Smoking ban revolt - Cynical ruse puts profits over health

THE sudden climbdown by the owner of a Galway pub who allowed smoking on his premises in defiance of the law does not lessen the seriousness of the mini-revolt flaring around the country.

Though the publican is now complying with the legislation, the Government should wake up to the fact that the trend set in Galway has spread to Bantry and Cork city, where the vintners’ campaign of opposition to the workplace smoking ban has found new impetus.

Clearly, if defiance of the ban persists on a countrywide basis it will make a mockery of the law. In a significant development, it has already spread to a handful of other pubs where smokers and publicans are also flouting the law.

Doubtless, Health Minister Micheál Martin heaved a sigh of relief when Ronan Lawless informed the Attorney General that Fibber Magee’s bar on Eyre Square in Galway would re-introduce the ban on smoking immediately.

This followed a Western Health Board threat to seek a High Court injunction if he did not undertake to obey the law by 4pm yesterday.

A question arises as to why the authorities opted to go down the injunction road? Clearly, the pub owners had broken the law of the land and should have been prosecuted.

Will similar injunctions be invoked against other publicans who flout the law? Arguably, it would be more effective to make an example of one or two offenders.

In the Galway case, customers were allowed to smoke for three nights. Bringing a sense of realism to the scenario, their names and addresses were taken. The prospect of being fined concentrates the mind.

It is disingenuous of publicans to describe the smoking ban as the major factor behind the decline in beer and spirit sales. The slide had begun long before the law was introduced.

Consumers can be forgiven for blaming the slump on the outrageous prices being charged for drink in rip-off Ireland. If, for example, you order a mixer with your drink at the local, you will have to pay for a whole bottle of, say, Coca Cola. By way of contrast, in other countries you get a splash of mixer with your favourite tipple.

Among other causes of declining alcohol sales are no-nonsense drink-driving laws aimed at reducing carnage on the roads. The penalty points system is having a big impact on drinking trends, especially in rural areas where the car is an absolute necessity.

Despite the fuse lit by the Galway publican, the law is the law. In a significant move, gardaí may be told to oppose the renewal of licences for pubs that flout the smoking legislation.

There should be no question of the Government capitulating to the bully-boy tactics of vintners who are more concerned with profits than with the health of their workers and customers.