Downing Sreet Petition???

[Robusto]

Do people on here feel we should try and petition the powers that be to consider smoking to be re-introduced into certain designated pubs in every town?

I'd do the wording if there was support. We could bash it out on here, as it were.

[Pantomimehorse]

yeah sounds like a plan, maybe good idea to start a facebook group too as they seem to work quite well with thesee sort of things?

[Robusto]

Agreed, Pant. Are you on there?

[Pantomimehorse]

i am , will pm you my details

[Alex]

Im in support of this, maybe something like the Americans do where its banned in pubs and restaurants where the food is 75% of the business or something along those lines.

[Major_Tom]

Remember to quote the German examples to re-allowing smoking in failing pubs.

Point out that the solution (the Ban) does not address the problem.

The problem was that people did not like breathing or being near second hand smoke. The solution should obviously be to stop this by taking the smoke away from them. The could involved lettting smokers smoke in sealed, well ventillated anterooms or glass compartments (I have seen this on the continent) that no non-smoker need ever venture into.

This would obviously solve the problem without out any of the negative effects such as making smokers feel discrimated against, driving trade out of pubs etc etc.

You may want to check up on this but i think most of the continental bans have some sort of compromise like this.

[Robusto]

Remember to quote the German examples to re-allowing smoking in failing pubs.

Point out that the solution (the Ban) does not address the problem.

The problem was that people did not like breathing or being near second hand smoke. The solution should obviously be to stop this by taking the smoke away from them. The could involved lettting smokers smoke in sealed, well ventillated anterooms or glass compartments (I have seen this on the continent) that no non-smoker need ever venture into.

This would obviously solve the problem without out any of the negative effects such as making smokers feel discrimated against, driving trade out of pubs etc etc.

You may want to check up on this but i think most of the continental bans have some sort of compromise like this.

Tom - I didn't know that some public smoking had been introduced in Germany. That means there's a precedent, and some hope.

[Major_Tom]

There was certainly some well-hushed-up talking about it in the papers. As far as my layman's knowledge goes, the article I read seemed to say that in Germany you can smoke in pubs with separate smoking rooms like I've described. It then went on to say that not all pubs could afford to create/had no room for such a space and that pubs in this bracket could welcome smokers back in. Should have kept the article, it was a few months ago now. Note I've not read any of the legislation myself.

Interestingly enough I made out the case in my previous post (about the gov's solution not matching the problem, and the simple alternative solution) to a lawyer that I know. He looked into the UK legislation and said that there was aleady facility to do that but it was well-concealed. Personally I'm not sure I believe him -I think the UK law is very tight and I'm sure that if there was a way around the ban as he suggested then places like the 150 year-old No.1 Cigar Club in London would still be around.

[Robusto]

Some loosening up over the Pond.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/medicine/la-me-long-beach-smoking3-2009feb03,0,5572890.story