what did they use that for, daddy?
Jack Campin - bogus address
an ashtray clamped on it.
Where could you still use one?
Come to think of it, I don't believe I've *ever* seen one in use.
============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
<http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/> for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557
William Black
"Jack Campin - bogus address" <bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bogus-33A615....@news.news.demon.net...
> Spotted in a music shop in Edinburgh today: a microphone stand with
> an ashtray clamped on it.
>
> Where could you still use one?
>
> Come to think of it, I don't believe I've *ever* seen one in use.
Saw one in use once.
I think 'Henry Cow' at Spring Street in Hull over thirty years ago, but
I'm not certain. The band was certainly highly forgettable...
It was also the only time I've ever seen someone use the left over bit of a
guitar string coiled up and used as a cigarette holder rather than light a
fag, put it in the coiled up spring to look cool, and then forget it...
--
William Black
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.
Chris Rockcliffe
> Spotted in a music shop in Edinburgh today: a microphone stand with
> an ashtray clamped on it.
Lol... Now a collectors item?
> Come to think of it, I don't believe I've *ever* seen one in use.
Ashtrays, drinks holders various flat trays, music stands, lamps holders,
magnifying glasses, clips for guitar picks, hangers for fiddles and mandos
harmonica holders, hat hooks etc etc etc. There are a number of things - all
available specifically for sale to musicians that will clamp to a mic stand.
> Where could you still use one?
Well in theory you could smoke at an outdoor public concert; or in a private
setting outdoors; or in an indoor private house concert or other private
performance or other private party. The rules set by whoever runs it.
It isn't tobacco smoking that's been banned (yet), it is tobacco smoking
inside a public house or other public indoor place (such as a private
members club) that will be banned from July; or anywhere else that could end
up being sued for health and safety issues - anywhere in offices, shops,
factories etc.
I feel a bit sorry for the pubs and clubs that have no outdoor area to
prepare for the changes and a heavy smoking majority clientele. Some will go
under - many will close. Their customers will go elsewhere where they can
relax and smoke if they want.
One guy was telling me at the weekend that groups of people locally here -
and in anticipation of the changes - now already organise parties in private
homes - each taking turns to do the hosting and often cooking for the night.
It costs a fraction of going to the pub - they eat well and drink very
cheaply by comparison and can of course smoke freely. They can chat, listen
to music, make their own music or play snooker, pool, darts, or cards or
watch football... Many of them are youngsters too.
A disaster for jobs in the pub trade? As an ex-smoker I don't like smoke -
but there's a downside to this draconian total ban and some of the pubs to
go under will be nice ones with character and history. They've introduced
it in a predictably warm July, but come the autumn I predict some backlash.
Drink sales are set to fall by some 8 -10% in England and Wales after the
ban and many thousands of pub jobs lost. After a year-long ban in Scotland
drink sales - reducing overall generally - are down a further 50% in
Scotland as compared to England and Wales and thousands of pub staff laid
off. Almost a third of Scottish pubs have reduced staffing levels in the
past year.
Two of the pubs in danger here are live music session pubs. Another nail in
the future of pub culture and pub music? Certainly IMO.
CR
Stephen Kellett
Rockcliffe <chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk> writes
>I feel a bit sorry for the pubs and clubs that have no outdoor area to
>prepare for the changes and a heavy smoking majority clientele.
I don't. Not at all. I look forward to it. The damage is not being done
by the smoking ban, its by the drinking at home, sod you all, attitude
to pubs, enhanced by the large screen TV, piped music ethic in pubs.
Pubs are for people, not for your corporate marketing efforts. The only
time you find any public spirit that is real rather than fostered by the
TV (come on England!, oh please...sigh) is when the TV and piped music
absent and community and people set the agenda.
If you want to market stuff, think "people first, product later". (TM).
Also, the duty on beer affects not just off sales but pub sales, which
makes running a pub harder and harder. Perhaps the chancellor should
have a split rate of duty so that small, village pubs make more profit
per pint sold in the pub for consumption on the premises.
It would also help if brewery owned pubs we not encouraged by
legislation - just about every pub I go into that is worth going into is
not a brewery pub, they are always Free Houses and proud of it.
I don't get it, every pub that I go in that doesn't have a TV, that
doesn't have piped music, it has a good trade, but the general trend is
to empty pubs with no atmosphere that are full of smoke, a TV showing
Sky sports and/or piped music. The reason they are uninviting and
hostile to walk into is because of the Sky Sports and fake music and the
smoke. All 3 are awful. None of them would be welcome in my house.
A pub I used to go to join the music I stopped going to after the smoke
go too bad. We drove through the fog for half an hour one evening to get
there to be greeted by only 3 other musicians (two of which lived in the
village and had walked) because of the fog. I entered without a cough
and left with a cough courtesy of the smokers.
This session, which was in a pub I like (Kings Head, North Lopham) has
now been replaced by The Greyhound at Tibernam (Julian incorrectly
announced this as at Taclneston, which resulted in a lot of "fun" for me
to find it).
It isn't a true replacement, more of an accidental competitor, but
judging by the turnout, there must have been practically no musicians
(my guess is 3 people) at the smoke filled Kings Head the same evening.
The new pub does have a bit of smoking, but nowhere near so much -
certainly tolerable, the landlord *LOVES* lives music and he has *REAL*
beer on sale as well. What a refreshing change. Oh, and the room was
filled to bursting with age ranges from the 20s to the 70s (a couple of
old dears commented to me about my pipes on their way out which was nice
and unexpected) and this is a pub in the middle of nowhere - seriously
it is, the landlord proudly boasted to me that it was the most isolated
village in Norfolk, 7 miles from anywhere (Norfolk/Suffolk I can't
remember, but I do remember the 7 miles).
May/June 2006 I found out my accountant had lung cancer. Sadly, he died
Jan 2007, so he never got to see the business he worked with succeed.
Last time I spoke to him about the cancer it turned out that his doctors
thought that his time looking cool on stage with his fag hanging out of
his mouth like Keith Richards playing guitar was the cause of his
illness, 30 years prior.
My mother, long time smoker, recently had a lump removed from her
breast. Has finally quit smoking after well over 40 years.
Unsurprisingly (too me), suprisingly (to her), she has more energy, can
walk further without getting out of breath, etc etc. She is practically
a new woman at 64, despite only giving up 2 years ago. She took up
choral singing not so long ago and recently performed in public with the
local choir. I could not have imagined that 2 years ago. I still find it
hard to fathom given the lack of interest in music she has displayed my
entire life (although I know the reasons why), and yet when it comes to
it she has chosen the one that requires her lungs and she had given up
smoking a year or more before deciding on this course of action.
My Granny and Grandad (one each side of the family tree) both had
cancer, one killed by it despite being very fit for their age prior to
the illness and one losing a breast to it). Smoking, just say NO.
All the people that smoke that I hang out with, they all smoke Roll-ups,
which give off very little smoke, and what little smoke they do give off
is not unpleasant or acrid, unlike the tailor-made cigarettes. I'm sure
that this in itself has a lot to do with it - I never complain about the
smoke from roll ups, only from the tailor-made cigarettes. It would be
interesting to know how many of the "we shall smoke until you pry our
hands of our cigarettes" brigade smoke rollups vs tailor-made cigarettes
I'm sure this posting will earn the disapproval of those of you that
ignorantly and selfishly impose your behaviour on others. Frankly I
don't give a shit (I am thinking of one specific poster to this ng,
wonder if you will reply).
The smoking ban can only improve things for the majority of us that do
not smoke. Roll on July.
Stephen
--
Stephen Kellett
Object Media Limited http://www.objmedia.demon.co.uk/software.html
Computer Consultancy, Software Development
Windows C++, Java, Assembler, Performance Analysis, Troubleshooting
Reg Office: 24 Windmill Walk, Sutton, Ely, Cambs CB6 2NH.
Jack Campin - bogus address
> after the ban and many thousands of pub jobs lost. After a year-
> long ban in Scotland drink sales - reducing overall generally -
> are down a further 50% in Scotland as compared to England and
> Wales and thousands of pub staff laid off. Almost a third of
> Scottish pubs have reduced staffing levels in the past year.
Er, bollocks. Pubs in Scotland were closing steadily before the ban
and the rate has not increased. Many pubs are busier than before.
The more significant pressures are:
- cut-price booze from supermarkets
- reduced prices for large-screen TVs so people can watch spectator
sports at home with the same picture quality they'd get in a pub.
The second is ultimately good news for people wanting to perform
in pubs. The Sky-sport-addicted couch potatoes have very little
incentive to ever leave their houses with the new generation of
display technologies, so the publicans are going to have to find
a replacement clientele from somewhere. It is unlikely that even
the Tories would want to re-legalize cockfighting, so music it is.
Richard Robinson
> Jack Campin - bogus address08/05/2007 18:05
>
> magnifying glasses, clips for guitar picks, hangers for fiddles and mandos
> harmonica holders, hat hooks etc etc etc. There are a number of things - all
> available specifically for sale to musicians that will clamp to a mic stand.
So long as they have one of those knobs halfway down for clamping the
where-you-pull-it-out-to-make-it-taller (technical term there), that
provides a splendid holder for a clarinet reed-cap.
> A disaster for jobs in the pub trade? As an ex-smoker I don't like smoke -
> but there's a downside to this draconian total ban and some of the pubs to
> go under will be nice ones with character and history. They've introduced
> it in a predictably warm July, but come the autumn I predict some backlash.
I was hearing that last year at the Orkney festival. "It's all very well
backend of May, even if it is raining [which it was. thoroughly], but the
revolution starts in November".
And maybe it did. ... and maybe I'll hear how it's going, in a couple of weeks.
--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem
My email address is at http://www.qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html
Julian Flood
>
> This session, which was in a pub I like (Kings Head, North Lopham) has
> now been replaced by The Greyhound at Tibernam (Julian incorrectly
> announced this as at Taclneston, which resulted in a lot of "fun" for me
> to find it).
<defensively> It was a mistake anyone could have made. Anyone, that is,
who for ten years heard the warnings about Tacolneston mast and gliding
at Tibenham at every morning met brief.
Note the fact that tacol nes ton is pronounced taculston in true East
Anglian style.
JF
Who one day expects to find he is living in Cweston.
<Phil the bass does a vigorous and life-affirming blog>
Rafe Culpin
sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk (Stephen Kellett) wrote:
> Pubs are for people, not for your corporate marketing efforts. The only
> time you find any public spirit that is real rather than fostered by
> the TV (come on England!, oh please...sigh) is when the TV and piped
> music absent and community and people set the agenda.
> It would also help if brewery owned pubs we not encouraged by
> legislation - just about every pub I go into that is worth going into
> is not a brewery pub, they are always Free Houses and proud of it.
Or where the customers have told Greene King to get $^&!%ed :-)
--
To reply email rafe, at the address cix co uk
Molly Mockford
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote in
<cR$vDVB2z...@objmedia.demon.co.uk>:
>I'm sure this posting will earn the disapproval of those of you that
>ignorantly and selfishly impose your behaviour on others. Frankly I
>don't give a shit (I am thinking of one specific poster to this ng,
>wonder if you will reply).
Since I think it very improbable that *anybody* will recognise
themselves from your unpleasant and aggressive description, I trust that
you will not try to create thin-air conclusions from any lack of
response you may receive.
It might be better if, rather than flinging insults at random, you had
the courage to specify the poster to whom you are referring.
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.)
Molly Mockford
wrote in <memo.2007050...@rafecupl.merula.co.uk>:
>Or where the customers have told Greene King to get $^&!%ed :-)
Exactly so - a total triumph!
What is more (ObUmf) Greene King backed down just in time for me to be
able to go and hear Jeff Warner there the following night. I've never
crossed a picket line in my life, but it would have gone very hard to
have missed Jeff...
Peter Thomas
Campin - bogus address <bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> writes
....
> It is unlikely that even
>the Tories would want to re-legalize cockfighting, so music it is.
Always rather assumed that cock-fighting was a solidly proletarian,
cloth-capped sort of sport, but from the Hogarth exhibition the other
day, as far as I can remember, it attracted more of a cross-section. All
male, probably.
Robot wars might be tedious by comparison.
For healthy, innocent entertainment, how about:
Installing stocks and pelting, say, estate agents and
chosen local councillors [1]
Ducking pubco shareholders.
Indoor rugby and steeple-chasing
Circumnavigating room without touching the floor.
Scaling the outside of the building [without ladders or
scaffolding, thank you].
An adaptation of the Eton Wall game
Cheese-rolling
Too, er, physical?
Then, indeed, what about a selection of instruments and
music kept behind the bar, and perhaps a piano?
[1] In passing, the LDs here lost 20-something seats, down to three.
Fortnightly refuse collection introduced, plus other stuff that really,
really rankled. So the two bods I'd really like to see mistreated are no
longer councillors .
--
Peter Thomas
Stephen Kellett
<nos...@see.sig.to.reply> writes
>Or where the customers have told Greene King to get $^&!%ed :-)
:-) Er yes, but as you can see they still ignore the locals and oust the
local brew in favour of their IPA.
Or, as Julian so eloquently puts its "aim at left foot, shoot, damn,
missed, aim at right foot, shoot, repeat..." and they wonder why they
are losing money. I note that the new design Speckled Hen bottles are
horrible whereas the original design was really nice. WTF?
I like their IPA, but thats more to do with I like the taste and I am
not allergic to it (I love cider and the damned stuff, I've finally
found out, I am allergic to! Bah Humbug!)
Stephen Kellett
Flood <jul...@ooopsfloodsclimbers.co.uk> writes
><defensively> It was a mistake anyone could have made. Anyone, that is,
>who for ten years heard the warnings about Tacolneston mast and gliding
>at Tibenham at every morning met brief.
Sure. I wasn't having a go at you. You explained what happened on the
night. I was pleased to actually find the pub. A really nice place.
Great landlord - if only all landlord understood their role so well. He
was hospitable etc,
><Phil the bass does a vigorous and life-affirming blog>
Really where?
Bizarre twist. Tonight I found out that Terry, one of the regulars at
the local Mepal bash was involved for 25 years in the running of Cambs
Folk Festival. He hasn't been involved for the last 9 or 10 years and
interestingly agreed with me when I mentioned that they allow too many
people on site.
Apparently the festival nearly moved to Stourbridge common (more space)
a long time ago but didn't because of CCC investment in sewerage and
water provision at the Cherry Hinton site.
Stephen Kellett
<nospam...@mollymockford.me.uk> writes
>Since I think it very improbable that *anybody* will recognise
>themselves from your unpleasant and aggressive description, I trust
>that you will not try to create thin-air conclusions from any lack of
>response you may receive.
Unpleasant and aggressive? You mean accurate. Those people did die or
have body parts removed. I didn't make that up you know.
Please identify which part is aggressive. I quote it here for you to
identify (snipped and commented slightly for brevity)
<QUOTE>
A pub I used to go to join the music I stopped going to after the smoke
go too bad. We drove through the fog for half an hour one evening to get
there to be greeted by only 3 other musicians (two of which lived in the
village and had walked) because of the fog. I entered without a cough
and left with a cough courtesy of the smokers.
*Above is factual*
This session, which was in a pub I like (Kings Head, North Lopham) has
now been replaced by The Greyhound at Tibernam (Julian incorrectly
announced this as at Taclneston, which resulted in a lot of "fun" for me
to find it).
*Above is factual*
It isn't a true replacement, more of an accidental competitor, but
judging by the turnout, there must have been practically no musicians
(my guess is 3 people) at the smoke filled Kings Head the same evening.
*Above is factual*
<Snip tibernam bit>
May/June 2006 I found out my accountant had lung cancer.
*Above is factual* Are you saying that he didn't die of lung cancer or
that his doctors were incorrect with the diagnosis or that his
description to me of his youth was incorrect? Which is it?
My mother, long time smoker, recently had a lump removed from her
*Above is factual* So you doubt my comments about my mothers health,
related to smoking?
My Granny and Grandad (one each side of the family tree) both had
*Above is factual* So you doubt my comments about my Mothers mother and
my fathers father, both related to smoking?
All the people that smoke that I hang out with, they all smoke Roll-ups,
which give off very little smoke, and what little smoke they do give off
is not unpleasant or acrid, unlike the tailor-made cigarettes.
*The above states that I don't find roll up cigarettes a problem* What
is offensive about that?
</QUOTE>
*Above is factual*
So, which part of the above is aggressive, as opposed to my experience
of smoking and what it does to people?
I will be very interested in your response.
If you can't live with the fact that you have options that are better
for you than continuing as you are, that is your problem, not mine. You
are free to continue, just don't expect me, and others to tolerate it in
a situation that allows you to enforce my breathing of your smoke.
Come July, this will be moot and many people that I know will frequent
pubs that they currently will not frequent (many of which are
musicians). Disbelieve that if you wish, you are free to do so. Your
choice.
>It might be better if, rather than flinging insults at random, you had
>the courage to specify the poster to whom you are referring.
That was a side remark, the main content of the post was about smoking,
not any particular person. There is one poster on this group that is
very aggressive about smoking. He rarely posts on any topic, but usually
spits bile when the topic of smoking arises. Interestingly he absent
from this thread. I'd have thought who he was would be obvious.
Jack Campin - bogus address
> very aggressive about smoking. He rarely posts on any topic, but usually
> spits bile when the topic of smoking arises. Interestingly he absent
> from this thread. I'd have thought who he was would be obvious.
Not obvious to me, I don't make a point of remembering stuff like that.
And if we refrain from setting him up as an Aunt Sally, who knows, he
might change his position. (This is one reason why I almost never
attribute quotations - I reply to statements, not people, and don't
try to force posters into having a huge personal stake in standing by
every word they write).
There was a bit in one of the Scottish colour supplements a few weeks
ago about a publican in the south of England who had decared his pub
to be part of Scotland for the purposes of imposing a smoking ban. He
seemed to be doing pretty well out of it.
I do kinda miss pub ashtrays. I used to keep the thimbles for my
washboard in them, and where do you dump dead reeds and broken
strings now?
Richard Robinson
>
> I do kinda miss pub ashtrays. I used to keep the thimbles for my
> washboard in them, and where do you dump dead reeds and broken
> strings now?
Yes, there's nowhere to throw stuff away, you just have to leave them
littered over the table.
Incidentally, do you break your reeds before you throw them away ? I find
that it's a good idea to crumple the ends in a really obviously-broken way,
or otherwise well-meaning people chase after me, "I don't know what this is
but you've left it behind and it might be important".
Stephen Kellett
Campin - bogus address <bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> writes
>> There is one poster on this group that is
>> very aggressive about smoking. He rarely posts on any topic, but usually
>> spits bile when the topic of smoking arises. Interestingly he absent
>> from this thread. I'd have thought who he was would be obvious.
>
>Not obvious to me, I don't make a point of remembering stuff like that.
Perhaps this will remind you of said individual.
http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.music.folk/browse_thread/thread/c9613
14ff7948085/8e4566dd0c0bc58e?lnk=gst&q=Hugh+Allen&rnum=15&hl=en#8e4566dd0
c0bc58e
Molly Mockford
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote in
<41$mK9C3t...@objmedia.demon.co.uk>:
>Please identify which part is aggressive. I quote it here for you to
>identify (snipped and commented slightly for brevity)
The part which I quoted, obviously! I don't quote at random. In case
you missed it, what you said was as follows:
>I'm sure this posting will earn the disapproval of those of you that
>ignorantly and selfishly impose your behaviour on others. Frankly I
>don't give a shit (I am thinking of one specific poster to this ng,
>wonder if you will reply).
I have now snipped all the pieces of your post which you have re-quoted,
which were irrelevant to the paragraph to your post to which I
responded, and which I described as aggressive.
>So, which part of the above is aggressive, as opposed to my experience
>of smoking and what it does to people?
The paragraph I have re-quoted above.
>I will be very interested in your response.
Not interested enough to pay attention to which part of your post I
responded to.
>If you can't live with the fact that you have options that are better
>for you than continuing as you are, that is your problem, not mine. You
>are free to continue, just don't expect me, and others to tolerate it
>in a situation that allows you to enforce my breathing of your smoke.
You clearly have a very vivid imagination. Why do you assume that
everybody who objects to your aggressive approach to others must, by
definition, be a smoker?
>>It might be better if, rather than flinging insults at random, you had
>>the courage to specify the poster to whom you are referring.
>That was a side remark, the main content of the post was about smoking,
>not any particular person. There is one poster on this group that is
>very aggressive about smoking. He rarely posts on any topic, but
>usually spits bile when the topic of smoking arises. Interestingly he
>absent from this thread. I'd have thought who he was would be obvious.
It was, however, precisely the remark about one particular person to
which I replied. By flinging insults around, you reduce the impact of
everything else that you posted. But clearly it was more important to
you to have a dig at someone you resent, than to put across a clear and
convincing statement of your case.
Sad.
Molly Mockford
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote in
<RHiMWSEA...@objmedia.demon.co.uk>:
>http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.music.folk/browse_thread/thread/c9613
>14ff7948085/8e4566dd0c0bc58e?lnk=gst&q=Hugh+Allen&rnum=15&hl=en#8e4566dd0
>c0bc58e
<http://groups.google.co.uk/group/uk.music.folk/browse_thread/thread/c961
314ff7948085/8e4566dd0c0bc58e?lnk=gst&q=Hugh+Allen&rnum=15&hl=en#8e4566dd
0c0bc58e> is much more likely to provide a working link.
You seem to be fixated on one or two trolls. Ignore them. Trolls, by
definition, troll.
Anahata
> attribute quotations - I reply to statements, not people
What a good idea (he says, trying the same)
> a publican in the south of England who had decared his pub
> to be part of Scotland for the purposes of imposing a smoking ban.
There's an obvious publicity benefit, but there's no reason why a pub
can't impose a smoking ban anyway if they want to. There have been some
no-smoking pubs for years.
> I do kinda miss pub ashtrays.
I shun them now, or move them to another table, as they might encourage
a smoker to share a table with me, but once there's a general smoking
ban it would be good to bring them back. Perhaps with little silver
plaques explaining their historical function to tourists.
Anahata
Dave Holland
>I do kinda miss pub ashtrays. I used to keep the thimbles for my
>washboard in them, and where do you dump dead reeds and broken
>strings now?
In the instrument case, like I always have done??
You do have to remember to clear it out occasionally. Though I once
broke a fiddle string and - having forgotten to replace the spare I used
the previous time - was saved by finding a broken-but-still-just-usable
string in the case.
Dave
Marjorie Clarke
"Anahata" <ana...@treewind.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4642e9d4$0$8711$ed26...@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net...
>> I almost never
>> attribute quotations - I reply to statements, not people
>
> What a good idea (he says, trying the same)
>
>> a publican in the south of England who had decared his pub
>> to be part of Scotland for the purposes of imposing a smoking ban.
>
> There's an obvious publicity benefit, but there's no reason why a pub
> can't impose a smoking ban anyway if they want to. There have been some
> no-smoking pubs for years.
>
get ahead of the game and go for a smoking ban now. I think they are
figuring that if they wait until the last minute, all the smokers who have
frequented the smoking pubs will stay at home and sulk when the ban comes
in, whereas the non-smokers and smoke-haters (who've been staying at home
and sulking until now) will already be looking out for pubs they can settle
into and make their "regular" drinking hole. So it may be quite clever
marketing to attract the non-smokers now - they're the customers of the
future.
--
Best wishes,
Marjorie
Reply email: mc at springequinox dot co dot uk
Dick Gaughan
10 May 2007 16:17:03 +0100, "Marjorie Clarke"
<dontuset...@springequinox.co.uk> wrote:
>whereas the non-smokers and smoke-haters (who've been staying at home
>and sulking until now) will already be looking out for pubs they can settle
>into and make their "regular" drinking hole. So it may be quite clever
>marketing to attract the non-smokers now - they're the customers of the
>future.
Don't hold your breath (pardon the pun). Last time I played in
Cork I asked the pub owner how the ban was working. His reply was,
"We were promised that once the ban came in the pub would be full
of non- and anti-smokers who kept away because of the smoking.
They come in for a half-pint of stout after Mass on Sunday and we
don't see them again for another week. And the smokers now go
where there's a beer garden. So I'm going to have to shut the
pub." Over 600 (mainly rural) pubs in Ireland have closed since
the ban was brought in, with consequent effects on the local
culture. Publicans in Scotland have now formed a political party,
"The Publican Party" to campaign for the introduction of separate
smoking rooms.
My only irritation about the whole thing is that I'd stopped
smoking before they introduced the ban in Scotland. "Bastards", I
thought, "now I'm going to have to start again" :(
You want me not to do something, make doing it compulsory.
--
DG
Chris Rockcliffe
>> Drink sales are set to fall by some 8 -10% in England and Wales
>> after the ban and many thousands of pub jobs lost. After a year-
>> long ban in Scotland drink sales - reducing overall generally -
>> are down a further 50% in Scotland as compared to England and
>> Wales and thousands of pub staff laid off. Almost a third of
>> Scottish pubs have reduced staffing levels in the past year.
>
> Er, bollocks.
Well here's some more 'bollocks' - mostly Scottish newspaper reports about
the Scottish ban for you to read Jack... and a sign of things to come...
Council to target smoking litter
ANGUS Council has confirmed plans to issue fixed penalty notices to smokers
who are caught dropping their used cigarette ends. A spokeswoman for Angus
Council said: "It is heartening to see the overwhelming support shown for
the Smoke Free Scotland campaign."
Source: BBC News (20 April 2007)
*********************
Publican Party gears up for Scottish elections
INVERNESS licensee and Publican Party chairman Kit Fraser, claims he is
"certain" to be a member of the Scottish Parliament after the elections on
May 3. He blames a year of the smoking ban for this month's closure of
historic city pub the Citadel, and is a taste of what's in store for many
more British pubs when the smoking ban hits.
