Caterer readers voice support for smoking ban

Two-thirds of respondents to Caterer's smoking survey have backed a blanket ban in England and Wales.

Sixty-three out of 96 replies (66%) have endorsed our stance by stating that the Government's current proposals, for a ban on premises preparing and serving food, do not go far enough.

Many stressed that hospitality workers shared the same rights to work in a smoke-free environment as members of other professions.

The results will be delivered to the Government, which launched a consultation period on the smoking white paper in June.

Adam Beasley, senior manager of the students' union at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, said: "I am informed that, during an eight-hour shift, I will have inhaled the equivalent of 10 cigarettes. If I am subjected to these working conditions in the long term, I can see many more of us ending up with the same fate as the late Roy Castle."

Tricia Harper, co-owner of the Old Cottage restaurant in Ringwood, Hampshire, said that a total smoking ban would be the only way to ensure a level playing field for all businesses.

While, Victoria Smith, a waitress at Marlow Bar and Grill in Buckinghamshire, said: "The health of bar staff is just as important as any other group of workers. I have been to Ireland, there is still a good atmosphere in the pubs."

Meanwhile 11% felt the current partial ban was appropriate and 23% believed that the law went too far.

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By Tom Bill

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