Scotland joins Ireland in smoking ban

steviem

Law to be passed before Christmas with full implementation by 2006.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/hi/news/5032379.html

woosaysdan

it wont be long before everyone follows it tbh

cujimmy

Ministers move to break the smoking habit
10/11/2004

The Scottish government today took the first steps towards a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places.

In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, First Minister Jack McConnell outlined plans for the ban which should be in place by spring 2006.

The government's proposals:

To seek a comprehensive ban on smoking in all enclosed public places in Scotland
The legislation will be enforced by Environmental Health and Local Licensing Officers
Licensees or employers who fail to enforce the law will face fines up to a maximum of £2,500
Licensees who persistently refuse to comply with the law will face the ultimate sanction of losing their liquor licence
To examine a system of issuing fixed penalty notices for those individuals who break the law. Those individuals who persistently break the law will face a maximum fine of £1,000
The legislation will be introduced through the forthcoming Health Service (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which will be introduced to Parliament before Christmas.

Mr McConnell said:

"A comprehensive ban will be a clear signal that Scotland has changed. It will reduce smoking, save lives and help transform our national health. It will be easier to enforce and simpler to understand than other options that would fall short of that.

"We will take the steps to implement this decision together with those affected, not simply to impose it on those who are addicted, or worried about their business.

"I believe that there is no greater action we can take to improve the well-being of children and families in Scotland, for generations to come, than to secure this legislation and make Scotland's public places smoke free.

"But more than anything, the reason why smoking in public places should be illegal is because of the message it sends about our nation.

"No longer will Scotland be the place in Europe most associated with poor health, and no longer does Scotland need to wait for someone else to take responsibility for difficult decisions."

The Deputy First Minister, Jim Wallace, said:

"Like, I am sure, many others my decision to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces has been a personal journey.

"Our determination to improve health is the key reason behind Ministers' decision. Given the mounting medical evidence and the astonishing public engagement in the debate we have to act.

"Something good and innovative is about to happen in Scotland. I certainly believe that the case for a ban is now incontestable, the support overwhelming.

"It will have worldwide appeal. Potentially there is a opportunity here for Scottish business. They should seize that chance. I am in no doubt at all that this move is in the best long term interests of Scotland's health and economic well-being."

Blub2k4

Surely they should have banned fried Mars Bars and Cadburies cream eggs first if the health of the nation is in question?

Bogger77

Blub2k4 wrote:

Surely they should have banned fried Mars Bars and Cadburies cream eggs first if the health of the nation is in question?

Ya see, here's where the scots are making the mistake. They should have gone with the Irish method, ban it under Workers Health legistation. Scots, couldn't have done this due to the fact that they are still ruled by westminister.

Flukey

Like in Ireland, smoking is not being banned. You can still smoke as much as you want, but not in certain places, so it hasn't been banned. There are lots of lies around the smoking ban. They say smokers are being forced to go outside or not allowed in pubs. That is not true. A smoker can spend all day in the pub, but just not smoke there.

They say smokers are forced to go outside to smoke, which is not true either. Before or since the ban started, I have never seen anyone going up to anyone in a pub and say "You, get a packet of cigarettes, take one out and go outside and smoke it." Have you ever seen that happen? I doubt it. So no one is forcing them to go outside. It is purely their own choice. To say any different is pure fiction.

They say it is discriminating against smokers which is also not true. Nobody is allowed to smoke in the pubs, so it applies to everyone. How can something that applies to every be called discriminatory?

They say places are not being provided for smokers. That also is not true. They can smoke outside. There is moving air there and they will get all sorts of different weathers, so they have a fully air-conditioned, all-weather smoking area. What more could they want?

They say it is not fair to send people outside in the cold and rain. As I said already, no one is forcing them to go outside, it is their own choice. Also, if they are not worried about lung cancer and other smoking-related diseases, a bit of pneumonia certainly isn't going to concern them. It would be a bit ironic if smokers complained about having to go outside on health grounds, now wouldn't it?

Don't forget too, that the law is being brought in primarily to help those that have to work in the previously smokey environments. As a bonus the customers benefit too.

So when you look at it, it is a very fair, non-discriminatory, healthy, free to choose law and everyone benefits from it. You can't say that about many laws.

simu

This is good news! I was in England recently and I found it very unpleasant being in smokey pubs again.

Now if only France would follow suit!

Flukey

From Ireland.com

NI ministers urged to follow Scottish smoking ban

Northern Ireland ministers were under pressure tonight to follow the example of the Scottish Executive and announce a ban on smoking in public places.

The Ulster Cancer Foundation (UCF) urged Secretary of State Mr Paul Murphy and Health Minister Ms Angela Smith to "act decisively".

The charity said ending smoking in workplaces and enclosed public places would be "the single most effective action" the authorities could do to protect non-smokers and encourage more smokers to quit.

Mr Gerry McElwee, head of cancer prevention at the UCF, said: "Smoking is the largest single cause of preventable death and ill health in our society today, killing 2,800 people in Northern Ireland every year."

He said the decision taken in Edinburgh put Scotland at the head of a growing international movement to control the damage tobacco did to health.

It was now time for Northern Ireland ministers to show the same determination as their Scottish colleagues, the charity said.

Sinn Féin's health spokesman, Upper Bann Assembly member Mr John O'Dowd also welcomed the Scottish decision to follow the Republic.

He said: "This move from the Scottish parliament adds even greater pressure on direct rule Health Minister Angela Smith to get her act together."

Ms Smith had the ability to publish a consultation document now and so begin laying the groundwork for the introduction of smoking legislation, he said.

The medical evidence could not be ignored, he said, adding: "Angela Smith is running out of excuses."

Karl Hungus

A big round of applause to Ireland methinks, for being such pioneers in that respect. Did you know that Norway also enforced an identical ban after we did? Only found that out when I went there a few months ago.

steveland?

Flukey I agree with you one hundred per cent. I had the misfortune to work in a pub for months before the smoking ban came in and I'd be comin home stinkin of smoke and coughin my lungs out (I'm a non-smoker you see).

The smoking ban directly benefits me and all the people who work around me (including, whether they'd like to believe it or not, the many smokers I work with).

Flukey wrote:

They say places are not being provided for smokers

Like you said this is a complete myth! Where i work the owners just spent thousands getting the beer garden renovated and having a huge canopy installed and outdoor heaters. We've even got a TV in the beer garden for god's sake so if you're coming in to watch a match and you smoke you've no complaints other than the bar is a few foot more away.

Anyway I'd like to say how proud I am that we (after New York) were amongst the first to gather the collective balls up to bring in and enforce this most beneficial of laws.


From SteveD, you stay classy San Diego