Source: Publican (18 April 2007)
*********************
Hotel told to stub out smoking shelter
PROTESTORS, including former judge and solicitor general for Scotland, Lord
McCluskey, have won their fight to have a smoking shelter at Edinburgh's
Grosvenor Hilton hotel torn down. They objected to the shelter, saying
chatting smokers at the hotel were keeping neighbours awake at night.
Source: Scotsman (12 April 2007)
*********************
Pub beer sales go flat with 6% drop
SCOTS are turning their backs on the traditional pint in favour of
supermarket booze. Publicans have claimed they have lost up to £100million
in beer sales following the smoking ban introduced last year. A survey by
market analysts AC Nielsen has revealed the ban is seen as one of the
reasons why Scottish pubs have seen beer sales slump by an average of 6%,
that is 2% more than the decline across the rest of Britain.
Source: Glasgow Evening Times (11 April 2007)
*********************
Ninewells "smoke police" anger
HIGHLY-PAID managers at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee are working as "smoke
police." The activity is being slated by their staff as a misuse of
taxpayers' money that is diverting managers away from more important work to
improve the experience of patients in hospital. Last night site manager
Brian Main confirmed senior managers were patrolling the site where staff
are banned from lighting up even in the open air.
Source: Dundee Courier (7 April 2007)
*********************
Hangover for pub landlords as ban hits home
BEER sales in Scottish pubs are falling as customers stay away because of
the smoking ban, industry figures showed yesterday. The amount of beer sold
in pubs last year fell by 6 per cent in Scotland, compared with 4 per cent
across the United Kingdom, according to data from the market research
analyst AC Nielsen.
The discrepancy highlights the added impact of the smoking ban north of the
Border, and will raise concerns in Wales, where a ban took effect this week,
and in England, where one will be imposed on 1 July.
Source: Scotsman (6 April 2007)
*********************
Hotel smoking area has legal Lord fuming
ONE of Scotland's most senior legal figures has added his weight to demands
that a hotel removes a smoking shelter because of claims it is keeping
neighbours awake at night. Lord McCluskey has objected to the shelter built
in the grounds of the Hilton Edinburgh Grosvenor Hotel saying, "there was no
desire for an ugly shed that can be seen from most of the surrounding listed
buildings".
Source: Glasgow Herald (6 April 2007)
*********************
Scots are more addicted to cigarettes
SCOTTISH smokers are more addicted to cigarettes than those in England, an
expert on tobacco said yesterday.
Source: Scotsman (6 April 2007)
*********************
It's the latest ash 'n' accessory for smokers
A POCKET ashtray pouch is the latest anti-litter weapon, with Dundee smokers
given them free of charge. The scheme aims to clean up the streets and save
smokers the risk of a £50 fine for dropping a cigarette butt in the city,
where 120 people have had to pay a £50 on-the-spot penalty so far this year
for the offence.
Source: Daily Record (5 April 2007)
*********************
Shopkeeper fined for breaking ban
A SHOPKEEPER in Alloa has been issued with a fixed penalty notice for
flouting the smoking ban after Health Protection Officers from
Clackmannanshire Council caught the man smoking in his shop. Environmental
health team leader Andrew Crawford said he hoped the case would serve as a
warning to other smokers who were tempted to light up in forbidden areas.
Source: BBC News (3 April 2007)
*********************
Views remain mixed on public smoking ban
RESENTMENT over the ban on smoking in public places remains strong among
some Fife pub customers one year after its introduction. Landlords reported
that people complied with the ban, which started on March 26 last year, but
complaints were still common and some older customers now stayed at home.
However, Fife Council has hailed the legislation as a "major success story"
with positive public health benefits.
Source: Fife Herald (31 March 2007)
*********************
Smoking ban 'may be extended'
THE First Minister Jack McConnell, has indicated that he may look at
extending the smoking ban if he wins power again in May. The ban covers only
enclosed public spaces.
Source: icScotland (30 March 2007)
*********************
Ban hits pub trade
A YEAR after the Scottish Executive stubbed out smoking in enclosed public
places, licensees in Perth and Kinross are broadly in line with the rest of
Scotland in finding the ban has resulted in a steep drop in trade.
Source: Perthshire Advertiser (29 March 2007)
*********************
Bar jobs a casualty of the smoking ban
SCOTLAND'S smoking ban has cost Inverness jobs and led to a drop in drink
sales in city pubs, a senior industry representative said yesterday. On the
first anniversary of the ban's introduction, Ramsay McGhee, the Scottish
Licensed Trade Association's manager for the Highlands and Islands, claimed
it had also led to other problems such as noise pollution and litter as
smokers were forced to light up outside.
Source: Inverness Courier (27 March 2007)
*********************
What's in a name? Hewitt makes TV gaffe
PATRICIA HEWITT, Health Secretary, appeared not to know who Scotland's First
Minister was, marring a Labour event intended to show how Westminster and
Holyrood were working together. On STV, she extolled the virtues of the
smoking ban in Scotland but came unstuck when she repeatedly referred to the
First Minister as "Jack McDonald".
Source: Glasgow Herald (27 March 2007)
*********************
Ban 'has prompted 46,000 people to try quitting'
SCOTLAND'S smoking ban has been hailed a huge success by Jack McConnell, the
First Minister, as figures revealed more than 46,000 people tried to quit as
a result of the change in the law. The NHS survey found that 34 per cent of
Scots gave up after a month. However, many resumed smoking and by "month
three", the overall quit rate for Scotland had fallen to just 18 per cent.
Source: Scotsman (27 March 2007)
*********************
Party Fights Smoke Law
A PARTY seeking a smoking law change was launched yesterday. The Publican
Party unveiled their four candidates for the Holyrood election. The party -
seeking an law amendment so landlords could convert pubs and clubs to
include ventillated inside areas for smokers - was launched at a Smoking Ban
Action Day in Methil, Fife.
Source: Daily Record (27 March 2007)
*********************
Smoking ban debate in Scotland
THE ban on smoking in enclosed public places came into effect on 26 March,
2006. Interested parties supporting and opposed to its introduction give
their assessment of how it has worked. Health Minister Andy Kerr has
heralded the smoking ban as a matter of pride. Forest say the ban has been a
blow against choice and civil liberties. Ash Scotland says the air quality
in Scotland's pubs, bars and clubs is a testament to the ban's success.
Source: BBC News (26 March 2007)
*********************
MSP: replace 'sexy' packets with warning
THE MSP behind the smoking ban has called for the "sexy" packaging of
cigarettes to be replaced by plain black and white boxes showing only
photographs of blackened lungs. Stewart Maxwell, the SNP MSP who first
suggested a ban on smoking in public places, said the Executive must now do
more to prevent people smoking.
Source: Scotsman (26 March 2007)
*********************
Council chiefs to ban smoking outside offices
SCOTLAND'S largest local authority, Glasgow City Council, will unveil plans
this week to extend the smoking ban to the exterior of all its premises,
including staff car parks, school play grounds and internal courtyards.
Smokers will no longer be permitted to congregate at areas where non-smokers
pass, such as entrances to council buildings.
Source: Glasgow Herald (25 March 2007)
*********************
Ban 'is an unqualified success'
JACK McCONNELL is travelling to London to tell Tony Blair the smoking ban in
Scotland is an unqualified success. According to the Executive, the ban has
seen an increase in the number of smokers giving up and no reduction in
trade in bars and restaurants.
Source: Sunday Post (25 March 2007)
*********************
Beware if you have a puff in Paisley
A HUGE disparity has been revealed in the way the ban is being enforced.
Topping the table with 180 fixed penalty fine notices issued is Renfrewshire
Council. That's nearly six times the number dished out in Glasgow, Edinburgh
and Aberdeen combined.
Source: Sunday Post (25 March 2007)
*********************
Pubs 'lost staff' after ban
A third of Scottish pubs have reported laying off staff due to the smoking
ban, a survey of landlords claims. With the first anniversary of the ban
approaching, the survey suggested that drink sales remained 11% below
pre-ban levels and food sales were down 3%.
Paul Waterson, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association chief executive said
the Scottish Executive's "deafening silence" over tobacco sales and the
number of people quitting smoking indicated that the ban had hit the
industry rather than the intended target. Health Minister Andy Kerr said the
poll was limited and there was no evidence that job losses were linked to
the ban.
Source: BBC News (22 March 2007)
*********************
There's no smoke without ire
MORE motorists than pub-goers have been fined in Edinburgh for refusing to
comply with the smoking ban. A single bar was among nine companies and
individuals across the Lothians to receive fines almost a year after the ban
was introduced. But four drivers, including two taxi drivers, a van driver,
and a mini-bus driver, have been fined for smoking in their vehicles and
ignoring wardens' warnings to stub out their cigarettes.
Source: Scotsman (22 March 2007)
*********************
'Listening' Scotland can inspire EU
FIRST Minister Jack McConnell, in Brussels to present a 30-page Scottish
Executive report on the successful "selling" of post-devolution polices to
voters, said Scotland had been innovative in consulting the public over
legislation - the best example being the smoking ban in public places.
Source: icScotland (21 March 2007)
*********************
MSP bids to ban smoking outside pubs, cafes
SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell, who led Scotland's anti-smoking campaign, is
calling for tighter restrictions on lighting up outdoors. He is urging
Holyrood to outlaw smoking outside pubs and cafes.
Source: Glasgow Evening Times (19 March 2007)
*********************
Scots 'back smoking ban exemptions'
THREE quarters of people in Scotland believe there should be exemptions to
the smoking ban, a Populus poll for Forest suggested. It revealed that 74%
of 1,004 people surveyed thought private clubs should be allowed smoking
rooms. It comes a week ahead of the ban's first anniversary, and found that
the same percentage backed the idea of specialist smokers' clubs. But Health
Minister Andy Kerr said the ban had been "a resounding success".
Source: BBC News (19 March 2007)
*********************
Smoke cops for hospital
HOSPITAL bosses have come under fire after hiring "smoke police" to enforce
a total fag ban. Smoking is being banned from even the grounds of Glasgow's
Princess Royal Maternity Hospital. But the move has angered nurses at the
establishment, who say the cash could be better spent.
Source: Daily Record (19 March 2007)
*********************
You vote against ban in hospital grounds
HUNDREDS of readers voted overwhelmingly against the Glasgow-wide hospital
smoking ban to be introduced within days. An online poll by the Evening
Times found 80.7% - a total of 922 readers - opposed to new rules that will
banish smokers from the grounds of every city hospital and health centre.
Only 19.1% - 218 people - backed the new blanket ban by NHS Greater Glasgow
and Clyde due to be launched on March 26. The response is by far the most
votes ever polled in our daily online poll.
Source: Glasgow Evening Times (15 March 2007)
*********************
Saints fans fume over smoke ban
NERVY St Mirren fans who are desperate to ease the tension of their team's
fight against relegation have had half-time fag breaks stubbed out. The club
has banned supporters from leaving the Main Stand during the mid-match
interval to enjoy a cigarette, ruling that anyone who leaves the stadium
shouldn't be allowed back in.
Source: Paisley Daily Express (15 March 2007)
*********************
Ban is choking trade, claim pub bosses
A CAMPAIGN against Scotland's smoking ban is to be mounted in Levenmouth on
the day of its first anniversary. The owner of the Kirkland Bar in Methil,
is inviting all local publicans and members of the public to join forces on
March 26.
Source: East Fife Mail News (14 March 2007)
*********************
MEP demands end to smoke-ban 'hypocrisy'
EURO MP David Martin has called on European Parliament members to stop being
"hypocrites" and follow the lead of the Scottish Parliament's smoking ban.
On January 1, smoking was banned in European Parliament buildings in
Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg - but the next month the ban was lifted
on the grounds it was "unenforceable".
Source: Scotsman (14 March 2007)
*********************
Extra £327,000 to help target groups quit fags
PREGNANT women, youngsters and residents living in Edinburgh's most deprived
areas are to be targeted in a fresh bid to stop them smoking. NHS Lothian
has been promised an extra £327,000 by the Executive to help people kick the
habit.
Source: Scotsman (14 March 2007)
*********************
Old Firm calls time on fans smoking
GLASGOW'S football giants have vowed to take action against fans who are
flouting the law and smoking inside their stadiums. Supporters who ignore
the smoking ban could lose their season tickets and be stopped from watching
their team. Rangers and Celtic have repeatedly had to deal with supporters
lighting up in stadium toilets.
Source: Scotsman (14 March 2007)
*********************
Anger as city hospitals ban cigs outside
HEALTH workers and patients have hit out at a blanket smoking ban to be
launched in the grounds of all Glasgow hospitals. Patients and staff at the
Western Infirmary claim their human rights are being infringed by the new
rules, which will forbid them to light up, even outside.
Source: Glasgow Evening Times (13 March 2007)
*********************
Smoke ban goes stale
A YEAR into the smoking ban and there's no drop in the number of smokers -
or in tobacco sales. The latest survey for Cancer Research comes to the same
conclusion that the Scottish Licensed Trade Association predicted years ago.
More and more smokers now smoking at home in front of their family.
Source: Daily Record (13 March 2007)
*********************
Punters sign up to save bingo industry
Bingo halls could become a thing of the past amid claims that the ban on
smoking in public places is crippling the industry. The Scottish-wide ban
has been in force a year, and a Moray bingo hall operator says he fears for
the future of the industry.
Source: Northern Scot (9 March 2007)
*********************
Ban forces pub out of business
A PUB landlord who claims he has been forced out of business after seeing
business dive in the wake of Scotland's smoking ban today warned other
traditional city bars would follow. Landlords said other traditional pubs
were struggling in the Capital and more faced going to the wall.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (6 March 2007)
*********************
Ban makes impact on bottom line
SCOTLAND'S smoking ban has made its presence felt on the bottom lines of
three listed companies, which have posted financial results. Mecca bingo
operator Rank and cigarette maker Gallaher have both suffered. By contrast,
pub chain JD Wetherspoon reported a sharp sales increase in the wake of the
March prohibition.
Source: Glasgow Herald (5 March 2007)
*********************
Bingo halls hit back at tough legislation
BRITISH bingo operators are to petition the Treasury to reduce the
industry's tax burden after suffering a severe downturn in business
following the Scottish smoking ban and other legal changes. Eleven bingo
halls have shut in Scotland since the smoking ban came into effect, with
small, independently-operated locations hardest hit.
Source: Sunday Herald (4 March 2007)
*********************
Eyes down for smoking gamblers
IT IS still early days but a medley of trading results suggest the smoking
ban, to be extended from Scotland to England and Wales this summer, may well
hit cigarette companies and bingo hall operators more than pub groups.
Source: Scotsman (3 March 2007)
*********************
Smoking ban hits social premises
THE ban on smoking and changes in drinking habits are threatening the future
of Falkirk's social clubs. Carlton Bingo has closed blaming the smoking ban
introduced in March last year. But four other clubs were rumoured to be
under threat.
Source: Falkirk Today (1 March 2007)
*********************
Charity closed by smoke ban
A CHARITY that has been running for 28 years claims it has been forced to
fold by the smoking ban. Glenrothes and District Inter Club Welfare
Association shut down earlier this month because of cash problems. Over the
last two decades, the association has provided wheelchairs and other medical
aides. The main donor was the CISWO Club, which says it can no longer afford
to help groups with funding because the ban has cost it too much money in
lost takings.
Source: Glenrothes Gazette (28 February 2007)
*********************
Publican Party seeks to smoke out voters
A PARTY that hopes to attract the votes of angry smokers has launched its
election campaign, claiming it could win up to four seats in the Scottish
Parliament in May. The Publican Party, which will contest the election on
the simple premise of a partial lifting of the smoking ban, announced it
would be standing candidates in four of Scotland's eight regions. Kit
Fraser, the chairman of the party and a publican from Inverness, said
smokers were being treated like second-class citizens.
Source: Scotsman (23 February 2007)
*********************
Pubs catch smoke ban chill
Pubs in Dundee are feeling a winter chill because of the smoking ban,
according to a leading figure in the local licensed trade. The
vice-president of the Dundee Licensed Trade Association has said that the
full impact of the ban was still being assessed leading up to its first
anniversary, but reports from DLTA's members suggested many had suffered.
Source: Evening Telegraph (22 February 2007)
*********************
Smoke-ban probe for star Doherty
TROUBLED rocker Pete Doherty may be in trouble with the law again - this
time over claims he smoked on stage in Glasgow. The city council has
confirmed it was to investigate after the hell-raising musician was snapped
with a cigarette in his mouth at Barrowland.
Source: Evening Times (21 February 2007)
*********************
Smokers likely to lose shelters
ONE of the most historic pubs on Edinburgh's waterfront has fallen foul of
city planners over smoking shelters. The Old Chain Pier in Newhaven is
facing legal action after two awnings were put up last year in the wake of
the new legislation being introduced. Council officials say strict
guidelines over retractable canopies have been flouted and the work detracts
from the building's appearance.
Source: Scotsman (19 February 2007)
*********************
Ban opens Windie of opportunity
ALTHOUGH the air has cleared, it is still less than certain what effect
Scotland's smoking ban has had on the pub trade. Within the next few weeks,
the Scottish Licensed Trade Association hopes to shed some light on the
financial impact of making the country's public areas smoke-free. Although
they say it is too soon to comment on what the survey might uncover, there
are suggestions that the findings will not be positive.
Source: Glasgow Herald (19 February 2007)
*********************
Thousands of warnings issued since ban
NEW statistics show that Scottish local authorities have handed out more
than 1300 warnings and more than 500 fixed penalty notices in the form of
fines to those caught breaking the smoking ban. However, the figures also
reveal wide variations in how councils are dealing with those caught
breaking the law, with some almost exclusively issuing fines and others
mainly handing out written or verbal warnings.
Source: Sunday Herald (18 February 2007)
*********************
Ban forces bingo hall to close
STAFF at a Lothian bingo hall claim they have become the latest victim of
Scotland's smoking ban. The Hayweights club in Musselburgh will close its
doors for the last time tomorrow after 50 years in business.
Source: Scotsman (17 February 2007)
*********************
Ban hits bingo house calls
ONE in 10 bingo halls in Scotland has shut since the smoking ban was
introduced last March. The number will soon be far higher, unless the
government grants the industry multi-million-pound tax breaks said Mike
Lowe, operations manager of small independent Premier Bingo, who presented
the Scottish Parliament with a 1500-signature petition calling on them to
"support bingo in local communities".
Source: Glasgow Herald (15 February 2007)
*********************
Drinks giant blames ban for decline
SCOTLAND'S smoking ban, reduced retailer-funded promotions and a consumer
shift from the on-trade to the off-trade has hit drinks giant Diageo's
performance in the UK in the six months to December 31 2006.
Source: Publican (15 February 2007)
*********************
Bingo calls for tax cuts as ban bites
AN EDINBURGH bingo operator is calling for tax breaks to help clubs deal
with the devastating impact of the smoking ban. New Empire Bingo on
Nicholson Street has seen profits almost halve since the ban, which is
estimated to affect nearly two-thirds of customers.
Source: Scotsman (14 February 2007)
*********************
Scottish executive 'fail' to cut red tape
SCOTLAND is being "left behind" by the Europe-wide drive to reduce the
burden of regulation, according to the Federation of Small Business
Scotland. In a scathing indictment of the business climate created by the
Scottish Executive, it depicts Scottish business as struggling under the
weight of superfluous legislation and red tape, having passed laws on
smoking, planning, holidays, procurement, fire and building regulations, and
implemented a whole series of European regulations.
Source: Scotsman (14 February 2007)
*********************
Access ruling prevents smoking shelter's use
A SHELTER for smokers outside a city centre pub has been prevented from
operating by Dundee City councillors despite the fact that it has already
been given planning permission by the council. Councillor Joe FitzPatrick,
who supported the gazebo, said it would have kept smokers away from the area
of the pavement where people walked. "I think smokers in Dundee are starting
to feel victimised and that the council is out to get them," he said.
Source: Dundee Courier (13 February 2007)
*********************
Clampdown on cafe culture
WITH more outdoor seating than ever before furnishing the pavements and
squares of Glasgow, the council's planners are now calling a halt to the
practice. While denying the new approach has anything to do with the smoking
ban, the council insists roads department consents will not be granted or
renewed without prior planning permission, a process that can take months
and costs thousands of pounds.
Source: Glasgow Herald (12 February 2007)
*********************
Banning school lab experiments
HEALTH minister Andy Kerr writes: "While it is true that [school smoking]
experiments might well no longer be possible within the school building
because of the [anti-smoking] legislation, it is disingenuous to suggest
that a deliberate decision was taken to specifically legislate to ban
them...Certainly, it was never our intention, but rather it is an unintended
consequence of the legislation only drawn to our attention by schools after
it came into force."
Source: Scotsman (12 February 2007)
*********************
Smoking ban is no longer helping people give up
SCOTLAND'S high-profile smoking ban may ultimately have no effect on the
number of people quitting, a leading health official has admitted. Dr
Laurence Gruer, director of public health for NHS Scotland, told MSPs on
Holyrood's health committee that the total of smokers asking the NHS for
help with giving up had slumped since last year's ban on lighting up in
public places. After an early surge of interest in smoking cessation
services just before the ban on March 26, applications are now back to
previous levels.
Source: Glasgow Herald (7 February 2007)
*********************
Science lab demonstration banned in schools
SCHOOLS in Scotland have been banned from using smoke machines in science
laboratories to demonstrate the dangers of nicotine after the Scottish
Executive warned it would breach anti-smoking legislation. The move has been
derided as "ludicrous" by opposition MPs, who argued that the experiment was
safe if conducted in a school science laboratory.
Source: Scotsman (7 February 2007)
*********************
Smoking ban has had positive effect says Kerr
EARLY indications show that the ban on smoking in public places has had a
positive effect on the country's health, Health Minister Andy Kerr was set
to tell MSPs. Mr Kerr says it is too early to tell the precise impact of the
legislation, which came into effect almost a year ago. But in a submission
to members of the Scottish Parliament's Health Committee, he says the early
indications are good.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (6 February 2007)
*********************
Pub group earnings dip
UK PUB group Regent Inns has reported a slight decline in underlying
first-half pre-tax profit over the last six months. Bosses said that the
decline in pre-tax profit had been thanks to "considerable changes" within
the pub industry, including the introduction of the national smoking ban and
changes to licensing legislation.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (6 February 2007)
*********************
Staff 'exposed to 86% less smoke'
SCOTLAND's bar workers are now exposed to 86% less smoke following the ban
on smoking in enclosed public places, according to new research. The results
will be revealed to Holyrood's health committee as it considers the
effectiveness of the ban.
Source: BBC News (6 February 2007)
*********************
Smoking fine's a sign of the times
A TIMBER merchant has become the first person to be convicted under
Scotland's new smoking laws. Vincent McFadden was fined £450 after failing
to put up no smoking signs in his business. He also committed a breach of
the peace by giving smoking enforcers a false name and telling them to "f***
off".
Source: Daily Record (3 February 2007)
*********************
Signing up to modify smoking ban
SOCIAL clubs and pubs from around Fife have presented a petition against the
smoking ban to Christine May, MSP for Central Fife. At a meeting organised
by the Fife Smoking Action Group, representatives had the opportunity to
tell the MSP about the detrimental effects the ban has had on business,
particularly those which serve the elderly and people with disabilities.
Mrs May accepted the 10,000 signature petition from the groups, calling for
the introduction of a well-ventilated room to be made available in each of
the premises to allow smokers to use.
Source: Fife Today (2 February 2007)
*********************
Taking liberties
DUNDEE shoppers were today united in their condemnation of new on-the-spot
litter fine, particularly issued to those who put out their cigarettes in
the street. Dundee City Council yesterday handed out 30 fines at £50 each to
people caught disposing of their cigarette butts on the ground. Many people
are outraged that these tactics have been employed.
Source: Evening Telegraph, Dundee (1 February 2007)
*********************
Burning issue
COMEDIAN Mel Smith, who threatened to smoke a cigar during his Edinburgh
Festival run as Churchill, is directing Charley's Aunt in Glasgow next
month, and there is a cigar scene that is allowed in its current run in
English theatres, though the cigar will have to be extinguished in Glasgow.
And as for the cigar row in Edinburgh, Mel unrepentantly tells us: "When I
was doing the Edinburgh play there were all these arguments about the
dangers of passive smoking, and yet in a nearby theatre they were burning
the American flag at every performance. Surely that was much more of a
hazard to public health?"
Source: Glasgow Herald (1 February 2007)
*********************
Change law so we can puff on hookah
OWNERS of alternative cafes in Glasgow have launched a campaign for an
exemption for shisha smoking and are taking a petition to the Scottish
Executive. They say the form of pipe smoking, also known as hookah or hubbly
bubbly, doesn't produce the same health risks as cigarettes, and that it is
also a large part of the culture in the Arabic world. A Scottish Executive
spokeswoman said: "We have no plans to introduce further exemptions to the
smoking ban."
Source: Glasgow Evening Times (30 January 2007)
*********************
Best sales rise but Belhaven's pubs suffer
GREENE King, the pubs and brewing group, made strenuous efforts yesterday to
say it had successfully offset the effects of Scotland's first winter under
a smoking ban by reporting an increase in food sales, as revenue from
alcohol dipped during the 36 weeks to 7 January.
Source: Scotsman (30 January 2007)
*********************
Greene King absorbs smoking ban
PUB firm Greene King said its had done well during the first winter of the
Scottish smoking ban. The Suffolk-based firm has a presence in Scotland
through its Belhaven pub chain, bought in 2005. Sales at Belhaven were down
2.8% in winter 2006 compared to a year before, but this was "better than our
estimates at the time of acquisition" it said.
