerned about its impact on the pub trade - with 25 hostelries closing every week - the East Yorkshire Tory helped launch the Save Our Pubs And Clubs Campaign. Here, he explains why he would like to see smokers allowed to light up again on licensed premises.
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In Holland, they tweaked the smoking ban to make it fairer.
Around 2,000 small bars are now permitted to have smoking rooms. Surely it makes sense that British landlords are allowed to cater for the needs of their customers?
The Save Our Pubs and Clubs Campaign would like to see a thorough inquiry into the ban and its impact on the licensed industry.
Loss-leading alcohol sales in supermarkets have affected the pub trade, but this together with the smoking ban has produced a double whammy and left publicans struggling.
There needs to be a debate in Parliament about whether we should modify the law.
Indoor smoking areas don't work. They tried it in Spain and it failed utterly.
They had some places you could smoke in and some places you couldn't.
Nobody knew the rules. Consequently nobody enforced them.
A number of countries have tried this approach and it just doesn't deliver the health benefits.
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