Big Smoke debate gets underway
Londoners will be asked for the their opinions about banning smoking in all public places.
The Big Smoke debate got under way yesterday on whether it was desirable to ban smoking in shops, pubs and restaurants.
Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said: “I look forward to hearing what the public wants done about smoking in enclosed public places and to working with groups across the capital to increase Londoners’ access to healthier, smoke-free venues.”
Forest, a pro-smoking campaign group, said the initiative was a “crude publicity stunt,” and argued people should be given more of a choice.
A spokesman asked rhetorically “does the Mayor really need a publicly funded consultation exercise to tell him that?”
Londoners can give their views at www.thebigsmokedebate.com or fill in the questionnaire in the Mayor’s newsletter The Londoner, which is delivered to households.
Smoking is already banned in pubs and restaurants in New York and San Francisco.
UK cities such as Sheffield, Birmingham and Brighton are considering following suit.
A MORI poll, commissioned by pressure group Smoke Free London, found that 71 per cent of Londoners were “bothered” by passive smoking in public places.
Nearly 25 per cent of respondents said they would visit more pubs, clubs and restaurants if smoking were banned. Two thirds said a ban would have no effect on their behaviour.
Separately, an industry-funded survey by the Tobacco Manufacturer’s Association (TMA) said only a minority of the public were in favour of a ban.
The survey found only 17 percent of adults were in favour of a ban on smoking in pubs and nightclubs.
But Ian Willmore, public affairs manager at Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said the survey was “a typical self-serving piece of tobacco industry propaganda.”
“Second-hand smoke is a killer. At least three people die in the UK every day from its effects. Yet the tobacco lobby still refuses to admit the problem even exists.
“More and more people are demanding smoke-free public places, and more and more employers are realising that it is in their interests to provide them. The tobacco lobby knows that this is the Achilles heel of the industry – that’s why it will spend any amount of money to try and prevent action.”
The Big Smoke Debate will run until December 31st.