Source: BBC News (29 January 2007)
*********************
Litter louts face fresh crackdown
CAMERAS targeting litter louts are set to return to Edinburgh after more
than 150 people were hit with £50 on-the-spot fines during a council
crackdown. Environmental wardens, backed by CCTV camera vans, were ordered
to stop anyone they saw dropping litter or cigarette ends.
Source: Scotsman (24 January 2007)
*********************
Smoking ban blamed for bingo closure
GRANGEMOUTH'S Carlton Bingo is to close on Sunday. Bosses Carlton, said the
hall is a victim of last year's smoking ban. All nine members of staff will
be laid off after this weekend and Carlton is currently considering what to
do with the vacant building.
Source: Falkirk Today (18 January 2007)
*********************
Council chief flouts ban on smoking
A COUNCIL leader responsible for implementing the smoking ban in his area
apologised last night after repeatedly lighting up in his own office. Jim
McCabe, 66, leader of North Lanarkshire Council and an Old Labour stalwart,
puffed on three cigarettes during an hour-long interview, despite the
Executive outlawing smoking in offices. He said he was trying to give up and
promised not to repeat the incident.
Source: Scotsman (16 January 2007)
*********************
Sacked for smoking
A SMOKER has been sacked for having a cigarette break at the factory where
he worked. John Smith was sheltering from the rain in a doorway yards from
an official smoking bay when he was caught. Bosses at the Michelin Tyres
factory, in Dundee, sacked him on the spot for gross misconduct. But tyre
technician John, who worked for Michelin for more than 12 years, says the
firm, who recently made 100 employees redundant, took advantage of his
offence to cut more costs.
Source: Daily Record (16 January 2007)
*********************
Ban strikes revenues
GEORGICA, the snooker and tenpin leisure group, said its revenues had fallen
marginally over 2006 - hurt by Scotland's smoking ban. The group, which runs
bowling alleys under the Tenpin and Megabowl banner and snooker and pool
halls under the Riley's logo, said the popularity of ten-pin bowls had
partly offset a slide in snooker and pool activity.
Source: Scotsman (15 January 2007)
*********************
Scots smokers to get zero-nicotine drug
THE first prescription drug designed to help smokers quit without the use of
nicotine has been approved for use across Scotland. The Scottish Medicines
Consortium will give its backing for the drug Champix, made by Pfizer, to be
made available on the NHS after it was licensed at the end of last year.
Source: Scotsman (15 January 2007)
*********************
Smokers' plea to NHS chiefs
HEALTH Service staff have appealed to bosses for a safe place to smoke in
the grounds of Dundee's Ninewells Hospital. The plea came after disquiet
over staff being forced to leave the Ninewells site to have a smoke. TGWU
representative Marie Vannet insisted staff were not asking for something
unreasonable. She said many staff worked 12-hour shifts and found it very
hard to not smoke for that long.
Source: Evening Telegraph (11 January 2007)
*********************
Pensioner accused of flouting ban
A PENSIONER has become the first person to be taken to court for allegedly
defying the ban on smoking in public places. John Wraith, 66, has appeared
at Aberdeen Sheriff Court accused of illegally lighting up in his local pub.
Source: Scotsman (10 January 2007)
*********************
Smoking pupils face bus ban
PUPILS caught smoking on school buses face having their bus passes suspended
as part of a new crackdown in the west of Fife. CCTV cameras are to be used
to catch troublemakers who regularly flout the rules by lighting up en route
to and from Dunfermline High.
Source: Dundee Courier (10 Janurary 2006)
*********************
Smoking checks for kids
HUNDREDS of children are to be given saliva tests to discover whether the
smoking ban has harmed their health, following fears that people have been
lighting up more at home since the ban on smoking in enclosed public places.
If doctors find evidence of this, they plan to launch a campaign urging
smokers not to light up around kids.
Source: Daily Record (8 January 2007)
*********************
Scottish pubs lose through ban, says study
THE smoking ban in Scotland has seen a 10% decrease in sales and a 14% fall
in customers in public houses, according to a new academic study published
by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological
Association. The study says that: "The Scottish smoking ban had a negative
economic impact on public houses due in part to a drop in the number of
customers. The short-term impact of the ban did not lead to more customers
coming into pubs due to the smoke-free atmosphere, and presumably did not
lead smokers to spend more money on drink or food instead of smoking."
Source: Herald (6 January 2007)
*********************
NHS smoking ban legal action backed
NHS TAYSIDE staff have voted in favour of legal action in a bid to alter the
ban on smoking in the grounds of local hospitals and other NHS premises.
Extending the ban to include the grounds of NHS premises has been met with
widespread contempt and some members of staff have openly flouted the rules.
Source: Dundee Courier (3 January 2007)
*********************
Summer ban on under-18 smokers
UNDER-18s will be banned from buying cigarettes in Scotland by June, the
Executive has confirmed. Health Minister Andy Kerr launched a consultation
on raising the age at the beginning of this month. But it will now go to
parliament before the election to be rubber-stamped and enforced soon after.
Source: Daily Record (30 December 2006)
*********************
Kerr anger at ban claims
HEALTH Minister Andy Kerr yesterday hit out after pub bosses said the
smoking ban had badly hit trade over Christmas. Kerr saying pubs would
benefit in the long run. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association, who
represent landlords, said the impact had been "as bad as it possibly can
be".
Source: Daily Record (26 December 2006)
*********************
McConnell hails smoking ban
THE first minister has revealed that Scotland's sporting success and its
smoking ban were his 2006 highlights, saying that the date the smoking ban
came into force would be remembered as the day Scotland began to lose its
sick man of Europe tag.
Source: BBC News (24 December 2006)
*********************
Smoking jackets
A PAISLEY pub owner, who was not allowed to put up a smoke shelter because
his pub is located on the junction of a busy main road, has given his
punters an early Christmas present - waterproofs to keep them dry while they
smoke outside. There's no chance they will be pinched because the slogan
"Stolen From The Buddies Bar" is on the back.
Source: Daily Record (22 December 2006)
*********************
Smoking 'snuffs out romance'
MORE than half of Scots would think twice about going on a second date with
a smoker, a study has found. The findings were leapt upon by anti-smoking
campaigners who said they were proof of a growing shift in attitude since
the smoking ban came into force earlier this year.
Source: icLanarckshire.co.uk (21 December 2006)
*********************
Surprise, surprise!
LEVELS of air pollution in Scotland's pubs have dropped by 86% since the
smoking ban was introduced in March, according to new research which is due
to be published shortly. Professor Jon Ayres, who is carrying out the study,
said: "While I believe the smoking ban was always going to benefit workers
more, nevertheless there are some punters who spend a lot of time in pubs
and the chances are they will have benefited as a result."
Source: Sunday Herald (17 December 2006)
*********************
Viagra alert
SMOKERS wanting help to kick their habit have mistakenly been prescribed
Viagra by their GPs. A major computer blunder has led to doctors giving
patients the anti-impotence pill instead of the anti-smoking drug Zyban.
Hundreds of patients are prescribed Zyban in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde
health board area, where the blunder has been uncovered.
Source: Daily Record (13 December 2006)
*********************
Doherty escapes cig fine
ROCKER Pete Doherty will escape a fine despite flouting Scotland's smoking
ban on stage in front of hundreds of fans. Officials said the Ironworks
venue in Inverness would only receive a warning about the incident. But West
of Scotland MSP Stewart Maxwell, whose bill led to the legislation being
introduced earlier this year, has called for the Babyshambles singer to face
prosecution.
Source: Daily Record (12 December 2006)
*********************
Platform for smokers
THE Scottish Executive has confirmed that you CAN smoke on railway platforms
that are not enclosed. Any smoking ban on these areas must be applied by the
railway operating company or Network Rail. In a written answer to Brian
Monteith MSP, the Executive admitted that "It is not an offence under the
Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 to smoke in a structure
that is not wholly or substantially enclosed ... It may, however, be an
offence under railway bye-laws to smoke in any railway station where signs
are displayed which state that smoking is not permitted."
*********************
Ban slashes bingo profits
BINGO bosses have claimed Scotland's smoking ban have slashed their takings
by 15 per cent. Rank, who run Mecca bingo clubs, said admissions were down
six per cent. With the ban about to be extended to England next year, there
are fears that clubs there could follow the Scottish trend.
Source: Daily Record (8 December 2006)
*********************
Shops face cigarette sales ban
SHOPKEEPERS who sell cigarettes to under-age youngsters should be banned
from selling tobacco products, Health Minister Andy Kerr has said. Mr Kerr
indicated his support for the move as he announced a consultation on raising
the age of cigarette sales from 16 to 18.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (7 December 2006)
*********************
Council's 100th smoke ban fine
A SINGLE council has imposed more than 100 fines on people caught flouting
the smoking ban. Renfrewshire Council reached its "century" last week when a
taxi driver at Glasgow Airport was caught smoking in his cab.
Source: Evening Times (5 December 2006)
*********************
Annual check for nation's health
FIRST minister Jack McConnell, has told a World Health Organisation (WHO)
conference in Edinburgh that a public review will take place every year to
monitor the state of Scotland's health.
Source: BBC News (4 December 2006)
*********************
Firm under fire over 'snuff bullets'
A TOBACCO company has been accused of bending Scotland's tough anti-smoking
laws by marketing "snuff bullets" as a healthy alternative. Toque Tobacco is
also under fire after SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell claimed its marketing strategy
was using references to drug-taking to lure young people to its smoke-free
product.
Source: Scotsman (4 December 2006)
*********************
Ban could stub out local clubs
A BOWLING club has had to ditch its annual Christmas treat for lifelong
members after being hit hard by the smoking ban. And the secretary of
Methilhill Bowling Club in Fife believes the club could be out of business
come March as the cold winter months drive more smoking customers away.
Source: East Fife Mail (1 December 2006)
*********************
MSPs pension row
THE Scottish Parliament has been drawn into a fresh row over pension
holdings in tobacco companies when a group of MSPs demanded Holyrood invest
only in ethical firms. There was an outcry earlier this year when it emerged
that MSPs' funds were spread through a range of investments, including
tobacco companies.
Source: Scotsman (30 November 2006)
*********************
Protest to close clubs and pubs
A NUMBER of clubs and pubs in Fife are planning to close to customers for
one night in January to raise awareness of the plight of licensed premises,
which have been losing thousands of pounds since the ban on smoking in
enclosed public places was introduced. A petition to relax the law to
include provision for a well-ventilated smoking room will be handed in to
the Scottish Parliament at the start of the year, with a debate expected
around six weeks later.
Source: Dundee Courier (24 November 2006)
*********************
Medics walk out in ban row
HEALTH workers, furious at the ban on smoking on hospital premises, have
staged a protest at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. About 50 doctors, nurses
and other staff including non-smokers, braved cold weather and driving rain
outside the hospital to stage the protest.
Source: Daily Record (24 November 2006)
*********************
Health convenor condemns age rise
THE Scottish youth parliament has condemned proposals to raise the age for
buying tobacco from 16 to 18, arguing the move would encourage more young
people to smoke. Gayle Campbell, the convenor of the health committee, said
there was evidence that since the smoking ban, more young people were taking
up smoking. And she said they would feel that raising the smoking age was
"taking away their freedom" making them likely to "rebel against this as
well".
Source: Politics.co.uk (23 November 2006)
See also: Issue of the Day/Forest
*********************
Smoking age rise
SCOTLAND is to introduce some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the
world, after ministers backed raising the legal age of buying cigarettes
from 16 to 18. The move follows a report commissioned by the Executive that
also recommends a ban on displaying cigarettes in shops, urging parents not
to smoke in front of children and research into outlawing packs of ten.
Source: Scotsman (23 November 2006)
*********************
Enterprise sells Scottish pubs
ENTERPRISE Inns has sold its entire Scottish portfolio of 137 pubs for £115m
to drinks entrepreneur Robert Tchenguiz. Chief executive Ted Tuppen admitted
the pubs had suffered following Scotland's introduction of a smoking ban.
Source: Daily Herald (22 November 2006)
*********************
Getting tough on doorway smokers
SMOKING enforcement officers in East Dunbartonshire are stepping up their
visits to premises to ensure smokers are not stopping in doorways, hallways
or entrances to shelter from the bad weather.
Source: Evening Times (21 November 2006)
*********************
Kerr gets award
HEALTH Minister Andy Kerr has been named 'The Herald Diageo Scottish
Politician of the Year 2006' in recognition of his work bringing in the
controversial smoking ban in public places. The awards were sponsored by
drinks company Diageo, who say their purpose is to 'celebrate life,
everyday, everywhere'.
Source: Daily Herald (17 November 2006)
*********************
Ban may force club closure
KIRKCALDY'S Gunners Club - one of many working men's clubs and bingo halls
in Fife facing an uncertain future - could be forced to close its doors
because of the negative impact of the smoking ban. Committee members have
set up a Smoking Action Group to lobby the Scottish Executive and want
members of the public to sign their petition for the creation of
well-ventilated smoking rooms in clubs in a bid to bring back business.
Source: Fife online (16 November 2006)
*********************
Call for shops to have tobacco licences
SCOTLAND'S doctors want shops to have licences to sell cigarettes as part of
a crackdown on selling to under-age buyers.
Source: Daily Herald (15 November 2006)
*********************
Ban will "eradicate lung cancer"
LUNG cancer could be virtually wiped out in Scotland as a result of the
smoking ban in public places, according to the chief medical officer. Dr
Harry Burns said lung cancer rates would be reduced to just a few hundred
cases a year in the future. "Anecdotal evidence shows that since the smoking
ban, there has been a surge in the numbers of smokers seeking help to give
up."
However Neil Rafferty of FOREST accused Dr Burns of being irresponsible.
"The evidence from other countries shows that smoking bans have no
significant effect on smoking rates," he said. Secondly, there is no
conclusive evidence that lung cancer is caused by second hand smoke. We
should really expect better of Dr Burns than to go around making such
ludicrous claims."
Source: BBC News (6 November 2006)
*********************
Call for junk food ban
A GOVERNMENT adviser has called for junk food to be banned in public places
to tackle Scotland's obesity epidemic. Professor Annie Anderson says eating
junk food in public should be stigmatised in the same was as smoking.
Source: Sunday Times (5 November 2006)
*********************
Gambling at home
SCOTLAND has been driving the growth in online bingo in the last year since
the introduction of the country's smoking ban. Rank said that some 65% of
bingo players were also smokers, driving business online.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (5 November 2006)
*********************
MSPs invest in tobacco firms
MSPs are to carry on investing in tobacco companies to maximise their
pension fund despite banning smoking in public places. All but two of the
£15m fund's 160 members are current or past MSPs, most of whom voted for the
ban.
Source: Daily Herald (2 November 2006)
*********************
£150 will dodge smoke ban
ACCORDING to a leading QC, the wording of the Smoking, Health and Social
Care (Scotland) Act 2005 is potentially exploitable by simply tweaking the
legal status of the premises. If Sir Crispin Agnew's argument finds a
willing and successful guinea pig, more than 3000 members' clubs could
create their own smokers' sanctuaries for just £150.
Source: Daily Herald (30 October 2006)
*********************
Kennedy gaffe as he lights up in pub
FORMER Lib Dem leader Charlie Kennedy forgot Scotland's most famous law -
and lit a cigarette in a pub while filming a BBC documentary.
Source: Daily Record (28 October 2006)
*********************
Toll on poorest
PEOPLE living in Scotland's most deprived areas are spending £1.3million on
cigarettes every day. Official figures reveal it is the poorest people who
can least afford it who spend the most on tobacco.
Source: Sunday Mail (22 October 2006)
*********************
Hospital ban 'minefield' ahead
THE sight of cancer patients leaving Dundee's Ninewells Hospital for a
cigarette while attached to a chemotherapy drip looks set to continue when
an extension of the no smoking ban to include all NHS grounds comes in to
force on November 23.
Source: Dundee Courier (19 October 2006)
*********************
No smoking in pub doorways
PUB patrons and landlords in Dundee have been warned that they risk being
fined as autumn and winter weather is making it more likely smokers will
seek shelter in doorways.
Source: Evening Telegraph (19 October 2006)
*********************
Wardens feel wrath from smokers
DRINKERS forced to stand outside pubs since the start of the smoking ban are
subjecting Aberdeen's traffic wardens to threatening abuse. It is thought
they are being targeted by people who believe they have been unfairly
penalised by the so-called maroon dragoons.
Source: Press & Journal (18 October 2006)
*********************
Lib Dems won't lift smoking age
CALLS to increase the minimum age for buying cigarettes to 18 have been
rejected as "illiberal" by Scottish Liberal Democrats after speakers pointed
out Lib Dems favoured votes for 16-year-olds, and at 16 young people can go
to war.
Source: Scotsman (16 October 2006)
*********************
Cigarette sales up 5%
CIGARETTE sales in Scotland have risen five per cent despite the smoking
ban. Latest figures show Scots are buying 61,000 more packets of cigarettes
each week than before the ban was introduced in March.
Source: Daily Record (16 October 2006)
*********************
SNP pledges crackdown
NO-ONE under the age of 18 will be allowed to buy cigarettes, drinks logos
will be banned from children's football strips and supermarkets will be
forbidden from selling cheap alcohol if the SNP wins power next May. The
health initiatives are part of a range of tough new policies passed by the
SNP conference, signalling a shift in party policy towards a more
authoritarian approach to alcohol and nicotine.
Source: Scotsman (13 October 2006)
*********************
Ban creates noise nuisance
COMPLAINTS about noisy smokers outside Edinburgh pubs have soared, with city
council staff now logging at least one new complaint every day. A total of
180 complaints have been made in the six months since Scotland's smoking ban
came into force, of which 132 were in the past three months alone.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (11 October 2006)
*********************
Bar staff health
THE health of Scotland's bar staff has significantly improved two months
after the smoking ban, a Dundee University study claims. But Forest said the
link between passive smoking and ill health had not been proven.
Source: BBC News (11 October 2006)
*********************
Workers lose sack appeal
WORKERS at an Aberdeenshire supermarket sacked for breaching company rules
on smoking during breaks have lost their appeal against dismissal. They have
now instructed their lawyers to take the matter to an industrial tribunal.
Source: BBC News (2 October 2006)
*********************
Pubs fear winter
INDUSTRY sources predict that scores of licensed premises, particularly in
rural areas, could be forced to close down as the smoking ban starts to hit
profits. They add that pubs have already started to shut their doors.
As many as 10-15% of the nation's 5200 licensed premises, a sector which
produces a combined revenue of about £1.5 billion a year and is a major
tourism earner, will struggle to stay out of the red this winter if smokers
opt to drink at home. So far, the Scottish Executive has downplayed the
commercial effect of the smoking ban.
Source: Sunday Herald (1 October 2006)
*********************
Battle against litter
SMOKERS in Kirkcaldy are to be given portable ashtrays to try to reduce the
amount of cigarette butt litter that has increased since the smoking ban in
March. Anyone dropping cigarette butts can be ordered to pay a £50 fixed
penalty fine if caught by the council's environmental wardens. Fife Council
has been using the community safety CCTV unit in an attempt to catch
perpetrators in the act.
Source: Fife Free Press (28 September 2006)
*********************
Ban forces pubs to re-think
SCOTTISH community pubs are beginning to either close or change their
customer offer in response to the smoking ban, according to a survey of more
than 3,000 pubs. It found that 19 had closed since the ban began in March.
Source: Morning Advertiser (28 September 2006)
*********************
Smoking ban extension rejected
A BID to extend Scotland's smoking ban to areas outside pubs, clubs and
restaurants has been rejected by MSPs. Councillor Peter Neild, from
Arbroath, Angus, wanted to extend the ban to cover doorways and seating
areas outside non-smoking premises such as pubs, clubs, cafes and
restaurants.
Source: icScotland.co.uk (27 September 2006)
*********************
Kerr hails success of ban
HEALTH Minister Andy Kerr has said the first six months of Scotland's
smoking ban in enclosed spaces and the workplace has been a resounding
success.
Source: Daily Herald (27 September 2006)
*********************
Trade "pessimistic" over future
THE chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association Paul
Waterson, says he is "pessimistic" about how the country's smoking ban will
unfold for the pub trade over the winter months.
Source: Publican (26 September, 2006)
*********************
Doorway smokers risking fines
SMOKING ban enforcers are warning Edinburgh city pubs and clubs they will
not tolerate smokers sheltering in doorways as the weather takes a turn for
the worse. Anyone doing so risks being fined £50 and the venue hit with a
penalty of £200.
Source: Scotsman (26 September 2006)
*********************
Fines in wake of ban
MORE than 200 fines have been handed out for breaches of the smoking ban in
its first six months, according to research. NHS statistics also showed more
than 25,000 people have phoned the official telephone service to help
smokers quit the habit. But publicans warned that the licensed trade will
continue to suffer from the ban, and a Forest spokesman said a partial ban
would have been fairer to smokers and better for business.
Source: Scotsman (26 September 2006)
*********************
Outdoor drinking targeted
POLICE have been asked to patrol Aberdeen licensed premises after concerns
that some people going outside to smoke may be drinking in public illegally.
Source: Evening Express (25 September 2006)
*********************
For and against ban
TRADITIONAL pubs in Inverclyde are struggling to adapt to the smoking ban
with some reporting a drop in takings, while trendy eateries and pubs
serving food seem to stand the best chance of survival.
Source: Greenock Telegraph (23 September 2006)
*********************
Fines for discarded butts
SMOKERS who discard cigarette butts on the streets of Fife will be fined £50
as part of an anti-litter strategy that includes issuing personal pocket
ashtrays and fines to those who fail to use them. An official said cigarette
butts have blighted towns since the smoking ban was introduced. Cigarette
butts being discarded from moving vehicles has also come under the
spotlight.
Source: BBC News (21 September 2006)
*********************
SNP to outlaw cheap drinks
THE Scottish National Party MSP Steward Maxwell - who pioneered the bill
that banned smoking in public places - plans to ban two-for one offers on
beer and wine, free wine with groceries, and promotions on alcoholic drinks
in supermarkets and off licences if the SNP come to power after the Holyrood
election next year.
Source: Sunday Times (17 September 2006)
*********************
Smoking link to classroom environment
A STUDY has found that children who attend Scottish secondary schools where
teachers are unhappy, good behaviour is not rewarded and health education is
less of a priority, are more likely to smoke and drink alcohol.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (17 September 2006)
*********************
Controls on smoking shelter
SCOTTISH Borders Council is invoking new planning guidance, which will
govern all future decisions on shelters, awnings and canopies, after a flood
of applications for smoking shelters from pubs and other licensed premises.
Source: Borders Today (14 September 2006)
*********************
Pubs 'healthier' after ban
A POLL conducted by Cancer Research UK has found that a majority of bar
workers in Scotland think their workplaces are healthier since the
introduction of the smoking ban.
Source: BBC News (11 September 2006)
*********************
Plan to raise smoking age
THE legal age of smoking in Scotland should be raised rise from 16 to 18,
according to a team of experts. Qualified backing has been given from
Forest, which says smoking "is for adults".
Source: BBC News (10 September 2006)
*********************
Pub group pays to counter ban
PUBS group JD Wetherspoon said it has spent an average of £40,000 on each of
its Scottish outlets to combat an 11 per cent slump in profits in the three
months to the end of July, as the smoking ban bit.
Source: Scotsman (9 September 2006)
*********************
Alcohol next
ALCOHOL was confirmed as the Scottish Executive's new public health
battleground yesterday. Andy Kerr, the health minister, told a conference in
Edinburgh that the Executive wanted to take the same lead with alcohol
policies as it did with its smoking ban.
Source: Scotsman (6 September 2006)
*********************
Bingo firms demand rebate
BINGO hall owners are demanding a multi-million pound tax rebate from the
Government to make up for the effect of the smoking ban in Scotland.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (3 September 2006)
*********************
Pubs reeking of BO
PUBS and clubs have been forced to take drastic action to curb an unexpected
consequence of the smoking ban in public places - the poor personal hygiene
of some of their customers. Donald MacLeod, owner of the Garage nightclub,
said that the most effective fragrance to mask the stench of BO and stale
alcohol has yet to be tried: "I personally think there should be nicotine
smells added to the smoke machine - that's the best mask of bad smell there
is."
Source: Sunday Times (3 September 2006)
*********************
Ban hits pubs
SCOTLAND'S smoking ban is hitting pubs and bingo clubs, two companies
reported on Friday, giving investors more clues what to expect when similar
legislation comes into force in England next year.
Source: Reuters (1 September 2006)
*********************
Ban 'is my legacy'
JACK McCONNELL said the smoking ban was the best thing he had done as First
Minister. The reformed smoker shrugged off suggestions the move could be a
vote-loser by the time hardened smokers have spent a freezing winter
sheltering in pub doorways.
Source: Daily Record (1 September 2006)
*********************
'Smoke-easy' lock-ins break the ban
SCOTTISH pubs are breaking the smoking ban by running after-hours
"smoke-easies", where regulars can flout the law and enjoy a cigarette with
their pint. Simon Clark, the director of Forest, said he was not surprised
that some licensees and smokers were finding a way round the Executive's ban
saying such "lock-ins" had started up in Ireland and New York after their
smoking bans were imposed.
Source: Scotsman (29 August 2006)
*********************
Smoking stone cleared
ROLLING Stone Keith Richards won't be hit with a £50 fine for smoking a
cigarette on stage at Hampden Park. An Executive spokesman said that
football grounds were not governed by the law because they are not regarded
as enclosed spaces. And it's understood that the stadium's chiefs have no
interest in taking the Richards case further. Forest said the decision saved
the nation from more embarrassment caused by the anti-smoke laws.
