ICMOA lashes calls for Mayo herbal cigarette ban

The Irish Cigarette Machine Operators Association (ICMOA) has slammed Mayo's principal environmental health officer for his decision to urge publicans to impose an in-house ban on herbal cigarettes.

ICMOA spokesperson Gerry Lawlor said: "This urging is not only unwelcome but adds to the confusion created by this government.

"Herbal cigarettes are legal to smoke in bar's and it seems we are living in a nazi style state where our civil liberties are being taken from us one by one.

Lawlor added: "Already our trade is being decimated with sales being down by up to 70% in some places and now they want run us into the ground even further. The simple fact is that herbal cigarettes are not covered by the legislation and civil servants should stick to their remit, which is that of enforcing the law, not formulating it.

"Considering that Irish people have been derived of the right to smoke in bars surely they should have the freedom of choice in choosing some sort of alternative. We would encourage publicans to uphold the law without alienating their already frustrated customers," Lawlor added.

Members of the ICMOA plan to stock their vending machines with a range of herbal cigarettes, which the public are allowed to smoke in pubs as they are exempt from the Minister's smoking ban.

ICMOA is made up of small business people formed to represent primarily family-run businesses that provide vending machines to licensed premises in

Ireland.

The Association was founded in 1982 and has now well over 120 member companies whose sole or primary source of income is the cigarette vending business. Its membership represents over 90% of the cigarette-vending sector.