Pub smoking ban will be impossible to enforce, says 86% of population
Some 86% of the population believe the ban will be almost impossible for the Government to enforce.
Research carried out by TNS/MRBI for the Retail Intelligence website has found that a quarter of people don’t even know the law will be introduced on January 1, 2004.
The survey asked 1,000 people, “how easy or difficult do you think the law will be to enforce?”
More than half, 53%, said “very difficult” and a further 33% claimed it would be “quite difficult”. Only 10% believe the law will be “quite easy” or “very easy” to enforce.
Anti-smoking lobby groups such as ASH Ireland and the Irish Cancer Society have condemned those opposing the ban.
“If you look elsewhere it can be seen that this does work,” ASH spokesperson Dr Fenton Howell said.
“Smoking bans in cinemas are not hard to enforce and I think that smokers are very reasonable people who will obey the law like they do everywhere else,” he added.
However, the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) said if the ban goes ahead, job losses in the pub industry are expected to exceed 30%.
VFI president Joe Browne said the laws were nonsensical. “This survey means our citizens know it is unworkable and publicans can’t police it. The minister has not thought this out at all.”
Mr Browne said smoke extraction systems, which cost between 8,000 and 60,000 can effectively deal with smoke in pubs.
“We are willing to compromise by having a non-smoking area and the extraction systems,” Mr Browne said.
“If job losses are 30% in New York, God knows what it will be here. A similar ban in British Columbia was withdrawn after just 80 days.”
But Dr Howell said expensive ventilation systems only removed 90% of passive smoke and the remainder was up to 2,500 times above the acceptable risk level. Industry sources believe the law will be a bonanza for off-licence owners who will cash in on more people drinking at home.
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