Source: Daily Record (28 August 2006
*********************
Ban crackdown
JUST one Scots council has fined nearly 50 people for flouting the smoking
ban. Most were caught lighting up in a taxi, bus or delivery truck.
Renfrewshire Council said it was "proud" of being seen to be "taking the
legislation seriously".
Source: Glasgow Evening Times (28 August 2006
*********************
Rolling Stone caught smoking!
GLASGOW city council is investigating reports that Rolling Stones guitarist
Keith Richards, smoked throughout a gig at Hampden Park when he played
before thousands of fans on Friday. He could be fined 50 pounds.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (27 August 2006)
*********************
Brewery snubs MP
AN MSP who backs the smoking ban claims she was snubbed by a brewery in her
constituency. Anne Moffat had a request to meet staff on a tour of the
brewery turned down by Belhaven brewery chiefs.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (25 August 2006)
*********************
Pub takings going up in smoke
THE Scottish Licensed Trade Association survey, which showed sales of
alcohol appeared to have fallen by more than 10 per cent since the smoking
ban was introduced, has been reflected in many of north east Fife's pubs
with managers expressing concerns that colder weather is set to drive away
even more customers.
Source: Fife Herald (25 August 2006
*********************
Compensation call
THE chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) says
that his organisation is considering seeking compensation from the Scottish
Executive for its members who have lost business or may have to shut down as
a result of the smoking ban. But anti-smoking campaigners claimed that
predictions of pub closures and massive job losses had not materialised,
while the Scottish Executive urged licensees to exploit marketing
opportunities provided by the ban.
Source: Scotsman (24 August 2006)
*********************
Ban damages pubs
PUBS in Scotland have suffered a 11 per cent drop in trade since the
introduction of a public smoking ban in March, according to the Scottish
Licensed Trade Association. The pub industry association warns that if the
decline continues the future of many small country pubs could be under
threat.
Source: Daily Telegraph (23 August 2006)
*********************
Shops may be forced to hide cigs
CIGARETTES would be sold only under the counter if plans being considered by
Scottish ministers are implemented. Ministerial advisers also want
cigarettes to be sold in plain wrappers. Professor Gerard Hastings, a member
of the Scottish executive's ministerial advisory group for tobacco said the
moves were "the obvious next steps".
Neil Rafferty, a spokesman for Forest, criticised the latest plans as
"ludicrous extremism". "Advisers and politicians need to start respecting
the electorate and treating them like adults," he added.
Evidence from Ireland also suggests that tobacco restrictions can backfire.
After a slump in cigarette sales in 2004, when its smoking ban came in, they
rose by 2% last year.
Source: Sunday Times (20 August 2006)
*********************
Fast food reward for cons
PRISONERS in Glenochil Prison, Clackmannanshire are being awarded bargain
buckets of fast food if they give up smoking. Prison officers have
complained that the scheme is open to abuse reporting that one inmate took
up smoking in order to quit so he qualified for the Kentucky Fried Chicken
meal.
Source: Sunday Mail (20 August 2006)
*********************
No lighting up - but Class A drugs are OK
THE director of a Fringe play has turned one of its famous characters into a
cocaine addict, because Scotland's new laws ban him from smoking on stage.
The director of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead said the play had to
be 'modernised' because smoking was a key characteristic of one of its lead
roles. Rosencrantz will now be snorting the Class A drug to explain his
erratic behaviour, previously put down to his persistent habit of smoking
cannabis. Critics of the ban say it is suppressing artistic freedom and
spoiling some productions where smoking is an integral part.
Source: Observer (13 August 2006)
*********************
Smoking ban blamed as bingo club closes
A GLASGOW bingo club has closed amid fears the smoking ban is driving people
away from the game. The Mecca Bingo at Glasgow Fort in Easterhouse shut down
earlier this week leaving 27 staff facing an uncertain future. The bingo
industry has been badly hit by the smoking ban, which came into force in
March. The blow to Glasgow bingo players comes just weeks after it was
revealed a Glasgow shopping centre had been hit hard by the move towards a
smoke-free Scotland.
Source: Evening Times (10 August 2006)
*********************
Smoke ban wins "huge support", claims council
SUPPORT for Scotland's smoking ban has allegedly soared in Edinburgh since
the law came into effect, a new survey claims. The figures are contained in
a £20,000 study carried out for Edinburgh council during April and May -
around the same time the smoking ban was introduced - and involved
face-to-face interviews with more than 1000 residents. Just under a quarter
of people said they were smokers, with support for the ban higher in the
suburbs than the city centre.
Source: Scotsman (9 August 2006)
*********************
Smith escapes fine for smoking
COMIC Mel Smith has escaped a fine for smoking a cigar out of an Assembly
Rooms window after council chiefs ruled it was a "theatrical gesture".
Smith, who plays Winston Churchill in the Fringe show Allegiance, risked a
£50 fine after the incident, but city officials say it was not a "deliberate
flouting of the law" and will not take action in the "spirit of the
Festival".
Source: Scotsman (9 August 2006)
*********************
Star still under fire for smoking
ACTOR Mel Smith, currently playing Churchill in Allegiance at the Assembly
Rooms, Edinburgh, is facing a new investigation by council officials amid
allegations that during a photocall - when he posed leaning out of his
dressing room window, puffing on a cigar - was against the rules. A
spokeswoman for Edinburgh City Council said that although his head and upper
body were outside of the window, leaning out of a room where smoking is
forbidden.
Source: Edinburgh Evening News (8 August 2006)
*********************
Worker sacked for cig break
A SMOKER has been sacked for having a cigarette outside the paper mill where
he had worked for 23 years. Bosses banned lighting up on the whole 250-acre
site when the clampdown on smoking in public places came into force in
Scotland. The father of one claimed he had to smoke there during his
12-hour shifts because he was not allowed to leave the grounds during his
breaks.
Source: Daily Record (8 August 2006)
*********************
Smith rethink on smoking gesture
ACTOR Mel Smith has pulled back from defying the ban on smoking in public
places during a performance at the Edinburgh Fringe. The star, who plays
Churchill in the play Allegiance, had flouted the ban in a photocall at the
Assembly Rooms and promised to do the same on stage. However, he kept his
Havana cigar unlit on Monday morning. Edinburgh City Council had warned that
it would shut the whole venue should the law be broken.
Source: BBC News (7 August 2006)
*********************
Mel Smith defies smoking ban
MEL SMITH became the first performer at the Edinburgh Fringe to defy
Scotland's smoking ban yesterday. The comedian, who is playing Winston
Churchill in Allegiance, puffed on a cigar while on stage during a photo
call at the Assembly Rooms. He ignored calls from his producer not to light
up.
Smith, who is a cigar smoker off-stage, criticised the law banning smoking
in public places. He said: "It would have delighted Adolf Hitler.
Congratulations, Scotland." He suggested that the audience could be warned
before the show: "A third of a Romeo y Julieta will be smoked during this
performance. If you find that offensive, f*** off."
Brian Gilbert, the show's director, said that he would not intervene if
Smith wanted to smoke. "He hates the ban," he said. A little bit of smoke is
not going to jeopardise people's health. If you're out on the street you get
much worse from the pollution."
One theatre owner told performers that he would support their right to
smoke. Tomek Borkowy, of the Hill Street Theatre, said the ban reminded him
of the censorship he experienced while living in Poland during the Cold War.
Source: The Times (7 August 2006)
*********************
Smith battles council over smoking ban
SMOKING ban enforcers will infiltrate the audience at a fringe production
starring the comedian Mel Smith, who has said he will flout the law by
lighting a cigar on stage. Smith, who is playing Winston Churchill in
Allegiance at the Assembly Rooms, was furious to discover that the Scottish
smoking bill would stop him from smoking a real cigar when he plays
Britain's greatest wartime prime minister.
"If anyone does make a point out of it they are actually doing a disservice
to the anti-smoking lobby," Smith said. "At the moment it [the anti-smoking
lobby] has the moral high-ground. This would make a mockery of that. Bear in
mind that Adolf Hitler hated smoking. That gives you some sort of idea of
what we're working towards."
Source: Sunday Times (6 August 2006)
*********************
Four smokers fined a week
COUNCIL enforcers policing Scotland's smoking ban are handing out fewer than
four fines a week - at a cost to taxpayers of more than £12,000 per penalty.
Local authorities, which have been given £2m a year by the Scottish
executive to enforce the legislation, have handed out just 57 fines since
the ban came into force last March, a survey by the Sunday Times has
revealed. The figures have prompted concern among politicians and health
campaigners, who are concerned that the ban is not being enforced strictly
enough despite the £6m that has been earmarked for enforcement in its first
three years.
Source: Sunday Times (6 August 2006)
*********************
THE number of smokers in Scotland is declining at a gradual but steady rate,
according to the latest figures. Slightly more than one in four of the adult
population now smokes, compared with almost a third eight years ago.
The figures, which are included in the Scottish Household Survey, show that
last year just 26% of the adult population smoked compared to 30% in 1999.
However, it is not yet possible to quantify the effect the ban on smoking in
public places has had on the overall number of smokers, as the latest
figures relate to last year.
Source: Herald (4 August 2006)
*********************
Smoke ban hits pub sales
THE smoking ban is starting to hit pub sales in Scotland, according to a new
report from analysts ACNielsen. On-trade volumes were down 6% in May
compared with the same period in 2005. "I think the evidence is starting to
emerge that Scotland is now seeing some effects of the smoking ban starting
to bite," said ACNielsen consultant Graham Page. "When it was banned - on 26
March - people went to bars to check out what the effects were and that
brought more people into pubs. Pubs doing food in particular held up well.
But we are now starting to see purely wet-led outlets starting to find it
tough."
Source: Morning Advertiser (3 August 2006)
*********************
Smoke ban killing our trade
LICENSEES in Fife are urging the Scottish Executive to scrap the smoking ban
amid claims some premises are heading for financial ruin. Publicans and club
managers have reacted angrily to comments made by NHS Fife last week stating
that the pub trade has not been affected by the ban.
Jim Paul, President of the Fife United Clubs' Association, reacted angrily
to an NHS Fife spokesman's comments that the clubs' concerns were "silly".
He said: "The health board are talking verbal diarrhoea. Obviously they have
never been in a club to see what life is like as we are feeling the bite and
losing up to £2000 a month."
Source: Fife Online (3 August 2006)
*********************
ASH talking "premature nonsense"
TRADE and pressure groups have clashed over the impact of the smoking ban on
Scottish business. Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said:
"The smoking ban has worked for Scotland; our health is improving as a
result - and all without the social and economic meltdown our opponents
predicted."
Moore acknowledged that it was too early to produce definite results, but
added: "All the indicators point to the measure being a great success. It
would also appear that many pubs and licensed venues in Scotland have seen
new customers."
But the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) hit back yesterday,
saying the anti-smoking pressure group was jumping the gun in its reaction
to the impact of the smoking ban as other businesses have reported negative
results. An SLTA spokesman said: "It's still too early to say what's going
on and yet ASH are coming out with these proclamations.
"We think it will take at least a year to be clear on the impact, especially
until winter kicks in. There is still a lot of disquiet among our members.
We maintain there will be more losers than winners. ASH are talking
premature nonsense."
Source: Scotsman (31 August 2006)
NB. "It is essential that campaigners create the impression of inevitable
success. Campaigning of this kind is literally a confidence trick: the
appearance of confidence both creates confidence and demoralises the
opposition." Deborah Arnott, director of ASH, and Ian Willmore, public
affairs manager, writing in the Guardian, 19 July 2006.
*********************
Clubs say ban has stubbed out kids' treat
A GROUP of working men's clubs say they have had to cancel their annual
children's gala because of the smoking ban has crippled their normal
fundraising efforts. However an unrepentant NHS Fife has branded their
claims "silly" and denied that the smoking ban has had any bad effects.
The Fife United Club's Association claims the ban on smoking in public
places has so affected turn-outs that the normal fund-raising talent
competitions may have to be cancelled. And already, fund-raising has been so
badly affected that next year's gala, which would have taken over 500
children on an annual trip to Camperdown Park in Dundee, has been cancelled.
Source: Fife Today (28 July 2006)
*********************
Taxi driver first Fife man to be fined
A GLENROTHES taxi driver has become the first person in Fife to be fined
under new anti-smoking legislation. William Difolco said he was annoyed at
being fined £50 because there weren't any passengers in his taxi at the
time. "The window was down and I had just lit up my cigarette. All the taxi
drivers who smoke are annoyed about this because you can be sitting in your
car for most of the day and there is nowhere to go to have a cigarette. What
are you supposed to do when it's pouring with rain? Where can you go?"
Source: Fife Today (28 July 2006)
*********************
Cigarette litter warning issued
PERTH and Kinross Council environment chiefs have warned that smokers caught
dropping cigarette ends on the street could be hit with a fine. The
authority said the introduction of Scotland's smoking ban has caused an
increase in the number of cigarettes being discarded on pavements.
Source: BBC News (26 July 2006)
*********************
Wetherspoon suffers post-smoking ban dip
PUB group JD Wetherspoon yesterday reported that the stronger performance of
its Scottish outlets following the introduction of the country's smoking ban
has faded. The sites enjoyed a 3.2 per cent sales lift in the first month of
the ban in April, but the following 12 weeks saw a like-for-like sales
decline of 0.3 per cent. The performance mirrors the experience in the
Republic of Ireland, where sales rose initially following the smoking ban
before the industry suffered a downturn in trade.
Source: Scotsman (20 July 2006)
*********************
Ban boosts online bingo
WITH THE recently implemented smoking ban in public places being passed in
Scotland, the bingo halls of Scotland have taken a material knock in
attendance. Online bingo sites have seen a dramatic rise in membership and
revenue as a result.
Since the ban came into effect three months ago, five bingo halls have been
forced to close their doors in Scotland after operators saw takings drop by
over a quarter as players were forced to obey the new no-smoking rules.
However over the last few months, online bingo operators in the UK market,
where players can play AND smoke in the comfort of their own homes have seen
a marked rise in membership.
With the ban on smoking in public places due to be passed in England and
Wales in the summer of 2007, UK based online bingo operators are gearing up
for the increase in revenue.
Source: Casino Times (19 July 2006)
*********************
Fringe director reignites ban row
MINISTERS face renewed pressure to reconsider the on-stage smoking ban for
theatres after the director of the Edinburgh Fringe said he would lobby for
a change in the legislation if performers felt it was harming their work.
Paul Gudgin said: "If a significant number of performers feel the ban is
affecting their work on a creative level, then this is an issue we'll be
obliged to raise again with the Scottish Executive."
Brian Monteith, the independent MSP, said Scotland was in danger of making
itself a laughing stock by its over-zealous ban, which could cause real
damage to the stage and film industries. "In Scotland, so Calvinist and
puritanical are we that the parliament accepted an amendment from Stewart
Maxwell to ban even substitute herbal cigarettes. As if people would go and
act on stage just to get a smoke - it's preposterous."
Donald Gorrie, the LibDem MSP who supported the ban in general but wanted an
actors' exemption, said he would support reopening the issue and making an
amendment but did not think that was likely. He believed supporters of the
ban simply got carried away during the votes in their determination to give
nothing away. "They were going over the top but it may now be difficult to
rescue," he said.
Source: Herald (19 July 2006)
*********************
Smoking ban backlash
A FIGHTBACK against the smoking ban is being launched amid claims it is
killing pubs in the Glenrothes area. Licensees have been invited to a
meeting to discuss the situation next Wednesday. Plans for the talks come a
week after it emerged that a community activist is set to stand on a 'scrap
the ban' ticket at next year's council elections.
Source: Fife Today (19 July 2006)
*********************
Business drivers warned over smoking
TAXI, van, lorry and bus drivers in Fife have been warned of the
consequences of smoking in their vehicles after a Glenrothes taxi driver
became the first person in the region to be fined under new anti-smoking
legislation. He was issued with a fixed penalty notice, the first in Fife,
for smoking in his car - an offence since March when the ban came into
force.
Four enforcement officers have been patrolling businesses throughout Fife to
ensure the ban is being upheld. Although the initial focus in March and
April was on pubs and clubs, very good compliance in these premises meant
the focus moved to industrial estates and business parks. More recently this
has been increasingly focused on work vehicles.
Source: Courier (19 July 2006)
*********************
Fringe show issued with smoke ban warning
A FRINGE show that threatened to defy the smoking ban at this year's
Edinburgh Festival has been officially warned off. Producers of Bill Hicks:
Slight Return, about the famous comedian and heavy smoker who died of
cancer, promised to bring back their show "in defiance of the smoking ban".
In the past the show's star, Chas Early, smoked throughout. Taunting the
audience that they were not allowed to smoke was part of the act.
But this year, Early will step outside the Pleasance theatre for a smoke
while the audience watches a TV projection, the associate producer, Kat
Portman said adding: "It's trying to find a way round what we believe for
the theatre is a ridiculously puritanical law. We're going to have a bit of
fun with it and make a point about it."
Source: Scotsman (11 July 2006)
***********************
Clampdown on taking drinks outside
SMOKERS are to be warned against taking their drinks outside when they step
out of the pub for a cigarette. Council chiefs in East Lothian are to write
to every pub, club and hotel in the region to clamp down on people causing a
nuisance by drinking and smoking on pavements outside bars.
Elsewhere in Scotland, cities such as Glasgow have used bylaws to prevent
drinking on the streets, which have prevented smokers from taking their
drinks outside since the national smoking ban came into effect in March.
Source: Scotsman (4 July 2006)
See also: The Smoking Ban Song
*********************
Bingo hit by smoke ban
FIVE bingo halls have closed since Scotland's smoking ban was introduced in
March, it emerged yesterday. Operators have reported that profits have
slumped by up to 25 per cent as smokers spend more time outside smoking than
inside gaming.
Sir Peter Fry, chairman of the Bingo Association, said: "It is clear that
many clubs will not survive this difficult transition period, with a
resulting closure of many clubs and the loss of jobs and social facilities
for many local communities."
Source: Scotsman (27 June 2006)
*********************
Call to raise smoking legal age
DOCTORS' representative body BMA Scotland has renewed its call to increase
the legal age to buy cigarettes from 16 to 18. Health Minister Andy Kerr
said it was an "interesting" suggestion but he ruled out action until a
wider public discussion on the issue. Mr Kerr said his gut feeling was there
was a need to further "de-normalise" smoking and increase efforts to prevent
under-16s from buying cigarettes.
Source: BBC News (26 June 2006)
*********************
Groups say Scotland smoke ban a success
TWO new surveys by health campaigners say the Scottish smoking ban has
improved trade and lured new customers to pubs three months after the
stub-out. But trade leaders say it is too early to tell the impact of the
ban.
The ASH Scotland survey uses comments from trade spokesmen, quoted in
newspapers, to show that predictions of job losses and a fall in trade by
the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) were "wide of the mark".
Meanwhile, a survey of 1,026 adults by Cancer Research UK found that 24% of
customers said they are more likely to visit pubs now they are smoke-free.
Just 10% would go less often.
Kit Fraser, chairman of Scotland's anti-smoke ban Publican Party, questioned
any survey based on anecdotal evidence on trading figures. He called Cancer
Research's survey "vague" and said it is too early to assess the true impact
of the ban.
Source: Morning Advertiser (26 June 2006)
*********************
Pub trade 'not hit' by smoke ban
A QUARTER of Scots are likely to visit pubs more often now public places are
smoke-free, according to a survey. The Cancer Research UK poll also found
that 10% of the 1,000 over-18s surveyed were less likely to visit a pub
since the ban came in three months ago. The charity said the net result
indicated the smoking ban would not lead to losses for the pub trade.
Paul Waterson, of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said it was far
too early to tell whether business was up. "How organisations like Cancer
Research, from the pro-lobby group in the run up to the ban, can suddenly
become experts on the licensed trade - they should stick to their own area,"
he said.
Source: BBC News (25 June 2006)
*********************
Police raise smoking ban concerns
DUMFRIES and Galloway Police have raised a string of concerns about the
impact of the smoking ban. Despite a relatively low level of complaints from
the public, area commanders say a number of issues have arisen about
policing the ban. Increased noise and drinking outside pubs, litter problems
and aggressive behaviour towards passers-by are cited as areas for concern.
Source: BBC News (15 June 2006)
*********************
Workers sacked for taking smoking break
SEVEN supermarket workers in the north-east have been sacked - for smoking.
The employees of Morrisons in Inverurie lost their jobs after they were
caught on CCTV having a cigarette break during the night shift. Staff are
not allowed to smoke anywhere or leave the building unattended.
Night manager Stuart Shepherd, 28, who lost his job, said the decision had
been harsh. He said night staff are effectively unable to leave the building
for 11 hours, unlike the day shift. "As the manager, it's my responsibility
that company policies are upheld," he said. "But I would do it again because
I think it's unfair to expect you to be locked up for 11 hours and not smoke
if you are a smoker."
Source: Press & Journal (12 June 2006)
*********************
Churchill's cigar stubbed out by smoke ban
HE MAY have saved the country from Nazi occupation but even Winston
Churchill is not exempt from the tentacles of political correctness. Because
of the ban on smoking in public places, Britain's greatest wartime prime
minister will be without his trademark cigar when he is portrayed on stage
at the Edinburgh Fringe festival later this year.
"He was a serial cigar smoker and it is known that he is always puffing. It
is very hard to simulate smoking," said Brian Gilbert, director of the play.
"I do think that the ban is ridiculous. It's staggering that it won't be
allowed on stage."
Source: Sunday Times (11 June 2006)
*********************
Medical sites to extend smoking ban
SMOKING could be banned on the sites of all Highland hospitals and medical
centres under plans unveiled yesterday. Medics called for the blanket ban
after it emerged that just 714 people attended a smoking-cessation programme
last year. That was less than half the 2,000 smokers NHS Highland had hoped
to help stop in 2005-06.
Board chairman Garry Coutts said he supported an outright ban at all
hospital sites. "It is the only way forward," he said. "We have too many
people in Highland and Argyll who are continuing to smoke and we must
continue our efforts to have smoking de-normalised."
Source: Press and Journal (7 June 2006)
*********************
Next target: pavement cafes and beer gardens
PETER Nield, a councillor in Angus, plans to petition the Scottish
parliament to give local authorities the power to extend the smoking ban to
footpaths, pavements and beer gardens.
"It is extremely unpleasant for non-smokers, including children, who have to
walk through thick clouds of smoke on their way to a pub, or who are unable
to sit outside to eat or in beer gardens because they are full of smokers,"
he said.
Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association
said it was ridiculous to suggest that people shouldn't be able to smoke
outside. "I think it is the ultimate aim of the health lobby, but I also
think it is nonsensical to start saying that people outside are going to be
in danger from second-hand smoke."
Source: Observer (4 June 2006)
*********************
Hotel group drops legal action
THE UK's largest pub and hotel firm has dropped its legal challenge to
Scotland's smoking ban because there is little chance of success.
Alan Bowes, executive chairman of London and Edinburgh Swallow Group,
announced last year that he hoped to persuade the courts that smoking should
be allowed to continue in special clubs. The plan would have included staff
being members of the club to ensure workplace rules were not broken.
He said: "We will no longer be pursuing our legal challenge against the
Scottish smoking ban. The ban is now in place and unfortunately there is
very little that we can do to change this, despite all our best efforts. It
might be something we will look at taking to the European courts, but we
have not investigated that yet."
Source: Scotsman (3 June 2006)
*********************
Fire sparks fear over smoking ban safety
A SMOKER forced outside by Scotland's smoking ban has been blamed for
starting a fire which forced a bar to be evacuated. The bar owners believe a
customer who ignored ashtrays fixed outside and stubbed his cigarette out on
the shutters was responsible for the fire.
A Scottish Licensed Trade Association spokesman warned of the fire risks
posed by the smoking ban and urged licensees to be vigilant. He said: "One
of the problems that we're seeing from Ireland is an increase in fire safety
concerns, not only in licensed premises but outside as well. It's something
we're aware of. There is a problem with people gathering outside premises
and flicking ash and cigarette butts away."
Source: Evening News (1 June 2006)
*********************
Unfairly sacked for smoking
A PIZZA delivery driver fired for smoking at the back door has been awarded
£4,000 compensation for his unfair sacking. Joseph Boyle complained he was
unfairly dismissed by Domino's Pizza last December. A Glasgow tribunal
agreed because he had never been told that he couldn't smoke at the back
door of the premises and awarded him £4,000 compensation.
Source: Scotsman (24 May 2006)
*********************
Ban brings new problems
SCOTLAND'S smoking ban has been hailed as a great success in
Clackmannanshire, but officials are now facing the problem of discarded
cigarette ends. The local authority is now having to crack down on the
number of cigarette ends left lying at the doors to premises such as pubs
and cafes. The council warned that anyone caught littering faces a £200
fine.
Source: BBC News (23 May 2006)
*********************
Writer attacks Scotland's "nanny state"
SCOTLAND has become an inward-looking and slightly Anglophobic country since
devolution, according to an article in the Economist magazine. Author Johnny
Grimond said politicians at Holyrood governed "like teenagers on an
allowance". He claimed the Scottish Executive had been "slow to tax, quick
to spend and even quicker to ban". The author also said the ban on smoking
in indoor public places fell into the "nanny-state" category.
Source: BBC News (18 May 2006)
*********************
Hotel boss slams Scots smoke shelter rules
LONDON & Edinburgh Swallow Group boss Alan Bowes has slated Scotland's
approach to smoking shelters. He said: "Now the legislation has been brought
out in joined-up writing, smoking shelters are only allowed to have two
sides - which makes it hard if you want to build a lean-to." Bowes, who
fears England may follow Scotland's example, said: "The whole thing has been
a shambles...In Ireland 12% of pubs shut following the ban and I cannot see
we'll be that different."
