Sir, - I wish to respond to the assertions by the VFI chief executive, Mr Tadg O'Sullivan, regarding the inevitable and disastrous outcome of a proposed ban on smoking in public places (November 9th). My employment as a bartender in the United States during the past decade has provided me with first-hand experience of the results of a comprehensive ban on public smoking in eating and drinking establishments.
I can confidently state that, in Austin, Texas (metropolitan population over 1 million), not a single establishment affected by such an ordinance "failed miserably" primarily as a result of a smoking ban. Rather, since the prohibition was enacted some five years ago, commerce has actually increased and employees and customers now enjoy the obvious benefits of a healthier, smoke-free workplace.
My fellow workers and I were genuinely alarmed by predictions of a permanent setback to the service industry. In truth, we did recognise a barely perceptible decline in business as smokers effected their boycott, but in a very short time, this minority acknowledged that they had no right to indiscriminately administer nicotine to society (or they just couldn't bear staying at home), and the service industry has thrived ever since.
The suggestion of trusting vintners to self-regulate an establishment's air quality through various elaborate, costly, and often ineffective methods of air purification is identical to a similar proposal made in Austin. This was a pathetic attempt to confuse the consumer and complicate the simple ideal of an individual's right to clean air. Indeed, it is highly improbable that an affordable system exists which can effectively remove 100 per cent of smoke from a common area, contrary to the VFI chief's suggestion that "better ventilation" is the most sensible and equitable solution to the publican's dilemma.
The VFI chief recognises an individual's ability to enjoy a cigarette as a "liberty", and on this point I agree with him. However, I assert that citizens likewise have a right to choose not to smoke, and his propositions clearly do not address or demonstrate an understanding of this. - Yours, etc., Michael Keller,
Lorcan Villas, Beaumont, Dublin 9.