Source: Morning Advertiser (18 May 2006)
*********************
Smoking ban hits bingo giant
THE UK's largest independent bingo operator, Scottish-based Carlton Bingo,
has put all expansion plans on hold as it takes stock of the smoking ban.
Its managing director, Peter Perrins, said the ban, which came into force on
26 March, had an immediate impact on trading at its Scottish halls, where
most of its operations were based.
Source: Scotsman (17 May 2006)
*********************
Smoking ban affects pub chain
THE 139 Enterprise Inns licensees in Scotland have seen wet sales and
machine income drop marginally compared to the company's pubs elsewhere
since the introduction of the smoking ban at the end of March. Chief
executive Ted Tuppen revealed that like-for-like sales at his Scottish pubs
are still positive but not as strong as elsewhere in the estate.
Source: Morning Advertiser (16 May 2006)
*********************
Motorists to be fined for smoking
DRIVERS who light up behind the wheel are to be fined £60 in the latest
clampdown on smoking. Transport chiefs believe drivers taking their eyes off
the road while finding and lighting cigarettes is responsible for killing
and injuring hundreds of people a year, but pro-smoking groups say it is
part of a campaign against them.
A recent study by Spanish researchers suggested smokers are twice as likely
to have a car accident as non-smokers. Now smoking is set to be listed
alongside eating, drinking and reading maps as potentially lethal
distractions in next year's version of the Highway Code. Drivers who smoke
will face on-the-spot fines of £60, similar to those caught using a mobile
phone.
The offence will fall within Department for Transport regulations requiring
motorists to have "proper control" of their vehicle at all times. The move
was welcomed by road safety campaigners and motoring organisations.
But Neil Rafferty, the Scottish spokesman for FOREST, said: "The government
is using every agency and bureaucracy available to it to marginalise smokers
and force them into quitting. They have done it in pubs and restaurants, now
they are going to do it in cars. This is an over-reaction and is very much
part of an ongoing campaign against smokers."
Source: Scotsman (15 May 2006)
*********************
Pavement smoking banned dropped
LICENSEES in Arbroath are breathing a sigh of relief after a proposal to
enforce the no smoking ban at pavement tables was deemed unenforceable by
Angus Council's legal department.
The idea had been mooted by Arbirlot and Hospitalfield councillor, Peter
Neild, three weeks before the nationwide ban on smoking in public places
came into force on 26 March. At the time he said it was unpleasant for
non-smokers to have to walk through clouds of smoke on their way into public
premises.
However, at a meeting on Thursday, the council was told that it has no legal
powers to introduce a ban on pavements. Law director Catherine Coull Coull
explained that the national legislation does not extend to open spaces and a
tobacco ban could not be introduced under the Roads (Scotland) Act either.
However, Councillor Neild was not satisfied and plans to take the matter to
the Scottish parliament.
Source: Arbroath Today (5 May 2006)
*********************
Call for ban on tobacco sales to under-18s
A BAN on cigarette sales to people aged under 18 is likely to become the
next step in Scotland's crusade against smoking. A group set up to examine
the problem of teenage smoking is expected to recommend raising the legal
age for purchasing all tobacco products to 18.
Maureen Moore, the chief executive of Ash Scotland and a member of the
expert group, said: "Smoking is far worse than drinking. I am in favour of
the ban on under-18s being able to buy cigarettes as part of a whole tobacco
control strategy. If you raise the age, you are sending out a powerful
message about the danger of tobacco and bringing it in line with the
restrictions on the sale of alcohol."
Source: Scotsman (1 May 2006)
*********************
Smoking will not be tolerated on stage
SMOKING by actors on stage will not be tolerated in Scotland, despite moves
to relax new anti-smoking laws south of the border. The Scottish Executive
yesterday confirmed it would not be making any exceptions. A spokesman
added: "The reduced use of cigarettes in theatre performances and films will
also help to end the status of smoking as an acceptable, sociable activity."
Source: Herald (28 April 2006)
*********************
Economic effect of ban mixed
LEISURE group Rank has warned profits are under pressure following the
introduction of a Scottish smoking ban. Three weeks into the ban, entries to
its Mecca Bingo halls in Scotland had fallen, as had spend per head, in the
16 weeks to 16 April, the company said.
Meanwhile pub chain JD Wetherspoon reports a rise in sales in its Scottish
pubs despite the introduction of the smoking ban in March. In the 13 weeks
to April 23, Wetherspoon recorded a 3.2% increase in like-for-like sales -
which exclude the effect of new openings - compared with a decline of 2% a
year ago.
"Since 26 March 2006, our non-smoking pubs in Scotland have had a positive
start, helped by a heavy marketing campaign and Easter occurring in April
compared with March last year," the company said in a statement.
Sources: BBC News, Guardian (26 April 2006)
*********************
10-packs next to be stubbed out?
PACKETS of 10 cigarettes are set to be banned in the Executive's latest
attempt to crack down on smoking. A panel of Scottish Executive appointed
experts is to recommend to ministers that packs of fewer than 20 cigarettes
should be barred from shops because they encourage children to take up the
habit. But the move has already provoked a backlash with claims that it
shows that ministers are being over-zealous and "persecuting" those who
refuse to give up tobacco.
A spokesman for FOREST, the smokers' rights lobby group, said: "This sounds
utterly pointless. The best way to tackle smoking among children is properly
to enforce the laws on selling cigarettes to children which are very clear
and which we all know are there. Children are not supposed to be buying
cigarettes, they are not allowed to. The number of people prosecuted for
this is derisory. Banning packets of 10 will only take away choice from
adult smokers. The best way to deal with this is get tough on traders
selling to children."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (23 April 2006)
*********************
Theatre manager threatens to defy the ban
A FRINGE venue manager is to defy the ban on smoking on stage because he
believes it is an "interference with art". Tomek Borkowy, who gave up
smoking ten years ago, runs the Hill Street Theatre at the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe. His pledge to defy the "censorship" of the smoking ban
follows the threat by playwright John Byrne that he would block performances
of his plays in Scotland because of it.
"In the Hill Street Theatre, in the bar, smoking will be banned, but not on
the stage," said Mr Borkowy. "I came from Poland, and fought all my life any
kind of censorship. For me, this is a part of censorship, because as a
director I cannot have the freedom to show Princess Margaret with a
cigarette, Churchill with a cigar, Sherlock Holmes with a pipe. This is
inconceivable."
The manager of Edinburgh's Underbelly venue, Ed Bartlett, said: "We are all
in the same boat and we have to deal with it." But he added: "Banning it on
stage seems slightly excessive."
The theatre and comedy producer David Johnson said: "The ban is ludicrous,
it's pathetic, frankly. You can show sex on stage but you couldn't show them
smoking afterwards."
Source: Scotsman (19 April 2006)
*********************
Passive smoking: prison officers in revolt
PRISON officers are threatening to stay out of cells because of the cancer
risk from passive smoking. Under current rules, inmates' cells are exempt
from the legislation as they are considered to be private residences.
However, guidelines advise officers to ask prisoners to extinguish their
cigarettes and then wait "two or three minutes" until the smoke clears
before entering the cell.
The unrest has prompted prison unions to contact the Health and Safety
Executive, the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland and the
anti-smoking group Ash Scotland to ask for tests to be carried out in jails
to determine how long toxins stay in the air after a cigarette is put out.
Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: "This is a legitimate
concern that the prison service have to deal with. Prisons should be making
sure they are moving towards being as smoke-free as possible."
However, Neil Rafferty, the Scottish spokesman of pro-smoking group FOREST,
said the fears over passive smoking had become "obsessive" and "hysterical".
He added: "The evidence on the dangers of passive smoking is very, very
thin. If prison officers think they are going to be doing serious damage to
their health by spending a few minutes in a cell each day, then they have
been very badly misled by the anti-smoking extremists."
Source: Sunday Herald (16 April 2006)
*********************
Smoke ban 'may have boosted trade'
SCOTLAND'S pubs have not suffered any significant drop in trade since the
smoking ban came into force, a leading consumer group and prominent trade
figure have claimed. Meanwhile, the Scottish Licensed Trade Association will
not comment on the impact on trade until three months have passed. And
Patrick Browne, chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association,
whose members account for 1500 of the 5200 licensed public houses in
Scotland, said that it too will wait until assessing the impact of the ban.
Source: Herald (11 April 2006)
*********************
Smokers ordered: stay out of doorways
SMOKERS in the Shetland Isles are being warned that if they smoke in pub
doorways they are breaching the new ban. Shetland Islands Council's
environmental health department spokesman Maggie Dunne said smokers needed
to be reminded that smoking in pub doorways, where there is a roof and walls
on either side, was breaking the ban. She said once the softly-softly
settling in period has passed, smokers will be fined for smoking in these
areas as well.
Source: Morning Advertiser (10 April 2006)
*********************
Smoking foster carers to lose kids
TWO foster carer couples are to become the first to be banned from looking
after children for refusing to give up smoking. The couples, both from
Dundee, have defied new rules introduced by the city council that ban
smokers from adopting and fostering children unless they agree to keep their
homes smoke-free.
Source: Sunday Times (9 April 2006)
*********************
Ban hits Scots pub takings
SOME Scottish pubs have seen takings crash by 50% since the smoking ban came
into force nearly a fortnight ago, highlighting the potential impact of a
ban south of the border. The leisure industry is watching Scotland's
experience closely for clues but early indications have been mixed.
Sophisticated city-style bars with outside space and strong food offerings
say takings have risen slightly since the ban while more old-fashioned
drink-led pubs appear to have suffered.
Source: Evening Standard (7 April 2006)
*********************
Football fans sign up to beat fags ban
SATELLITE firm Setanta Sports have seen at least 10,000 more football fans
sign up for their SPL package since the smoking ban came into force. It's
thought many nicotine-addicted Hoops fans have decided to watch their team
from their own homes, rather than travel to pubs, where smoking is banned.
Source: Daily Record (5 April 2006)
*********************
"We live in very strange times"
ACTOR Simon Callow became one of the first to observe the effects of the new
smoking ban in Scotland during a performance of Present Laughter by Noel
Coward at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh. Starring as Garry Essendine
opposite Lysette Anthony as Joanna Lyppiatt, he warned the actress as she
went to light a cigarette, "Are you sure you should be doing that? Someone
might come and arrest you." Anthony duly held the cigarette close to the
flame without actually igniting it. "We live in very strange times," Callow
concluded, before reverting to the original script."
Source: The Stage (4 April 2006)
*********************
Restaurant manager fined
ALMOST 60 premises were found flouting the smoking ban in Glasgow during the
first week of the new law. Glasgow City Council issued ten warnings and one
fixed penalty fine of £200 was imposed on a restaurant manager because of
smoking on the premises. Environmental protection officers visited 387
premises and found the most common fault to be a lack of signs. They also
voice concern about litter.
Source: BBC News (4 April 2006)
*********************
Bars' profits "down 10%" due to smoking ban
SCOTLAND's new smoking ban has wiped out more than 10% of trade in some
bars. One week on, publicans are reporting a slump in takings as drinkers
who smoke are choosing to stay away rather than do without cigarettes.
Source: Scotttish TV (2 April 2006)
*********************
Macca kicks off at smoking ban
SCOTTISH football legend Frank McAvennie is the latest victim of Scotland's
smoking ban after being turfed out of a hotel for lighting up. Celtic and
Scotland hero Macca was ushered outside by staff after he lit up inside the
bar of Glasgow's Hilton Hotel. He blasted, "It's like living in bloody
Russia. Who are these wee dictators who think they can tell you what to do?"
Source: Scotttish TV (2 April 2006)
*********************
New breed of refugees breaks for the Border
THE BAN on smoking has created a new breed of refugees, with a number of
dedicated smokers going over the border to English pubs so they can continue
to enjoy a fag with their pint.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (2 April 2006)
*********************
Playwright boycotts Scots theatres over ban
ONE OF Scotland's leading playwrights will refuse to allow his plays to be
performed in Scotland because the characters cannot smoke on stage. John
Byrne, author of the BAFTA-award winning comedy Tutti Frutti, claims the
Scottish Executive smoking ban is a form of censorship.
Source: Scotsman (2 April 2006)
*********************
Pub and bookmaker fall foul of ban
ONLY one local council was forced to take action during the first 24 hours
of Scotland's ban on smoking in public places. Warning letters will be
issued to a public house and a bookmaker's - both in Renfrewshire - where
the law was flouted. Neil Rafferty of Forest urged planning departments to
allow pubs to easily erect external shelters for smokers.
Source: Herald (28 March 2006)
*********************
Smokers urged not to smoke in the home
SMOKERS in Glasgow are being urged to extend the nationwide smoking ban in
public places to their own homes. A project in the city's east end has seen
50 people sign up to make their homes smoke free since December.
Source: BBC News (27 March 2006)
*********************
Scotland begins pub smoking ban
A BAN on smoking in public places - including bars and restaurants - has
come into effect in Scotland. It is being hailed as a step forward for
health but critics say it will cost jobs and infringe human rights. More
than a fifth of smokers in Scotland plan to flout the ban, which came into
effect overnight, a poll by BBC Five Live suggests.
Scottish spokesman, Neil Rafferty, said: "The ban will do nothing to improve
the health of the nation, but it will give a warm glow to those who enjoy
telling others what to do. The anti-smoking fanatics will use the ban to
victimise and stigmatise smokers even further."
Source: BBC News (26 March 2006)
*********************
Rebel smokers 'will flout new ban'
MORE than a fifth of smokers in Scotland plan to flout the new ban on
lighting up in public places, a survey reveals. The poll, commissioned by
BBC Radio Five Live, also found that smokers in their teens and early 20s
were most likely to ignore the new legislation and that men were more likely
to break the law than women.
Source: Sunday Express (26 March 2006)
*********************
'Final straw could force me to quit Scotland'
JOHN BYRNE, the celebrated writer and artist, is considering leaving
Scotland because of the introduction of a smoking ban in public places.
Byrne, who is best known for his Slab Boys trilogy and Tutti Frutti, said
that the Scottish Executive's decision to ban smoking in theatres and on
film and television sets was the "final straw" in his growing
disillusionment with Scotland's governance, which has left him in a state of
"despair".
Source: Sunday Times (26 March 2006)
*********************
Cigarette girl Carmen hit by smoking ban
CARMEN, the femme fatale of Georges Bizet's world-famous Sevillian opera,
will go cold turkey with the rest of Scotland's smokers when she arrives in
theatres this May. "Carmen is set in a cigarette factory, and she's a
cigarette seller, so normally smoking would play quite a part in the opera,"
said the production's technical director Steve Green. Carmen's predicament
will be the first in what is expected to be a long line of similar problems
for retellings of classic stories, with television and film sets also deemed
to be enclosed working spaces.
Source: Sunday Herald (26 March 2006)
*********************
Now they're targeting your living room
PARENTS who pledge not to smoke at home will be rewarded with a chance to
win gift vouchers under a scheme to protect children from second-hand smoke.
Andy Kerr, the health minister, has backed the scheme in Glasgow amid fears
the ban on smoking in public places will lead to children being exposed to
more cigarette smoke at home. The move follows a report by University
College London that banning smoking in pubs, restaurants and other public
places will expose children to significantly higher levels of cigarette
smoke.
Source: Sunday Times (26 March 2006)
*********************
Smokers face being barred
DRINKERS face being barred from nearly 20 Edinburgh pubs for up to three
months if they light up after the smoking ban comes into effect on Sunday. A
group of licensees in Leith have banded together to help enforce the
legislation through a new Pub Watch scheme. Under the initiative, smokers
caught having a cigarette in any of their pubs risk being banned from all 18
premises. Their names and descriptions would be added to a shared blacklist
under the tough approach, which gets under way on Monday.
Source: Scotsman (25 March 2006)
*********************
Ban provokes rush for shelters
ALMOST 300 businesses across Scotland have applied for shelters, canopies or
beer gardens in 2006 as the commercial sector makes last-minute alterations
in the run-up to the smoking ban. Council officers have recorded at least
287 applications for beer gardens and "semi-rigid" structures, including
canopies and specially designed smoking shelters, in the run-up to the ban -
and the number is rising rapidly.
Source: Scotsman (25 March 2006)
*********************
Passive smoking low on worry list
PASSIVE smoking is not among the main health concerns of more than four in
five Scots despite the smoking ban coming into effect this weekend, a survey
has revealed. Research by Legal & General Healthcare found that 82% of those
who compiled a list of health concerns omitted passive smoking from the top
three.
The Legal & General Health Uncovered Index shows that passive smoking falls
behind lack of exercise (51%), sleep deprivation (45%) and hospital
cleanliness (23%) on the list of Scots' top health worries.
Source: icScotland.co.uk (24 March 2006)
*********************
MSP seeks even tougher measures
THE MSP whose efforts paved the way for the ban on smoking in public places,
which comes into effect on Sunday, has urged ministers to introduce further,
tougher, measures against tobacco products. Stewart Maxwell, the SNP
spokesman on public health, called in parliament yesterday for a fresh raft
of measures. These included raising the purchase age to 18; more
prosecutions of retailers who flaunt the law; eradication of advertising in
shops; and plain packaging for cigarettes except for colour photographs
showing the damage they cause.
Source: Herald (24 March 2006)
*********************
Bingo, pubs, at front line of smoking ban
BINGO operators and pubs are seen bearing the brunt of Scotland's smoking
ban from Sunday, as smokers crack open a beer or two at home and some bingo
players miss games for cigarette breaks.
Some pub industry executives say their internal calculations factor in a 20
percent decline in revenues immediately after the ban, and bingo operators
say lucrative games run during intervals between the main bingo sessions are
at risk.
Source: Reuters (24 March 2006)
*********************
Ban problems 'expected'
FIRST ministet Jack McConnell minister expects the early days of Scotland's
smoking ban to be fraught with problems. Jack McConnell has urged officers
enforcing the ban to go softly at first - advising and warning - rather than
slapping down fines. He said he expected the ban would bed down, due to
widespread public support. The Scottish Executive is providing councils with
more than £6m over three years to help enforce the ban, including recruiting
additional environmental health officers.
Source: BBC News (23 March 2006)
*********************
Jack says take it easy on smokers
FIRST minister Jack McConnell has urged the smoking police to go easy when
the ban comes into force. The First Minister called for "sensitive" policing
of the all-out ban on smoking in pubs, restaurants and all public places.
Maureen Moore, chief executive of ASH Scotland, said: "Once Scotland goes
smoke-free on Sunday, we will very quickly see the benefits to the country's
health. Now is not the time to rest on our laurels but is in fact the time
to move forward on this issue."
Source: Herald (24 March 2006)
*********************
Blundering bosses' cig ban
A MOVE to ban smoking at bus shelters in Glasgow has backfired on transport
bosses. Strathclyde Passenger Transport put smoking ban stickers on bus
stops in some of the city's busiest streets. But many shelters are exempt
from the ban because the law only applies to structures, which are more than
50% enclosed.
The stickers claim it is an offence to smoke in the shelters and give a
number, linked to an answerphone service. City MSP Sandra White said urging
people to report smokers took snooping too far. She said: "This is another
example of how unworkable this legislation is when people think they can
target someone smoking in the open air." A spokeswoman for the city council
confirmed it would not be enforcing a ban at open bus shelters.
Source: Evening Times (23 March 2006)
*********************
Dundee ban gloom
ONE OF Dundee's longest serving publicans today claimed the smoking ban due
to come into force on Sunday will "decimate" the city's licensed trade.
David Young, of the Marquee pub, said scores of jobs would be lost and pubs
would be forced to close their doors for good as people stayed away in
droves from the city's hostelries.
"It will be the biggest blow the licensed trade has ever suffered," he
predicted.
Mr Young said he was basing his gloomy forecast on a trip last week to
Dublin, a city he has been visiting for years. He said he could not believe
the "disastrous" effect the ban has had on pubs in the Irish capital.
Already, the trade has seen 11,000 job losses and 600 pubs have closed.
Source: Evening Telegraph (23 March 2006)
*********************
Butt end of litter fines
SMOKERS have been warned against discarding cigarette butts on Edinburgh's
streets after the number of fines for dropping litter doubled to four a day.
A hit squad of 32 environmental wardens have toughened their approach over
the past year, with the vast majority of fines handed out for dropping
cigarette ends on the street. With groups of smokers set to gather outside
pubs, clubs and restaurants from next week, it is expected many more people
will soon be punished for throwing their used cigarettes on the ground.
Source: Scotsman (23 March 2006)
*********************
Warning of ban "disaster"
SCOTS pub landlords face tough times ahead as they prepare for smoking to be
banned in bars and nearly every other indoor workplace this weekend, an
Irish licensed trade chief has warned. More than a hundred Scottish Licensed
Trade Association (SLTA) members met for the organisation's annual
conference in North Queensferry. Tadg O'Sullivan, chief executive of the
Vintners' Federation of Ireland, told them the two-year-old ban in the
Republic had been an "absolute disaster" for publicans, resulting in 600
closures and 12,000 mainly full-time job losses.
Source: icScotland.co.uk (21 March 2006)
*********************
Superstore night workers fuming
SUPERMARKET workers have been left fuming after being told they will not be
allowed cigarette breaks throughout ten-hour nightshifts once Scotland's
smoking ban comes into force. Staff at Morrisons stores are not allowed to
leave the premises during their nightshifts for security reasons. Smokers
currently have a room set aside they can use during breaks but, after
Sunday, it will be out of bounds.
Source: Evening News (21 March 2006)
*********************
Warnings on the cards
THOUSANDS of beer mats warning smokers about the risk of being hit with
fines for dumping cigarette butts in public are to flood Edinburgh bars and
nightclubs. The city council has printed around 100,000 of the mats, which
will also appear in hotels, cafes and restaurants, in a bid to reinforce the
warning that dropping cigarette butts in the street is illegal. The beer
mats also spell out how smokers can expect to be hit with a £50 spot fine if
caught dropping a butt in public.
Source: Scotsman (18 March 2006)
*********************
Enforcement officers to go undercover
ENFORCEMENT officers are to go undercover in pubs and bingo halls to catch
people flouting Scotland's smoking ban which starts next Sunday. Edinburgh
City Council says its officials will dress in "civvies" to spy on customers
to ensure the ban is being enforced. In extreme cases, they will follow
smokers home if they refuse to give their names so legal action can be
taken.
Officers will look for signs of "smokers' activity" such as ashtrays and the
smell of smoke and follow up tip-offs left on a dedicated website. The
Edinburgh team will operate on a 24-hour basis, 365 days a year, with
officers who deal with noise complaints which peak late at night being
shifted to pubs in the early evening.
Simon Clark, director of the smokers' rights group FOREST, said enforcement
officers would be better employed catching "real criminals". Scotland is in
danger of creating a police state which must be very worrying to the
majority of sane-minded people. The whole smoking ban is more about
self-promotion for the Scottish Parliament and very little to do with the
welfare of people in Scotland."
*********************
Coundown continues
WEST Lothian Council is taking the final steps to make sure everyone takes
heed of the impending national smoking ban. Environmental Health and Trading
Standards offers have been given the task of enforcing the ban and 29
officers will have the power of entry to carry out inspections and take
samples. Members of the public can also register complaints if the smoking
ban is not being observed.
Source: West Lothian Courier (17 March 2006)
*********************
Undercover 'smoke police'
SCOTTISH police will not enforce the smoking ban but council workers will go
on undercover James Bond style missions to catch offending puffers. With the
Scottish smoke ban due to come in on 26 March, Fife Council is still
recruiting for its enforcement officers' posts but the local police say they
won't fill the gap.
Source: Morning Advertiser (15 March 2007)
*********************
Bars mount £85 million claim
SCOTTISH bars are planning an £85m compensation claim against ministers to
cover drink sales lost as a result of the smoking ban. The Scottish Licensed
Trade Association has appointed lawyers to prepare a case that will be
launched a few months after the ban comes into effect at the end of this
month. Pubs and clubs predict their takings will fall by at least 7% and
will argue in the Court of Session that the Scottish Executive should
provide compensation to cover lack of consultation and last-minute changes
to the law.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (12 March 2006)
*********************
Smoking could be banned outdoors too
SMOKERS in Angus, Scotland could find their options for lighting up becoming
restricted, not just indoors - but outdoors as well. Councillors are keen to
give the forthcoming smoking legislation more bite by preventing certain
seating areas outside pubs and cafes from becoming "nicotine dens".
Source: Evening Telegraph (10 March 2006)
*********************
Confusion reigns
WITH only two weeks until the Scottish smoking ban arrives, confusion still
reigns over which type of outdoor facilities pubs will be allowed to offer.
According to Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade
Association, there is still uncertainty as to what will be permitted by
local authorities. "We are still trying to find out what will be allowed and
what won't," he said.
Source: Publican (9 March 2006)
*********************
Grass a smoker
EVERY household in Scotland is to receive a leaflet with a hotline number to
grass up premises allowing rogue smoking. Scottish ministers hope the
hotline will help them police the ban.
Source: Morning Advertiser (8 March 2006)
*********************
Smoking to be banned in playparks
SMOKERS will be forced to stub out cigarettes in parks under new rules in
Scotland's largest city. The ban, the first of its kind in Scotland, will
forbid lighting up where children play in Glasgow. Once the rules get the
go-ahead, signs will go up in every council play area to alert smokers. A
spokesman for FOREST condemned the rules, claiming they were "petty". He
said: "I don't think there's any evidence to suggest adults smoking in parks
encourages kids to start smoking."
Source: Scotsman (1 March 2006)
***********************
MSPs accused of hypocrisy
SCOTTISH parliament bosses have been accused of hypocrisy after they created
a special smoking zone for MSPs and staff. Part of the courtyard of historic
Queensberry House, which is used as an entrance for visiting dignitaries,
has been set aside as a 'designated smoking area' complete with bins for
cigarette ends. The move comes less than six weeks after the Scottish
Parliamentary Corporate Body trumpeted its decision not to go ahead with a
smoking shelter in the same location.
Source: Evening News (24 February 2006)
*********************
Smokers threatened with fines
PUBS in Edinburgh are to be provided with 10,000 reusable ashtrays to
prevent smokers who go outside for a cigarette throwing their stubs on
pavements. Smokers have been warned they face being fined both inside and
outside premises by the city's environment wardens when the ban comes in.
Source: Scotsman (24 February 2006)
*********************
Staff fag break fury
TAYSIDE Health bosses want to ban staff from smoking anywhere on an NHS
site, including private vehicles. It now seems likely that smokers will have
to drive to the nearest supermarket car park or other non-NHS site for a
smoke.
Source: Evening Telegraph (23 February 2006)
*********************
Alcohol consumption expected to rise
ALCOHOL consumption in the home is expected to rise in Scotland in the wake
of the smoking ban, as off-licences and supermarkets prepare for a surge in
sales for takeaways. Drinking in the house is likely to increase from 26
March, when consumers will be unable to smoke in bars and restaurants.
Alcohol campaigners say a shift towards greater consumption of beer, wine
and sprits at home could exacerbate Scotland's drink problem. And opponents
of the ban claim it would also increase the risks of passive smoking as
smokers light up at home rather than in pubs.
Source: Scotsman (21 January 2006)
*********************
Ban sends club boss overseas
JAMES Mortimer, the millionaire nightclub owner, is shelving plans for
expansion in Scotland because of a ban on smoking in public places. Mortimer
says Scotland has become a "nanny state" and blames ministers for new
legislation that is driving people out of business.
"Everybody I speak to is depressed and people like me don't think we'll be
here in a few years," he says. "I'm not against people eating in smoke-free
restaurants, I just think there should be places where people can choose to
have a cigarette. The trouble with (politicians) is (once elected) they only
go to invited places, they're not going to the local pub, so they change
their outlook on life."
Source: Sunday Times (15 January 2006)
*********************
Bar staff on drontline
BAR AND restaurant staff in Edinburgh are to be told they will have to play
the leading role in enforcing Scotland's smoking ban despite fears they will
face torrents of abuse. But Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish
Licensed Trade Association, said putting bar workers on the frontline of
policing the ban left them in a difficult situation. "Licence-holders should
not be held responsible for enforcing bad laws. People agree with putting
out drunk and disorderly people, but this will be very difficult to
enforce."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (5 January 2006)
*********************
Tobacco crackdown continues
SCOTTISH council workers could be banned from smoking outdoors under a
tobacco crackdown. Road workers, gardeners and street sweepers face the ban
because "they are doing themselves harm on the company time," guidelines
say. The 50-page report says outdoor workers should face a ban because they
are harming themselves and giving their employer a bad reputation. The
guidelines were compiled with the backing of COSLA, who represent Scotland's
councils. Anti-smoking pressure group ASH helped draft the advice.
Source: Daily Record (2 January 2006)
*********************
Ban may extend outdoors
SCOTLAND is to have some of the world's most draconian anti-smoking laws
after ministers agreed measures to extend the proposed ban outdoors, to
public parks, play areas and outside school gates. Guidelines will advise
councils to apply the ban to any area where children are likely to gather.
Several local authorities, including Dundee, East Renfrewshire and North
Lanarkshire, are already preparing to extend the ban outdoors. The Scottish
Executive said its guidance was not mandatory and councils could determine
their own smoke free policies.
Source: Sunday Times Scotland (1 January 2006)
*********************
One in smokers support ban, Executive claims
ONE IN three smokers support new legislation that will outlaw lighting up in
public places, figures have revealed. The number of smokers who support the
move has gone from 19% to 33% in just three months. The statistics were
revealed in the latest of a series of surveys commissioned by the Scottish
Executive to measure support in the run up to the ban being brought in March
next year. An increasing amount of smokers believe it will help them give
up, with 14% saying they thought the ban would encourage them to quit in
August, compared to 6% in May.
Source: Daily Mail (16 November 2005)
*********************
Submarines exempt from smoking ban
SCOTLAND's workplace smoking ban will not apply to submarines at sea, the
Scottish Executive has revealed. Workers are set to be allowed to light up
in designated smoking rooms on Navy subs and refuelling vessels following a
request from the Ministry of Defence.
Source: BBC News (15 November 2005)
*********************
Executive publishes ban guidelines
PUBS offices and other public venues have been told to contact the police if
they face any trouble from people resisting Scotland's smoking ban. The
advice is contained in a detailed guide issued by the Scottish Executive
giving instructions on how to enforce the ban when it comes into effect next
year. The smoke-free guidance, covered on www.clearingtheairscotland.com,
includes advice on checks, penalties and employer responsibilities.
Source: Scotsman (8 November 2005)
*********************
Hotel launches action against smoking ban
SCOTLAND's largest hotel chain is planning to launch the first legal
challenge to the Scottish Executive's smoking ban ahead of its introduction
next year. The Swallow Group, which runs 60 hotels and 120 pubs across
Scotland, is preparing legal action arguing that the ban, set to become law
next March, is in breach of human rights.
Source: Scotsman (3 November 2005)
*********************
Pro-choice publican wins 'Licensee' award
INVERNESS publican-turned politician Don Lawson has been voted 'Licensee of
the Year' by the Scottish Licensed Trade News (SLTD). In this year's general
election, Lawson waged a high-profile campaign as a candidate for the
Publican Party formed to oppose the ban on smoking in Scottish pubs. SLTN
managing editor Patrick Duffy said Mr Lawson was a worthy winner. "The
smoking ban is a controversial issue, of course, but Don was willing to take
on a major challenge in order to put forward a view that is supported by
many in the licensed trade."
Source: Inverness Courier (1 November 2005)
*********************
Call to raise legal age to 18
THE legal age for buying cigarettes should be raised to 18, a politician is
to argue. MSP Duncan McNeil will meet with experts from the Channel Island
of Guernsey - where upping the minimum age for buying tobacco has halved the
number of young smokers. McNeil says that Scottish ministers can raise the
legal age for buying tobacco with an amendment to the Smoking, Health and
Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005.
Source: Press Association (15 September 2005)
*********************
Council bans cigarette breaks
ONE of Scotland's biggest employers has outraged smokers by banning all
cigarette breaks during office hours and threatening disciplinary action
against anyone who breaks the rule. Highland Council's 12,000 staff - a
quarter of whom are estimated to be smokers - have been told traditional
"fag breaks" are a thing of the past and lighting up can only be done
"outwith their contracted hours".
Donald Findlay QC, the pipe-smoking defence lawyer, condemned Highland
council's plan as another over-the-top attack on smokers. He said: "The last
time legislation as Draconian as this was brought in was when a little man
with a small moustache was marching around Europe invading countries. The
way smokers are being treated is quite disgraceful."
Source: Scotsman (4 September 2005)
*********************
Student protest
STUDENT leaders at Glasgow University are to fight a campus-wide smoking ban
scheduled for the start of the new term. Glasgow University Union and the
Queen Margaret Union, which both run their own bars, believe it will damage
business, saying it would lose them much needed revenue as students would go
elsewhere.
Source: Glasgow Herald (2 September 2005)
*********************
Penalties for Scottish smokers
A SNEAK puff on a fag by a smoker will attract a £50 penalty when the ban on
smoking in public places in Scotland takes effect next spring. But the
biggest fines will be handed out to employers and business proprietors who
do not make their 'no smoking' signs obvious enough. Failure to display
approved signs prominently will result in a £200 fixed penalty.
Source: Courier (29 August 2005)
*********************
Ban left brewery 'open to bids'
BELHAVEN chief executive Stuart Ross has hit out at the Scottish Executive
for failing to properly consult the business community on a smoking ban in
public places. He insisted the ban, which is expected to reduce earnings for
pub and restaurant operators in Scotland, had made Belhaven a takeover
target as it sparked uncertainty over future earnings. "I always thought the
smoking ban could signal the end of Belhaven as an independent company,"
said Ross.
Source: Sunday Herald (28 August 2005)
*********************
Grass hotline
SCOTTISH ministers are to set up a hotline to encourage people to report
illegal smokers as part of their ban on lighting up in public places. The
so-called "clipe line" has been backed by the Executive as a way of
enforcing the ban on smoking in enclosed public places that MSPs passed
earlier this year. Neil Rafferty, Scottish spokesman for FOREST, said the
new phone line would turn Scotland into a "nation of grasses". He said: "To
encourage people to tell tales is a really sad development. A 'clipe line'
is about turning us against each other. This is about victimising smokers
and making them feel bad about themselves. Not everyone is a health freak."
Source: Sunday Herald (28 August 2005)
*********************
Scottish 'celebrities' support ban
A NUMBER of Scottish 'celebrities' are supporting plans to ban smoking in
enclosed public places. The Scottish Executive has revealed that actor Brian
Cox and TV presenters Lorraine Kelly and Gail Porter back the ban.
Simon Clark, director of FOREST, said hundreds of actors and musicians
supported the arguments against a ban, including Antony Worrall Thompson,
artist David Hockney and musician Joe Jackson. But he admitted the
organisation was finding it hard to encourage Scottish celebrities to speak
in favour of the pro-choice movement. "Possibly the anti-smoking agenda is
so strong in Scotland that smoking celebrities are keeping their heads down,
which is a shame."
Source: BBC News Online (19 July 2005)
*********************
Smoking ban to cost jobs, say publicans
PUB landlords have claimed that the smoking ban, which will become law in
Scotland next March, will cost 7400 jobs. They predicted a £100 million fall
in revenues in the first year based on evidence from Ireland, where a ban is
already enforced, and the closure of 130 medium-sized pubs.
Neil Rafferty of FOREST, said MSPs had ignored public opinion. "Throughout
this debate MSPs and ministers have ignored reasonable alternatives to an
outright ban that would have given everyone a choice. Instead they have
misled the public with dubious statistics and ludicrous scare stories about
the risks of passive smoking."
Source: Evening Times (1 July 2005)
*********************
Smoking law approved by MSPs
MEMBERS of the Scottish Parliament last night brushed aside the arguments of
the tobacco and licensed trades and voted overwhelmingly to outlaw smoking
in public places from 26 March next year. From then, it will be illegal to
smoke in pubs, clubs, restaurants and all enclosed places open to the
public. After MSPs had voted for the ban by 97 votes to 17 with one
abstention, the first minister said: "This legislation is one of the most
important decisions that has been made since devolution. It is a decision
that shows we are determined to change Scotland for the better.
Brian Monteith, spokesman for the Conservatives, claimed a total ban was
disproportionate and the new law would make it illegal to portray smoking
even on soap operas. Neil Rafferty. of the smokers' rights lobby group
FOREST, said: "This is a very sad day for Scotland. It is a massive assault
on freedom of choice. All along we have been pursuing solutions which would
have addressed the concerns of people who do not wish to be exposed to
tobacco smoke, while ensuring some element of choice for everyone."
Source: The Herald (1 July 2005)
*********************
Scots now back ban, say ministers
A STUDY shows 56 per cent of Scots are in favour of the controversial
Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Bill. Ministers say it is the
first time since the action was proposed last year that more than half the
population has backed the move. The study, conducted by Market Research UK,
found one in three Scots said they opposed to the ban, with 11 per cent
undecided.
Source: Daily Record (27 June 2005)
*********************
STAGE PROTEST: Scottish theatre managers and actors are making a last plea
to exempt the theatre from the bill to outlaw smoking in public before MSPs
vote on it later this week. "There are so many plays where smoking is an
integral part of that period," Lorne Boswell, spokesman for Equity, said.
"To take that out for a piece of political correctness is not what the bill
is all about, which is about improving health. We support that. But I don't
think an actor puffing away on a cigarette on stage would damage anyone's
health."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (26 June 2005)
*********************
MSPs have backed a move to raise the minimum age for buying cigarettes and
tobacco from 16 to 18. The amendment to the Scottish Executive's Bill to
outlaw smoking in public places will become law if approved when the Bill
returns to the full Parliament.
Source: The Courier (15 June 2005)
*********************
Smoking ban get-out clause
BRIAN Monteith MSP, a former FOREST spokesman, is set to try to change the
Executive's smoking ban Bill to let pubs and other licensed premises with
modern ventilation systems escape the tough new curbs on lighting up in
public. He hopes premises meeting strict air quality conditions can be
excluded from the outright ban, under an amendment he has tabled.
Monteith said he hoped to make the Bill less "draconian", claiming the
proposed air quality exemption was similar to schemes operated in Japan and
Italy.
Source: Evening News (14 June 2005)
*********************
No shelter in a storm
PUBLICANS and licensed trade operators have expressed dismay after
Scotland's largest council effectively prohibited the use of canopies or
outdoor shelters - dubbed 'smokeooteries' - to get round the proposed
smoking ban. Glasgow council officials said they would cause a number of
planning problems. Douglas Martyn, managing director of Crystal Canopies,
said: "This is absolutely ridiculous. The legislation is designed to protect
non-smokers, not persecute smokers."
Source: Herald (10 June 2005)
*********************
Publican backs smoking ban 'opt-out'
A LEADING Aviemore pub boss has given a cautious welcome to a plan that
could see some bars opting out of next year's smoking ban. A new amendment
proposed by MSP Margo MacDonald, would give licensing boards the power to
grant smoking permits to a limited number of bars.
Don Lawson, owner of Johnny Foxes pub in Inverness, stood as a candidate for
the Publican Party in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey at last
month's General Election, in a bid to stub out the new law. He said of the
new move: "It is a large step in the right direction. The lack of
consultation on this makes me think they must be now listening to the
industry out there. We must be doing something good for this even to be
considered."
Source: Strathspey and Badenoch Herald (10 June 2005)
*********************
Anti-smoking links weakened case
THE judge who threw out a widow's landmark legal claim that a tobacco giant
was responsible for her husband's death said unreliable witnesses undermined
her case. In a damning criticism of the lawyers who acted for Margaret
McTear, Lord Nimmo Smith said key witnesses' links with anti-smoking groups
damaged her legal action's chances of success. He said: "All the expert
witnesses for the pursuer [McTear] were or had been connected in some way
with ASH [the anti-smoking group] and were clearly committed to the
anti-smoking cause."
Lord Nimmo Smith was particularly scathing about the evidence of Professor
James Friend, whose past connections with ASH included being acting chairman
and an executive committee member of the anti-smoking group. The judge said
Prof Friend had been giving evidence to further a health cause. "He did not
meet the criteria that would qualify him as an independent expert witness on
which the court could rely to give a balanced view on the issues in this
case."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (5 June 2005)
*********************
Brewer shapes up for a ban
BELHAVEN, Scotland's biggest independent brewer, is planning to spend £2m on
rebuilding its pubs to comply with the smoking ban, which is due to come
into force next year. Changes range from new beer gardens to free-standing
branded ashtrays designed to withstand the worst Scottish weather.
Belhaven is expected to add between 150 and 200 pubs to its estate over the
next five years. Alan Millar, an analyst at Arbuthnot Securities, said the
smoking ban could make the company's job easier: "If pub prices were to fall
on the back of trading fears, this could present an opportunity to pick up
desirable properties at a lower price."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (5 June 2005)
*********************
Doctor: hospital smoking ban 'cruel'
A GLASGOW GP has called for patients in the city's hospitals to be allowed
smoking rooms, claiming it is "patently cruel" to force invalids to go
outside for a cigarette.
Dr Colin Guthrie, who works as a family doctor in the Scotstoun area of the
city, has said that patients who are smokers should be allowed to smoke just
as heroin addicts are prescribed methadone and drug users are given needles.
Guthrie, who has been a GP for 21 years, said: "I have seen patients outside
on a freezing cold day in a wheelchair with a cigarette in one hand and a
drip in the other arm from a portable stand. This is not civilised, it is
extremely cruel."
Neil Rafferty, Scottish spokesman for FOREST, said: "At last some sense on
this issue. Being in hospital is stressful enough without being banned from
smoking. And sending ill people out into the cold so that they can light up
is, frankly, rather sick. Providing a smoking area for patients, not to
mention the stressed-out staff, is a sympathetic and civilised solution."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (10 April 2005)
*********************
MSPs choose to ignore the evidence
CAMPAIGNERS against the Scottish Executive's plans to ban smoking in public
places have condemned MSPs after it emerged that only one Holyrood member
turned up for a debate on the proposals being held in a hotel right next
door to the parliament.
An audience of more than 100 licensed trade representatives, local
councillors and health officers met at the MacDonald Holyrood Hotel to hear
environmental and research experts discuss the ban. But Brian Monteith, a
former spokesman for FOREST, was the only MSP there.
Jack Irvine, spokesman for Against an Outright Ban, said: "Had MSPs bothered
to walk a few hundred yards to the Holyrood hotel on Thursday they would
have heard themselves and the Scottish Executive being accused of ignoring
scientific evidence and public opinion on the issues surrounding the smoking
ban proposals for Scotland."
Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association,
said: "I am disappointed that the Executive continues to ignore the voice of
the people and research findings into ventilation."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (16 January 2005)
********************
SLTA call for compromise on public smoking
THE Scottish Licensed Trade Association yesterday said they have a
compromise which can protect the industry and their customers. They said
they would ban smoking at the bar in all licensed premises. Cigarettes would
also be banned where and when hot food was served. No-smoking areas would be
phased in - rising from 30 per cent of floor space to 50 per cent over three
years. And licensed premises would display their smoking policy at the
entrance.
A conference in Edinburgh, organised by the SLTA, heard that what the public
really wanted was efficient ventilation and designated smoking and
no-smoking areas. SLTA spokesman Paul Waterson said the drinks trade had
offered the Executive a viable alternative to a blanket ban but it had been
"ignored". He added: "Ventilation can protect staff and customers from
passive smoking but we need a measured approach or our trade will be dealt a
very serious blow."
Steve Stotesbury, a scientist who works for Imperial Tobacco, said he was
not convinced the ban would save any lives. He said the risk factor
attributed to passive smoking by studies was less than that for problems
linked to mobile phone use, diesel exhausts and breast implants.
Source: Daily Record (14 January 2005)
**********************
Majority of Scots support choice
TWO THIRDS of Scots believe that pubs and clubs should be able to
accommodate smokers, according to a survey for the smoking lobby group
FOREST. Although the poll found that a majority of Scots supported new
smoking legislation, when people were quizzed in more detail they were
opposed to "sweeping proposals that would leave smokers nowhere to smoke in
public".
Scottish FOREST spokesman Neil Rafferty said, "Our research shows that the
Scottish public overwhelmingly believes that people should be allowed to
smoke in some public places," he said.
"Scots support a reasonable, rational, middle way, and when questioned in
more detail are opposed to the sweeping proposals that would leave smokers
nowhere to smoke in public, not even in a separate, well ventilated smoking
area within pubs, bars or members' clubs."
The poll was conducted by Populus, which interviewed 1,000 people earlier
this month. When they were offered choices other than a blanket ban, 66%
said that pubs, bars and clubs should be able to accommodate smokers.
Two-thirds of those surveyed said they thought it should be up to licensees
rather than politicians to determine their own smoking policy. More than 75%
of those questioned said that people have the right to smoke in public as
long as they do not inconvenience non-smokers.
Source: BBC Online (13 January 2005)
********************
Tories challenge First Minister to public debate
SCOTTISH Conservative leader David McLetchie has challenged First Minister
Jack McConnell to a public debate over the Executive's proposed ban on
smoking in public.
McLetchie offered to argue the Smoking Bill at a social club in Mr
McConnell's Motherwell and Wishaw constituency.
He said he wanted to ask Mr McConnell why Scotland was not adopting the less
severe smoking curbs proposed down south. A Scottish Executive spokeswoman
said: "Ministers are aware they face a challenge but remain determined to
press ahead."
Source: Evening Times (3 January 2005)
*********************
Smoking bill published
THE Scottish Executive has published its new Smoking Health and Social Care
Bill. The first official definition of "enclosed premises" includes
everything from supermarkets to office, universities, colleges, pubs,
restaurants and even private clubs. Working men's clubs, traditionally
bedrocks of Labour support, and Royal British Legion clubs will be hit by
the ban. Upmarket members' clubs such as the Hallion and the Scotch Whisky
Society will also be affected.
Health Minister Andy Kerr today shrugged off the threat of a legal challenge
and said that around £1 million will be given to councils to allow them to
recruit more environmental health officers to enforce the ban. Pub licensees
and others who fail to enforce the law could face fines of up to £2500.
Persistent smokers who defy a ban could be fined up to £1000.
No exemptions have been given to the ban, but some exceptional cases are
expected to be drafted into the Bill. These may include prisons, care homes
and hospices - in effect, public buildings which are also private homes from
home.
Source: Evening News (17 December 2004)
*********************
Only one in six Scots favour smoking ban
ONLY ONE in six Scots think there should be a total ban on smoking in pubs,
clubs and workplaces. That is the conclusion of the Scottish Executive's own
opinion poll, which formed part of their consultation into attitudes on
smoking. It shows that, of the 50% of those who supported a ban, more than
two thirds wanted to see exemptions for pubs and clubs.
Yesterday at Question Time Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie accused the
First Minister of "grossly exaggerating" the level of support for a total
ban in public places. "Instead of flaunting this issue like some kind of
political virility symbol, will the First Minister listen to the widespread
concerns that his proposals will actually lead to more people exposing their
children to smoke at home and cost thousands of jobs in Scotland's
hospitality industry," he said.
McLetchie compared Mr McConnell's plans with those announced this week by
his Labour colleague John Reid, the health secretary for England. "The
measures proposed down south are a good deal more reasonable and balanced
than proposed up here," he said.
Source: Courier (19 November 2004)
*********************
Today's the day
FIRST Minister Jack McConnell will today announce a total ban on smoking in
public places. The new law, to be introduced in 16 months, will cover all
pubs, restaurants and workplace smoking rooms. Labour MSPs threw their
weight behind a total ban during their weekly meeting yesterday. Ministers
also considered a new scientific report which suggested 70 Scots per year
die from passive smoking in the workplace.
Yesterday, the pub trade and pro-smoking groups mounted a last-ditch fight
against the move. Publicans have warned 30,000 jobs will go as drinkers stay
home and business plummets. Simon Clark, director of smokers lobby group
Forest, said: "Tobacco is a legal product and there are a great many people
who choose to smoke and don't want to give up. It is unreasonable that they
should be banned from smoking in all indoor public places."
Source: Daily Record (10 November 2004)
*********************
Scottish smokers face fines of £3,600
SCOTTISH smokers who light up in pubs and restaurants face fines of up to
£3,600 each. It is understood that ministers will make smoking in public
places an offence punishable by fines up to a maximum of £3,600. This would
apply both to those who smoke in pubs and to licensees who allow patrons to
light up on their premises. The penalty would be far harsher than in
Ireland, which introduced a ban on smoking earlier this year, where the
maximum penalty stands at 3000 or £2,093.
A spokesman for Against an Outright Ban, the umbrella group representing
licensees, last night hit out at the severity of the proposed fine. He said:
"If the government introduces a blanket ban on smoking in public places,
including in licensed premises, then clearly it will be unpopular. To impose
fines of £3,600 for both the licensee and the offender seems draconian,
particularly when you compare it with fines which are imposed on thugs and
yobs who brandish weapons or on people who are putting lives at risk by
reckless driving," he added.
A spokesman for the Conservatives said: "The government doesn't seem to be
able to grasp the basic point that making smoking a criminal offence is not
the way to deal with this. It is an attack on civil liberties. A voluntary
code is by far the best way to proceed."
Meanwhile new polling data, commissioned by the Scottish Executive, reveals
the majority of the public are opposed to a ban on smoking in pubs. Only
half of those polled believe a ban should be imposed, and among those who
do, a large proportion believe pubs should be exempted.
Source: Scotland on Sunday (7 November 2004)
*********************
Businessman to fund smoking ban revolt
A SCOTTISH businessman is to bankroll a campaign against Jack McConnell's
proposed ban on smoking in public places.
Dennis Coppola, the managing director of Edinburgh-based electrical retailer
Scott Coppola, said he will use his personal fortune to challenge the move,
the details of which will be announced this week. Coppola, a smoker, has
also threatened to close down his business, which employs 50 people, and
move abroad, if the ban is introduced.
"I have never done anything like this before, but we're talking about all
our liberties being taken away," he said. "This is about the nanny state.
Death and taxes are inevitable, but people's freedom of choice must be
maintained. Over the years our liberties have been taken away from us one by
one at the behest of politicians, allegedly for our own good, and in common
with the silent majority I have taken this on the chin. After smoking what
will be next?
"It beggars belief that the government is making it nigh on impossible for a
person to smoke in civilised surroundings on the one hand and yet on the
other is taking in billions of pounds in tax from the very same activity. If
it feels so strongly about this surely the principled stance would be to ban
smoking totally."
Source: Sunday Times Scotland (7 November 2004)
*********************
Executive to announce decision
THE Scottish Executive will decide next week whether or not to introduce
curbs on smoking in public places in Scotland.
The decision will be made at next Wednesday's meeting of the Scottish
Cabinet, it has been confirmed. First Minister Jack McConnell is said to be
very keen to move very swiftly once agreement is reached, in terms of
legislation.
Executive sources say that while smoking curbs along the lines being mooted
in England could not be entirely ruled out, Scottish ministers were likely
to go for "more radical" options. "We are keeping an eye on what's happening
down south but in terms of how we react up here the First Minister has made
it clear he will do what's best for Scotland," the sources said.
Officials point to differences between Scotland and England in terms of the
number of deaths from smoking. They also point out that instituting a ban
only where food is served would not be the best solution in Scotland where
only about 50 per cent of pubs serve food compared with nearly 90 per cent
of the pubs in England.
Sources: BBC Online, The Times (4 November 2004)
*********************
War on smoking ban
BREWING giants and pub chains are gathering a 'war chest' to challenge a ban
on smoking in bars and restaurants.
It is understood a £50,000 fighting fund has already been raised, with
leading firms such as Belhaven and Tennent getting involved. The fund is
being managed by the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, which lobbies on
behalf of the licensed trade. The trade is furious at the way the
consultation on the ban on smoking in public places has been carried out,
accusing Mr McConnell of having made up his mind long before all views had
been gathered. Gordon Miller, of the SBPA, said "We agree the status quo is
not an option but believe smoke-free areas are the way forward."
Source: Evening Times (7 October 2004)
*********************
McConnell on his own
JACK McConnell has been told by the Westminster government that he will have
to go it alone if he wants to introduce a blanket ban on smoking, the
Scotsman reports. Scottish ministers believed that the Westminster
government was going to introduce a similar measure for England and Wales
and that a Scottish ban would be the precursor for a general ban throughout
the rest of Britain. But it has now emerged that John Reid, the Health
Secretary, has vetoed the idea and decided not to introduce a blanket ban
for England.
The First Minister will announce proposals in November for an outright ban
on smoking in public places in Scotland but the Scotsman says the Health
Secretary's decision leaves Mr McConnell in a "much more precarious position
than he had hoped to be in".
Source: Scotsman (29 September 2004)
*********************
All right, Jack
SMOKING in pubs, restaurants and workplaces now appears "almost certain" to
be banned in Scotland under new laws expected to be unveiled later this
year. The ban could be in place by the end of 2006 after Jack McConnell,
Scotland's First Minister, said yesterday that he was impressed by the
prohibition of smoking in public places in the Irish Republic.
McConnell, speaking after a meeting with Michael Martin, the Irish Health
Minister, said: "I am certainly more convinced now that at the very least
something approaching an all-out ban is enforceable, practical and desirable
in Scotland."
The First Minister confirmed that an announcement would be made by Scottish
ministers before Christmas on what kind of smoking ban would be enforced in
Scotland. He said the only thing he had ruled out was doing nothing.
Pro-smoking groups criticised McConnell's visit to Dublin. Simon Clark of
the Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco said: "If
the Scottish Executive's public consultation exercise is anything to go by,
Jack McConnell's visit will be a complete charade. He will no doubt meet
lots of people who think the ban is a good thing ‹ but will he take the
trouble to meet businessmen who are suffering financially or representatives
of those who think the Irish legislation has gone too far?"
Source: The Times (1 September 2004)
*********************
Aberdeenshire council supports smoking ban
ABERDEENSHIRE councillors have backed a blanket ban on smoking in enclosed
public places. In response to the national consultation document from the
Scottish Executive, they voted 16 to 11 in favour of the introduction of the
new legislation. Newmachar councillor Martin Ford said: "It
(passive-smoking) is the biggest cause of preventable death and this is the
logical step to solving the damage this does to society."
However, there were some members who disagreed. Kinellar councillor John
McGregor, a non-smoker, said: "We should recognise that smokers have rights
as much as anyone else." He called for the response to exclude public houses
and bars, where he believed smoking should be allowed, but his motion was
refused by five votes.
Peterhead councillor George Barnes said he supported the council's response
but was slightly concerned about agreeing to an outright ban. "We are moving
towards not giving any choice to people and if we are not careful, we will
create a monster that will not do any good to anyone at all. All you will
get is smokers staying inside at home and not communicating with the wider
community."
Source: Press and Journal (27 August 2004)
*********************
Room for improvement
SCOTS politicians have sparked a row after admitting they have a smoking
room in the new parliament building. Anti-smoking campaigners have blasted
the move, insisting MSPs at the £430 million building in Holyrood should be
encouraging Scots to kick the habit. Maureen Moore, chief executive of Ash
Scotland, insisted that MSP smokers should be given patches and gum to help
them give up, rather than encouragement to continue. "Smokers should be
provided with some replacement therapies such as nicotine chewing gum or
patches. The smoking facilities offer absolutely no encouragement for
smokers to quit a habit which kills over half its users and 13,000 people in
Scotland every year."
Source: Evening News (5 August 2004)
*********************
Cancer specialists call for public smoking ban ...
CANCER specialists at a leading Scottish hospital have written to First
Minister Jack McConnell demanding a ban on smoking in public places.
Professor Alan Rodger, medical director of the Beatson Oncology Centre,
which serves the west of Scotland, said, "There are patients who have the
cancers commonly associated with tobacco and the only exposure the patient
has had is to passive smoking." He added: "There is no doubt if someone is
less likely to be able to strike up a cigarette that will be one or two or
three or four or five less cigarettes that they will smoke ... This way we
are also saving the smokers."
However, Paul Waterson, chief executive of the Scottish Licensed Trade
Association, said pub trade in Ireland and New York had been damaged by
bans. The association is calling for laws which would gradually bring in
no-smoking zones in pubs and other venues until 50% of floor space was
tobacco free. It also backs legislation for smoke-free areas wherever hot
food is served and a ban on smoking in staff rooms.
Source: The Herald (29 July 2004)
*******************
Second that motion ...
BRIAN Monteith (former Scottish spokesman for FOREST) has called for
Scottish licensees' rights to be recognised in the fight against a smoking
ban. The Conservative MSP has tabled a motion to the Scottish parliament
calling for landlords to have the right to decide the smoking policy in
their own pubs. Monteith, who represents mid Scotland and Fife, said: "The
people best placed to know how to run pubs and assess how to accommodate and
meet their customers' needs are the local landlords. Publicans bear a heavy
responsibility in dispensing alcohol and that is why they are able to turn
anyone away that they don't want to serve."
Source: The Publican (12 July 2004)
*********************
Sam's your man for smoking ban
FORMER Scottish health minister Sam Galbraith says that the Scottish
Executive should move quickly to ban smoking in public places. He said it
should also consider laws to tackle alcohol abuse and obesity. Galbraith
told BBC Scotland's Sunday Live that giving health advice would only work to
a certain extent and sometimes "nanny state" legislation was needed.
Source: BBC Online (11 July 2004)
*********************
McCabe said to favour smoking ban
THE Scottish Executive could be poised to ban smoking in all of Scotland's
7,500 pubs and bars. According to Scotland on Sunday, deputy health minister
Tom McCabe wants to introduce a draft bill by the end of the year that will
include the country's 5,100 pubs and 2,400 hotel bars in a smoking ban.
First Minister Jack McConnell, who has been sceptical about a ban, has now
made it known he is "open to persuasion".
A source close to McCabe, who is steering the Executive's consultation on a
possible smoking ban, said last night: "Although he is waiting for the end
of the consultation he is very much of the view that there should be a ban
on smoking in pubs and restaurants."
The Executive's change of heart is said to have been influenced by the
smoking bans in New York and Ireland which are said to have met with less
resistance than expected. Brian Monteith, a Tory MSP who is sceptical of the
arguments for a ban, said: "The evidence from New York is inconclusive at
best. And no one should base any decisions on the evidence from Ireland.
Anecdotal evidence shows that Irish smokers are heading to Scotland for
smoking holidays." Monteith appealed for backers of the bill to allow
smoking clubs to be set up even if a ban goes ahead.
Simon Clark, director of FOREST, said: "This ban is about politics, and the
need to be seen to be doing something, rather than about health. We believe
there should be changes and better facilities for non-smokers. But a ban
will be a disaster for the hospitality industry."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (4 July 2004)
*********************
Licensees say ban would mean loss of jobs
DUNDEE Licensed Trade Association chairman Jonathan Stewart today said there
appeared to be an attitude of hysteria about smoking in enclosed public
spaces which was not present in some other areas of health concerns. He was
speaking at the first meeting in what is being billed as the biggest public
consultation exercise ever undertaken in Scotland at Discovery Point.
Stewart said lots of small business could end up going to the wall through
people being hysterical about passive smoking.
Scottish LTA member Margaret Ballantine said many licensed premises had
voluntarily installed expensive ventilation systems to cope with smoke in
the atmosphere. She said a total ban would result in a loss of trade and
could mean businesses having to close, with a consequent loss of jobs.
Dundee publican Jeff Stewart claimed a ban on smoking would mean "the end of
small pubs" in Scotland. He said restrictions already in place were taking
the pub industry back 30 years by prompting them not to apply for children's
certificates or to serve food.
Source: Evening Telegraph (29 June 2004)
*********************
Financial cost of smoking ban
PUBS and clubs in Scotland face substantial costs if a Bill to ban smoking
in bars serving food becomes law, MSPs have warned. The Scottish
Parliament's finance committee rejected claims from SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell,
the man behind the Bill, that the only cost of the ban for pubs, restaurants
and hotels would be £25 to £50 for 'no smoking' signs. Instead, it accepted
the argument from the licensed trade that establishments were likely to fork
out millions of pounds to carry out alterations and employ extra staff.
The committee said the financial impact of Mr Maxwell's Bill to outlaw
smoking in premises where food is served would be greater than if smoking
was banned outright in licensed premises. It added that smoking bans in New
York and Ireland had not been in force long enough to assess their full
impact, and also warned that comparisons with other countries should not be
made without reference to Scotland's drinking culture.
Source: Scotsman (24 June 2004)
***********************
Gardens question time
AFTER declaring its support for banning smoking not only in pubs but also
external beer gardens, Edinburgh City Council officials have now decided not
to raise the outdoor issue in evidence set to be given to the Scottish
Parliament health committee tomorrow.
Opposition politicians today branded the council's initial request for a
review of rules covering beer gardens as "outrageous". Tory MSP Brian
Monteith said: "Fumes from passing council vans present far more of a risk
than second-hand smoke in a beer garden.
"All of the research that has been done has been into second-hand smoke in
homes. If the council is that worried and feels it should intervene, one
would expect it to ban smoking in council houses, but I doubt they have the
nerve."
Tom Ponton, the city's Lib Dem health spokesman, also questioned the move.
The non-smoker and publican added: "It's ridiculous for anybody to suggest
people shouldn't be able to smoke outside. The Labour administration seems
to be jumping on the populist bandwagon. Next they'll be trying to tax fresh
air."
Source: Evening News (21 June 2004)
*********************
Highland fling
MSPs were told yesterday that banning smoking in public places would be the
most significant advance in public health since the Victorians introduced
clean water supplies. Garry Coutts, chairman of the NHS Highland board,
urged the Scottish Parliament's health committee to press ahead with
legislation to enforce the ban. He said that "common sense as well as a
mountain of scientific evidence" pointed to the fact that banning smoking in
public places would save lives.
He added: "Not only will it reduce the impact of passive smoking on
non-smokers, it will also give the vast majority of smokers who want to kick
the habit a better chance to do so. There is now enough evidence from
Ireland and the US to show a ban doesn't hurt business. It will also mean
employees in pubs and restaurants will have the chance to work in areas that
are not filled with smoke."
Source: Scotsman (17 June 2004)
*********************
Smoking? It's child's play
CHILDREN are to be involved in the debate over banning smoking in public
places. Deputy health minister Tom McCabe wants to hear the views of
youngsters aged 12 to 18 on smoking and a possible ban. "Scotland's young
people are the future of this country and we ignore their voices at our
peril," he said. Under-18s can post their views on the Young Scot: Loud and
Clear website message board. To take part visit www.smokingconsultation.com
or phone 0800 027 7127 for a consultation pack.
Meanwhile pupils from two schools, some as young as eleven, were yesterday
invited to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament Health Committee which
is currently scrutinising Stewart Maxwell's private member's bill to ban
smoking in all places where food is being served.
Some said they wanted the proposed ban to go even further. Claire Repper,
11, said the ban should apply to parks as well. "A lot of people like to go
out and have fresh air," she said. "People smoke in parks - that is usually
where they start smoking. And also, if there are animals around, they might
be killed [by smoke].
Sources: Evening Times, Scotsman (16 June 2004)
*********************
Pub ballot shows the way ahead
CUSTOMERS and staff at bars across Glasgow are to take part in a massive
smoking survey. A ballot of staff and customers is to be conducted in
response to the Scottish Executive's consultation on smoking in public
places.
However, early indications are that a total ban, already imposed in Ireland,
will be rejected. In a west end bar, only 13% supported a total smoking ban
in the first pub ballot by the Doublet in Park Road, Woodlands. Owner
Alistair Don said he believed this result would be replicated across the
city.
Colin Wilkinson of the Scottish Licence Trade Association said he believed
most Glaswegians would reject moves towards smoke-free bars. Don, also
president of the SLTA, said: "Our poll showed total of 67% of those who took
part wanted the status quo ... only a very small minority were in favour of
a complete ban.
Source: Evening Times (16 June 2004)
*********************
Ventilation DOES work!
A STUDY has revealed that ventilation in pubs can dramatically reduce the
smoky atmosphere. Researchers from the University of Glamorgan tested the
air quality of The Doublet bar in Glasgow. They found the amount of gases
and particles could be cut by 90 per cent through the use of an effective
ventilation system. The test was sponsored by the Scottish Licensed Trade
Association, who are against a pub smoking ban. Maureen Moore, of
pro-smoking group ASH, said: 'There is no ventilation system that protects
people from passive smoking.'
Source: Daily Record (19 May 2004)
*********************
These people need counselling!
EDINBURGH council is not only backing Stewart Maxwell's private members bill
to ban smoking in any premises where food is served, councillors even want
to outlaw smoking in beer gardens and outdoor seating areas. In a submission
to the Scottish Executive, the council said it would use the authority's own
staff to help enforce a smoking ban and indicated that local authorities
should be "lead enforcers" under the scheme.
Source: Morning Advertiser (6 May 2004)
*********************
Mum's the word
ALL mothers-to-be in Glasgow are to undergo breath tests in an attempt to
detect smokers. Under the breathe project, which will cover the entire NHS
Greater Glasgow area, pregnant women in and around the city will have their
carbon monoxide levels measured on their first visit to a clinic.
Those women identified as smokers by the carbon monoxide test would be given
the option of referral to one of the two new "smoking cessation link"
midwives.
"A face-to-face appointment with one of these key midwives will see a
smoking cessation action plan devised, outlining how the mum-to-be intends
to quit and why she wants to do it," said Lorraine Jarvie of Smoking
Concerns at Eastbank Health Promotion Centre.
Source: BBC Online (6 May 2004)
********************
Banned wagon
FORMER Scottish health minister Sam Galbraith has joined those calling for a
ban on smoking in public places. According to Galbraith: "It is true that
banning smoking in public places raises issues of civil liberties, but they
are all on the side of a ban: freedom from health hazards and antisocial
behaviour. Why should a minority be able to subject the majority to the
effects of their bad habit: the stinking clothes; smoke mixed with your
meal; and overflowing ashtrays?"
Source: BBC Online (4 May 2004)
*********************
Balancing act
ACCORDING to Scotland's First Minister Jack McConnell, "I am in favour of
banning smoking in most public places, but I want to get the balance right
to retain individual freedom and individual health. And I hope that we can
look over these next months at examples elsewhere in Ireland, for example,
where a more extensive ban has just been put in place and make the right
decisions for Scotland."
Source: Real Radio (3 May 2004)
*********************
Mac twists the knife
SCOTLAND's chief medical officer has called for a blanket ban on smoking in
public places. Dr Mac Armstrong argued that a ban similar to that introduced
in the Republic of Ireland was "a clear, obvious and logical next step".
The Scottish Executive has launched an action plan aimed at reducing smoking
levels and will hold a consultation on a potential ban later in the year.
The Executive initiative was welcomed by Dr Armstrong, who said a total ban
on smoking in public places was "a clear, obvious and logical next step". He
added: "A ban on smoking in public satisfies the wishes of the vast majority
of people, both smokers and non-smokers alike, in Scotland."
Dr Armstrong denied that his stance put him at odds with Jack McConnell, the
First Minister, who has said in the past that a ban on smoking in public may
be impractical.
He said: "I don't think there's anything between us on this. I think a ban
on smoking in public places is a clear, obvious and logical next step. I
think there are good reasons and strong evidence behind it."
Dr John Garner, the chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said: "If, as the chief
medical officer states, protecting people from the harmful effects of
exposure to tobacco smoke could save as many as 1,000 lives in Glasgow, then
the impact of national legislation to create smoke-free public places could
save thousands more."
Stewart Maxwell, the SNP MSP who has lodged a member's bill aimed at banning
smoking in places where food is served, said: "There is no doubt about the
evidence any more. Everybody is now on the one side and the Executive no
longer has a leg to stand on.
An Executive spokesman said: "We're launching a consultation, hopefully in
June, and then we want the public to tell us what they think."
Smoking rates in Scotland remain above the UK average and it is said to
be the biggest cause of preventable, premature death and ill health. About
37% of Glaswegians are smokers and people living in deprived areas are twice
as likely to smoke.
Source: The Scotsman (8 April 2004)
*********************
Child's play
GLASGOW was yesterday the first city in Scotland to back a ban on smoking
with a call for stricter licensing laws in the city. Members of a powerful
sub-committee on community safety and health have asked the city's licensing
board to make it a condition of granting a children's licence that areas
where children are present should be smoke-free.
The new plans would force licence holders to make stark choices. They would
have to provide a completely isolated area for families free of the smoke
created by other pub users, install expensive extraction equipment to ensure
a smoke-free environment, ban smoking on the premises, or stop providing the
facility for family meals.
In future, the committee want premises to only have children's certificates
if they provide a separate and adequately-ventilated room for smokers when
children are present.
Source: The Herald (8 April 2004)
*********************
Scotland to ban smoking in restaurants?
A FAR-REACHING ban on smoking in public could be introduced in Scotland by
the end of the year. Ministers are said to be throwing their weight behind
legislation that will most likely see smoking outlawed in restaurants and
public buildings but not in pubs.
First Minister Jack McConnell has disclosed privately that a ban is now
inevitable in Scotland and will be tabled later this year, with the only
question mark on how far it is extended. Friends of Deputy Health Minister
Tom McCabe say he is supportive of a ban and has been lobbying other
ministers for one.
McConnell's shift was confirmed last week when he appeared to give strong
support to a private member's bill backed by Nationalist MSP Stewart Maxwell
which proposes a smoking ban on premises which serve food. After being asked
in the parliament to set out his stance by Maxwell, McConnell replied:
"Stewart Maxwell and I may be getting closer by the day."
Source: Scotland on Sunday (4 April 2004)
*********************
Maxwell's law
PROPOSALS to ban smoking in pubs and restaurants in Scotland are to be
unveiled today. Stewart Maxwell, an SNP MSP, is to launch a private members
bill to regulate smoking in public places where food is served. While
smokers would be allowed to light up in pubs where no food was served, pubs
which sold food would have to ban smoking or stop serving food.
Source: Scotsman (4 February 2004)
*********************
Slim majority favour smoking ban
A MAJORITY of Scots support a ban on smoking in public places, including
pubs and restaurants. An NFO System Three poll, which questioned 828 people
between 11 and 15 January, found 52% of Scots were in favour of a ban and
36% were against, while 8% had no opinion either way and 1% did not know.
The results were announced as ministers launched a new blueprint for
tackling smoking in Scotland, which has the highest rates of lung cancer in
Europe. It includes an additional £4m to help Scots quit and new enforcement
measures to crack down on those selling cigarettes to under 16s.
It also promises a public consultation on how to deal with smoking in public
places, which will cover the possibility of new laws making venues
smoke-free but also the possibility of encouraging proprietors to introduce
more no smoking zones voluntarily.
Source: The Herald (14 January 2004)
pasted CR/
Nick Roche
Look forward to a boom in gazebo and outdoor wood-burning stove sales
though - a trend you may have started yourself!
Nick Roche
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>This session, which was in a pub I like (Kings Head, North Lopham) has
>now been replaced by The Greyhound at Tibernam (Julian incorrectly
>announced this as at Taclneston, which resulted in a lot of "fun" for me
>to find it).
Now that you have found Tibernam (and assuming it is local to North
Lopham) can you provide directions to it?
Marjorie Clarke
"Dick Gaughan" <d...@dickgaughan.co.uk> wrote in message
news:5aj6431h7s63550sl...@4ax.com...
> In <46433747$0$8727$ed26...@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net> on Thu,
> 10 May 2007 16:17:03 +0100, "Marjorie Clarke"
> <dontuset...@springequinox.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>whereas the non-smokers and smoke-haters (who've been staying at home
>>and sulking until now) will already be looking out for pubs they can
>>settle
>>into and make their "regular" drinking hole. So it may be quite clever
>>marketing to attract the non-smokers now - they're the customers of the
>>future.
>
> Don't hold your breath (pardon the pun). Last time I played in
> Cork I asked the pub owner how the ban was working. His reply was,
> "We were promised that once the ban came in the pub would be full
> of non- and anti-smokers who kept away because of the smoking.
> They come in for a half-pint of stout after Mass on Sunday and we
> don't see them again for another week. And the smokers now go
> where there's a beer garden. So I'm going to have to shut the
> pub." Over 600 (mainly rural) pubs in Ireland have closed since
> the ban was brought in, with consequent effects on the local
> culture. Publicans in Scotland have now formed a political party,
> "The Publican Party" to campaign for the introduction of separate
> smoking rooms.
I think the social pattern of pub-going is somewhat different in England -
certainly different from Ireland, and probably different from Scotland. A
half of stout after Mass has never been a big part of my social life. The
tightening up of drink/drive regulations was also having a big effect on
rural pubs in Ireland, well before the smoking ban. And it doesn't surprise
me that many publicans are negative about the ban, because many publicans
smoke and will resent not being able to do so while at work.
The figures offered in support (or otherwise) of the ban vary a lot
depending on who's presenting them, and it's difficult to know which to
believe, or to predict what will happen here. The outcomes may very
considerably between rural vs urban pubs, or posh vs down-market pubs. I'm
hoping that some pubs may be more interested in encouraging music sessions
if they lose some of their regular midweek customers.
>
> My only irritation about the whole thing is that I'd stopped
> smoking before they introduced the ban in Scotland. "Bastards", I
> thought, "now I'm going to have to start again" :(
>
> You want me not to do something, make doing it compulsory.
Well, to get your kicks, you could always play music in an English pub with
no music licence :-)
>
> --
> DG
Jack Campin - bogus address
[about 4000 of which I didn't bother reading, as the start all
seemed to be newspaper stories I was already familiar with]
> ANGUS Council has confirmed plans to issue fixed penalty notices
> to smokers who are caught dropping their used cigarette ends. [...]
> Source: BBC News (20 April 2007)
That's not a ban on smoking, it's a ban on littering. It's been
in force in Edinburgh for a couple of years now. I've seen such
a penalty issued.
It probably covers dogshit as well. The difference is that dog
owners don't need a law to tell them that having their pets crap
on the floor in a pub is antisocial.
Stephen McNally
> Publican Party gears up for Scottish elections
>
> INVERNESS licensee and Publican Party chairman Kit Fraser, claims he
> is "certain" to be a member of the Scottish Parliament after the
> elections on May 3. Source: Publican (18 April 2007)
The Publican Party received the princely total of 914 votes in my
region... so the Highlands and Islands electorate don't seem too upset.
As a non-smoking publican (of sorts - my pub is part time) and a gigging
musician, the ban has been a joy. No more do I go home with eye and
throat irritation. No more do I have to put my stinking clothes directly
into the machine after work or gigs. No more do I consider which places
to visit with my children so as to avoid them inhaling other peoples smoke.
The ban has had no effect on my business and my aquaintances in the
local licence trade have said the same thing, in fact there is 1 more
pub in Oban than there was 2 years ago. From my recent pub gigs and
nights out, trade seems to be as brisk as ever (obviously not a
scientific study!).
Incidentally, last week my 7 year old son did ask me, "What is an ashtray?"
stephen
--
http://www.pigtownfling.co.uk
email will bounce - try 'mail' instead
Chris Rockcliffe
> My only irritation about the whole thing is that I'd stopped
> smoking before they introduced the ban in Scotland.
You and me both. You hit the nail right on the head here Dick.
The odd thing in Scotland is that central and local government anti-smoking
zealots up there spread their own propaganda and start to believe it all.
They play down the many closed pubs, clubs and other failed businesses, the
many lost jobs and the actual INCREASE in smoking as a result.
Yes, smoking has actually INCREASED in Scotland. Not an aberration, but a
fact. So despite the bits about thousands quitting successfully in Scotland,
others cutting down because they are not allowed to smoke, the sales of cigs
in the year Mar 2006 - Mar 2007 have gone up there by 5% or 61,000 extra
packets sold - particularly to young people.
So if the same pattern is repeated in England and Wales - which I believe it
will - just multiply the stats by a factor of ten !
Smoking is now more cool because it is more anti-social and more
anti-establishment amongst the young. No surprises there. It was all
predicted exactly two decades or more ago when the ad bans on cigs took it
out of the mainstream.
The zealots who voted - despite being told all this - are just too thick to
understand that. They are so full of shit about laws and rules, they're up
their own arseholes. They do a huge disservice to the general trend of
cigarette quitting.
I have helped others to stop smoking in a very casual fashion - passing on
my simple modus operandi and the reasons for my own success. The attitudes
have hardened considerably towards giving up. That's because the willpower
required is easily diverted from fighting oneself to another external fight.
The relevance to this forum of smoking is that pubs are very very important
to us and the live music in them too. In my home town, we have a high
proportion of smokers and some pubs where smokers are by far in the majority
of customers - until now - and who keep those pubs going.
Sadly they are the very pubs where we also hold live music sessions. The
smokers don't come to the alternate fortnightly (in one case non-smoking)
folk sessions. But they do support the pub on all the remaining days,
making it financially viable. Neither of these two pubs has a garden nor
anywhere else to put smokers outside. I cannot fathom where they will get
their replacement business from.
> "Bastards", I thought, "now I'm going to have to start again" :(
>
> You want me not to do something, make doing it compulsory.
LOL...
Tongue in cheek or not... I feel likewise. Although personally I gave up
successfully 6 years ago... WERE I trying to give up smoking now, I think
I'd fail. The rebel in me would be saying no way to being told this and that
and to be totally banned would be the last straw.
I wonder what would happen if the 30%+ of the population who are still
smokers just said, "No fuck you !" to the rest and planned a campaign of
mass disobedience to the draconian rules?
Saying... 'We'll continue to smoke in the pubs and clubs until the law is
changed. We want enclosed smoking areas in pubs'. They could band
together to collectively pay the fines of those who are successfully
prosecuted. It is already being discussed.
What the hell could the powers do to enforce it then ?
Last week saw the Tories win a landslide victory majority in this Borough
Council after 20 years in Labour's hands. I wonder why? Smoking ban is
part of that and about to be reflected nationally. I predict big problems
from July. However the non-smoking, smoke-hating zealots can sit back and
laugh their smug little arses off... at least until the law is changed to
allow something more reasonable.
CR
Chris Rockcliffe
> Chris Rockcliffe quoted:
>
>> Publican Party gears up for Scottish elections
>>
>> INVERNESS licensee and Publican Party chairman Kit Fraser, claims he
>> is "certain" to be a member of the Scottish Parliament after the
>> elections on May 3. Source: Publican (18 April 2007)
>
> The Publican Party received the princely total of 914 votes in my
> region... so the Highlands and Islands electorate don't seem too upset.
> As a non-smoking publican (of sorts - my pub is part time) and a gigging
> musician, the ban has been a joy. No more do I go home with eye and
> throat irritation. No more do I have to put my stinking clothes directly
> into the machine after work or gigs. No more do I consider which places
> to visit with my children so as to avoid them inhaling other peoples smoke.
> The ban has had no effect on my business and my acquaintances in the
> local licence trade have said the same thing, in fact there is 1 more
> pub in Oban than there was 2 years ago. From my recent pub gigs and
> nights out, trade seems to be as brisk as ever (obviously not a
> scientific study!).
> Incidentally, last week my 7 year old son did ask me, "What is an ashtray?"
> Stephen
So you're OK Stephen, that's fine and bully for you in Oban. But don't
dismiss the stats and the articles; and please recognise the fact that in
the working class areas of southern Scotland it is an entirely different
story. The hundreds of newspaper stories contradict all the nanny state
style posturing and spin. We will have much bigger problems in England and
Wales. There's no smoke without fire.
CR
Marjorie Clarke
"Chris Rockcliffe" <chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:C26A2470.A22D9%chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk...
drink/driving legislation was introduced, or seatbelt legislation. There's
always a backlash from those who feel their freedom is being compromised,
even when that freedom interferes with the freedom and wellbeing of others.
You'll get used to it, just as you're already used to not smoking in cinemas
or buses, and to avoiding drinking when you're driving.
Pubs have already had their chance - they could have introduced enclosed
smoking areas and kept the rest of their premises smoke-free, before the
legislation was finalised, and we could have seen how it worked. On the
whole they didn't, and thus proved that a "voluntary" code was not going to
work. For what it's worth, some "enclosed smoking areas" in public buildings
have proved unpopular with smokers, because if everyone in a small, enclosed
area is smoking, the smell and fumes become so thick and toxic that even the
smokers start to find it unpleasant. They prefer to dilute their smoke among
clean air, and spread their smoke around among the non-smokers; as for me,
I've had about enough of it, and I'm just counting the weeks till July.
Dick Gaughan
11 May 2007 15:25:11 +0100, "Marjorie Clarke"
<dontuset...@springequinox.co.uk> wrote:
>I wouldn't be surprised to hear that people said similar things when
>drink/driving legislation was introduced, or seatbelt legislation. There's
>always a backlash from those who feel their freedom is being compromised,
>even when that freedom interferes with the freedom and wellbeing of others.
>You'll get used to it, just as you're already used to not smoking in cinemas
>or buses, and to avoiding drinking when you're driving.
What, you mean like people in the USA got used to alcohol
prohibition? Yes, that was a real success, wasn't it?
Once people "get used" to the ban on smoking, next target will be
drinking. Now, I could say that that would be a brilliant thing as
I've been a teetotaller since 1979 and am acutely conscious of the
damage alcohol does to our society, but I am too aware of what
lies behind bans. I despise - and always have - people who smoke
in no-smoking areas; people have the inalienable right to not have
that inflicted on them. But bans don't work. As Chris Rockcliffe
said (in his inimitable direct fashion :) when you ban something
you make it attractive to many; blanket bans actually prove
counter-productive and create a whole underground industry for
people meeting the demand for that which has been banned.
The evidence is compelling for anyone not completely blinkered -
in any city you can quite easily find people who will sell you
almost any banned substance you desire. The epidemic levels of
smack addiction are at least in part a consequence of it being
banned, and the associated criminality most definitely is. There
is hardly a senior police officer or politician in the country who
doesn't know that but are afraid to say it as the tabloid press
would destroy their careers overnight. A lot of very influential
people have a vested financial interest in things being banned and
a lot of the inherited wealth in the UK was derived from
dope-dealing.
In spite of the impression all the propaganda is designed to
create, the main reason for the smoking ban has little to do
directly with health - it has more to do with insurance companies
panicking at the prospect of having to pay out on a huge number of
claims for health damaged by indirect inhalation of smoke in the
workplace. The simple answer to that would be to have smoking
establishments where all the workers either smoked themselves or
signed a declaration of acceptance of liability. Non-smokers would
have their clean environments (clean apart from the foul
carcinogenic carbon-laden fumes from the transport most of them
use to get to them, of course, but far be it from me to point out
such a blatantly-obvious fundamental contradiction :) and smokers
would be able to indulge, hermetically segregated away from the
rest of the community.
And non-smokers would no longer have to run the gauntlet of groups
of smokers congregated on the streets, as they currently have to
do in Scotland and Ireland and soon in England and Wales.
--
DG
Stephen McNally
> So you're OK Stephen, that's fine and bully for you in Oban. But don't
> dismiss the stats and the articles; and please recognise the fact that in
> the working class areas of southern Scotland it is an entirely different
> story. The hundreds of newspaper stories contradict all the nanny state
> style posturing and spin. We will have much bigger problems in England and
> Wales. There's no smoke without fire.
For every statistic against the ban there are statistics supporting it
and, like many public health issues, it is easy to become fatigued by
attempts to learn the truth. What cannot be disputed is that the job
losses and pub closures predicted by the SLTA have not materialised. I
do not wish to get into an argument about this (I had enough of that
last year), I only wanted to let my own experience of the ban be known
so I will comment no more.
Marjorie Clarke
> In <46447c9f$0$8718$ed26...@ptn-nntp-reader02.plus.net> on Fri,
> 11 May 2007 15:25:11 +0100, "Marjorie Clarke"
> <dontuset...@springequinox.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>I wouldn't be surprised to hear that people said similar things when
>>drink/driving legislation was introduced, or seatbelt legislation. There's
>>always a backlash from those who feel their freedom is being compromised,
>>even when that freedom interferes with the freedom and wellbeing of
>>others.
>>You'll get used to it, just as you're already used to not smoking in
>>cinemas
>>or buses, and to avoiding drinking when you're driving.
>
> What, you mean like people in the USA got used to alcohol
> prohibition? Yes, that was a real success, wasn't it?
You know that's a very different situation. Some US states have already
banned smoking in public places (even including out of doors) for years now,
and I'm not aware of a great "bootleg" reaction over there.
>
> Once people "get used" to the ban on smoking, next target will be
> drinking.
Are there any examples in other countries to suggest this? I think alcohol
use is so hard-wired into Western European culture that no government would
dream of trying to ban it completely.
My guess is that attention in the UK will turn to the cannabis laws - an
interesting case, because the almost-decriminalisation of cannabis has done
nothing to diminish its use, all it's done is to encourage the production of
much stronger forms of the drug, which cause greater problems than the
milder varieties.
Jack Campin - bogus address
>> drink/driving legislation was introduced, or seatbelt legislation.
>> There's always a backlash from those who feel their freedom is being
>> compromised, even when that freedom interferes with the freedom and
>> wellbeing of others.
>> You'll get used to it, just as you're already used to not smoking in
>> cinemas or buses, and to avoiding drinking when you're driving.
> What, you mean like people in the USA got used to alcohol
> prohibition? Yes, that was a real success, wasn't it?
In fact it was. Overall alcohol consumption fell sharply during those
years. A minority drank much more, but most of the population didn't
have access to a bootlegger.
Chris Rockcliffe
>>> I wouldn't be surprised to hear that people said similar things when
>>> drink/driving legislation was introduced, or seatbelt legislation.
>>> There's always a backlash from those who feel their freedom is being
>>> compromised, even when that freedom interferes with the freedom and
>>> wellbeing of others.
>>> You'll get used to it, just as you're already used to not smoking in
>>> cinemas or buses, and to avoiding drinking when you're driving.
>> What, you mean like people in the USA got used to alcohol
>> prohibition? Yes, that was a real success, wasn't it?
>
> In fact it was.
You need to brush up on your history Jack.
It had a disastrous affect on the Scottish whisky industry for starters and
many distilleries making malts for blending closed down.
US Prohibition started in the late 19th century as counties declared
themselves dry and then several States already banned alcohol in a growing
Temperance movement. When it went national it created a host of problems -
causing additional massive unemployment, an illegal drugs culture -
additional use of marijuana - mostly home grown- , cocaine mostly from
Central America became a major industry in the USA; and heroin addiction
grew at an alarming rate.
Around the supply of illegal substances and contraband booze grew a gangster
culture and helped to create the mafia power in the USA. Around that grew a
huge number of people arrested and charged for drinking alcohol (creating
criminality where there was previously none. People set up illegal stills
all over the place and beer making in back yards everywhere. Many were blown
up trying to make moonshine. many were discovered arrested and charged
Some of America's most famous drinking establishments closed down and
changed use never to reappear. The wine, beer and whiskey industries almost
vanished too and many of the USA's best vineyards perished. Other wineries
survived by making supposed 'altar wine'. Before prohibition America brewed
almost every kind of beer imaginable and the variety was incredible. After
prohibition it put the US beer industry in the hands of a few - now the gig
brands like Budweiser and Coors and Schlitz.
Alcohol Prohibition in the USA was a massive failure and repealed under
massive public pressure. One of the USA's worst ever ideas.
> Overall alcohol consumption fell sharply during those years.
That bit is right.
> A minority drank much more, but most of the population didn't have access to
> a bootlegger.
They often drank moonshine - if they could get it - and other homemade
attempts at drinks - and some of it was pure poison.
CR
Chris Rockcliffe
> Pubs have already had their chance - they could have introduced enclosed
> smoking areas and kept the rest of their premises smoke-free, before the
> legislation was finalised, and we could have seen how it worked. On the
> whole they didn't, and thus proved that a "voluntary" code was not going to
> work.
You cannot apply your prejudices blanket style in this way. Investment is
often down to large breweries and pubcos who were waiting to see what the
Govt. vote would be. They were geared up to install additional ventilation
and room separation everywhere - if it was required.
Every pub is different in this regard. The local Social Club nearby me
spent 3,000 quid on having new super-efficient ventilation equipment
installed. They may as well not have bothered to waste their money. The
clubs were told they would have an exemption - but in the end the zealots
took over and voted for a total ban. Now the club believe they will not
survive - along with many others.
Some pubs are very poor in this regard and some are very good.
Personally I'd like to see the rules changed to allow some smoker's pubs -
to exist in each town - just as is the case in the USA.
We need at least two smoker's pubs in this town and they would be doing VERY
good business indeed from day one.
CR
Julian Flood
> criminality where there was previously none. People set up illegal stills
> all over the place and beer making in back yards everywhere.
OT We ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792
We just lay there in the junipers
While the moon is bright
Watch them jugs a-filling
In the pale moonlight.
> gig
> brands like Budweiser and Coors and Schlitz.
/There's/ a gig I wouldn't care for.
I was talking to a chappy on a 20 mile walk around Henley -- all beech
woods and bluebells -- and he said there's a major marijuana problem in
Oxford. We agreed that we didn't understand why the kids don't just get
pissed.
When it all ends up
You've got to go back
To Mother Booze, Mother Booze, yeah.
JF
Stephen Kellett
<nospam...@mollymockford.me.uk> writes
>The paragraph I have re-quoted above.
Fair point. I was having a bad day that day (and the next). Sorry.
Anger at something unrelated to this newsgroup overflowing into life.
Unfortunate. I think something is wrong with my body chemistry at the
moment. Nothing seems quite right. I seem quite agitated, which is not
my usual state. Agitation + anger, not a good combination :-(
Apologies to all and everyone I managed to upset.
Julian Flood
> Apologies to all and everyone I managed to upset.
We cope with you playing the bagpipes. After that, everything is a
peccadillo.
JF
Stephen Kellett
Rockcliffe <chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk> writes
>What the hell could the powers do to enforce it then ?
You are aware that Jack Straw is lining himself up to have a second bite
at the cherry that is Home Secretary?
I dread to think.
Stephen Kellett
<d...@dickgaughan.co.uk> writes
>"The Publican Party" to campaign for the introduction of separate
>smoking rooms.
Good idea (so long as the staff that work that room also smoke, given
that the legislation is meant to protect non smokers from smoke). One of
the pubs the session that Julian, Gerry and I go to has that. They had a
poll of their regulars, 67% in favour and now one room is smoking and
the other is not. Seems to keep both groups of people reasonably happy.
Another alternative would be effective extraction units. Yes they do
exist, but no one ever maintains them which is why they don't work. You
could have mandatory inspections and loss of license if they aren't up
to scratch etc. I don't even know if this was considered. I never heard
mention of it.
What puzzled me about the legislation is that if you look at really old
pubs there was always one room with "Smoking Room" etched into the
glass, which implies to me that one room was for smoking and the others
were not. Anyone know if this ever was true?
Stephen Kellett
<ni...@nroche.net> writes
>Now that you have found Tibernam (and assuming it is local to North
>Lopham) can you provide directions to it?
Not really. I went there the wrong way! Well you would if you were
aiming for the wrong village wouldn't you?
I haven't really the faintest idea where it is. I did this at 9.30 in
the dark, and for the first time realised that my eyes can't quite read
the small print on a map using the lights inside the car for
illumination. That makes for fun navigating. Looks like a looming
purchase of glasses. I can get there again, but I don't know the names
of any of the small villages I drove through to get there.
A quick search on multimap and it also appears that my spelling is
incorrect. Tibenham.
<http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&GridE=1.15040&GridN
=52.46690&lon=1.15040&lat=52.46690&search_result=Tibenham%2C%20Norfolk&db
=freegaz&keepicon=true&lang=&place=Tibenham%2C%20Norfolk&pc=&advanced=&cl
ient=public&addr2=&quicksearch=tibenham&addr3=&scale=100000&addr1=>
I went their via Attleborough, which turned out to be a mistake.
Going home the landlord told me a different way to go, via Banham, which
I'd probably use again.
Molly Mockford
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote in
<fsC$cqAEvM...@objmedia.demon.co.uk>:
>Fair point. I was having a bad day that day (and the next). Sorry.
I'm sorry to hear that, Stephen; it can happen to any of us at any
time. Not to worry about this wee incident!
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.)
Stephen Kellett
Rockcliffe <chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk> writes
>Well here's some more 'bollocks' - mostly Scottish newspaper reports about
>the Scottish ban for you to read Jack... and a sign of things to come...
I think you just got the award for the longest newsnet posting ever.
Steve at fivetrees
news:8+2XYHDV...@objmedia.demon.co.uk...
> In message <C2691072.A21BF%chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk>, Chris
> Rockcliffe <chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk> writes
>>Well here's some more 'bollocks' - mostly Scottish newspaper reports about
>>the Scottish ban for you to read Jack... and a sign of things to come...
>
> I think you just got the award for the longest newsnet posting ever.
No, that goes to Nick Roche for quoting the whole thing and adding a 2-line
comment ;).
Chris Rockcliffe
> In message <C2691072.A21BF%chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk>, Chris
> Rockcliffe <chrisro...@scripto99.demon.co.uk> writes
>> Well here's some more 'bollocks' - mostly Scottish newspaper reports about
>> the Scottish ban for you to read Jack... and a sign of things to come...
>
> I think you just got the award for the longest newsnet posting ever.
>
> Stephen
Hmmm yes. Didn't know there was an award. But I never win anything anyway.
I thought I'd pasted in about a third of that Scottish press log (covering
2006), but it goes back to start of discussions after decision time 2003.
Read it. Do the words 'police state' come to mind? Out of proportion or
what?
CR
Nick Roche
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote:
<unforgiveable snip!>
>A quick search on multimap and it also appears that my spelling is
>incorrect. Tibenham.
>
><http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&GridE=1.15040&GridN=52.46690&lon=1.15040&lat=52.46690&search_result=Tibenham%2C%20Norfolk&db=freegaz&keepicon=true&lang=&place=Tibenham%2C%20Norfolk&pc=&advanced=&client=public&addr2=&quicksearch=tibenham&addr3=&scale=100000&addr1=>
>
>Stephen
Sorry Stephen - I was just pulling your leg about the spelling.
We have friends who live in the Tibenham - Winfarthing - Tivetshall
triangle. I'd swear something moves all the roads and houses about
every now and then because its never possible to follow the same route
in and out twice.
BTW I think you may have just taken the record for the longest link
ever posted to this newsgroup.
Interesting local facts - the airfield at Tibenham was commanded
during WW2 by one Colonel James Stewart who apparently also made a few
films. http://www.controltowers.co.uk/T-V/Tibenham.htm
A couple of miles due south is the school where our long tradition of
labour disputes in education began:
http://www.burstonstrikeschool.org/
Stephen Kellett
<ni...@nroche.net> writes
>We have friends who live in the Tibenham - Winfarthing - Tivetshall
>triangle. I'd swear something moves all the roads and houses about
>every now and then because its never possible to follow the same route
>in and out twice.
Yeah I felt like that after getting to Banham. We used to go to the
Cider Shed for the sessions on a Friday. That was years ago. I was
trying to remember which turns to take after Banham. Missed one and
ended up somewhere I wasn't familiar with and ended up driving around a
bit before I found a cross roads that looked vaguely familiar but from
an angle I'd never seen before. Out there with so few road signs you
feel rather alone.
Marjorie Clarke
"Julian Flood" <jul...@ooopsfloodsclimbers.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4644b36e$0$16644$7b0f...@reader.news.newnet.co.uk...
> Chris Rockcliffe wrote:
>
>> criminality where there was previously none. People set up illegal
>> stills
>> all over the place and beer making in back yards everywhere.
>
> OT We ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792
> We just lay there in the junipers
> While the moon is bright
> Watch them jugs a-filling
> In the pale moonlight.
>
about the illicit thrill the smokers get from their private parties and
secret gatherings where no one can stop them smoking.
Peter Thomas
Marjorie Clarke <dontuset...@springequinox.co.uk> writes
>
>"Julian Flood" <jul...@ooopsfloodsclimbers.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:4644b36e$0$16644$7b0f...@reader.news.newnet.co.uk...
>> Chris Rockcliffe wrote:
>>
>>> criminality where there was previously none. People set up illegal
>>> stills
>>> all over the place and beer making in back yards everywhere.
>>
>> OT We ain't paid no whiskey tax since 1792
>> We just lay there in the junipers
>> While the moon is bright
>> Watch them jugs a-filling
>> In the pale moonlight.
>>
>Well, there you are: the smoking ban could be a source of new songs, all
>about the illicit thrill the smokers get from their private parties and
>secret gatherings where no one can stop them smoking.
Read an article a year or two ago about the Italians having
'underground' restaurants - organized meals for a dozen or so - to get
round smoking ban. Or possibly for some other reason.
--
Peter Thomas
Molly Mockford
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote in
<A58o5hA8...@objmedia.demon.co.uk>:
>In message <ca4b43d7imup6fck2...@4ax.com>, Nick Roche
><ni...@nroche.net> writes
>>We have friends who live in the Tibenham - Winfarthing - Tivetshall
>>triangle. I'd swear something moves all the roads and houses about
>>every now and then because its never possible to follow the same route
>>in and out twice.
>
>Yeah I felt like that after getting to Banham. We used to go to the
>Cider Shed for the sessions on a Friday. That was years ago. I was
>trying to remember which turns to take after Banham. Missed one and
>ended up somewhere I wasn't familiar with and ended up driving around a
>bit before I found a cross roads that looked vaguely familiar but from
>an angle I'd never seen before. Out there with so few road signs you
>feel rather alone.
You ever tried getting out of Aldershot? I went to a concert there in
December, and it took over an hour to find my way out - after over half
an hour, I found myself driving past the venue again! I finally
realised that if they put up signs directing people out of town,
everybody would heave a huge sigh of relief and leave as one, never to
return.
Nick Roche
<nospam...@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote:
>At 11:53:48 on Sat, 12 May 2007, Stephen Kellett
><sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> wrote in
><A58o5hA8...@objmedia.demon.co.uk>:
>
>>In message <ca4b43d7imup6fck2...@4ax.com>, Nick Roche
>><ni...@nroche.net> writes
>>>We have friends who live in the Tibenham - Winfarthing - Tivetshall
>>>triangle. I'd swear something moves all the roads and houses about
>>>every now and then because its never possible to follow the same route
>>>in and out twice.
>>
>>Yeah I felt like that after getting to Banham. We used to go to the
>>Cider Shed for the sessions on a Friday. That was years ago. I was
>>trying to remember which turns to take after Banham. Missed one and
>>ended up somewhere I wasn't familiar with and ended up driving around a
>>bit before I found a cross roads that looked vaguely familiar but from
>>an angle I'd never seen before. Out there with so few road signs you
>>feel rather alone.
>
>You ever tried getting out of Aldershot? I went to a concert there in
>December, and it took over an hour to find my way out - after over half
>an hour, I found myself driving past the venue again! I finally
>realised that if they put up signs directing people out of town,
>everybody would heave a huge sigh of relief and leave as one, never to
>return.
LOL
Tom and Barbara Brown
"Molly Mockford" <nospam...@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote in message
news:1dOw+hB2...@molly.mockford...
>
> You ever tried getting out of Aldershot? I went to a concert there in
> December, and it took over an hour to find my way out - after over half an
> hour, I found myself driving past the venue again! I finally realised
> that if they put up signs directing people out of town, everybody would
> heave a huge sigh of relief and leave as one, never to return.
A very vivid nightmare that I remember was that I was driving round and
round and round Basingstoke. Now I don't drive, but my nightmare wasn't
about the driving, but the fact that I couldn't find a way out of the place!
Barbara
Richard Robinson
>> December, and it took over an hour to find my way out - after over half an
>> hour, I found myself driving past the venue again! I finally realised
>> that if they put up signs directing people out of town, everybody would
>> heave a huge sigh of relief and leave as one, never to return.
>
> A very vivid nightmare that I remember was that I was driving round and
> round and round Basingstoke. Now I don't drive, but my nightmare wasn't
> about the driving, but the fact that I couldn't find a way out of the place!
I've done that in York a couple of times. Go round the ring road a few
times, accelerating until you reach escape velocity.
--
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem
My email address is at http://www.qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html
Jon Freeman
> I've done that in York a couple of times. Go round the ring road a few
> times, accelerating until you reach escape velocity.
I think I've been lost and gone round in circles a few times. My
favourite was in rural Norfolk. It wasn't so much the getting lost but
driving slowly as we tried to work out where we were and being overtaken
by a barn owl. It came from behind the car, up a bit over the car and
then swooped lower, straight in front of us and carried along the road.
Stephen Kellett
<peterd...@doubledemon.co.uk.invalid> writes
>Read an article a year or two ago about the Italians having
>'underground' restaurants - organized meals for a dozen or so - to get
>round smoking ban. Or possibly for some other reason.
I think that is the "slow" food movement. A response to the fast food
movement. Its about enjoying food and drink for its quality, rather than
quantity and speed of service. The emphasis is on good food, good
company, discussion, etc. The opposite of McYouWantItWeGotIt etc.
Nothing to do with smoking, which, based on my visit to Sicily a few
years ago is not in decline over there. Definitely not banned in a
restaurant (and neither is the wide screen, high volume TV showing
Italian football - in a restaurant!?)
Peter Thomas
<sn...@objmedia.demon.co.uk> writes
>In message <mU3sEVD$4cRG...@godthoms.demon.co.uk>, Peter Thomas
><peterd...@doubledemon.co.uk.invalid> writes
>>Read an article a year or two ago about the Italians having
>
>I think that is the "slow" food movement.
> The opposite of McYouWantItWeGotIt etc.
>
Ah - if course - thank you, Stephen. And a very good idea, too.
>Nothing to do with smoking,
...
>efinitely not banned in a restaurant (and neither is the wide screen,
>high volume TV showing Italian football - in a restaurant!?)
>
Memories of looking for a meal without televised football in bits of
Greece.
--
Peter Thomas