Teresa La Thangue says a total ban is unfair

Our view of the science is that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is associated with various short term health impacts, such as exacerbating symptoms in asthmatics and respiratory illnesses in children.
The science on ETS and chronic diseases, such as lung cancer and heart disease, is in our view not definitive and at most suggests that if there is a risk from ETS exposure, it is too small to measure with any certainty.

So while we understand and support measures to reduce involuntary exposure to ETS, we do not believe that blanket bans on public and workplace smoking are fair or necessary, as there are more practical solutions based on air quality standards.

Freedoms and responsibilities
We don’t think people should be free to smoke wherever they like and we know many people dislike the smell of tobacco smoke and find it annoying.

But we believe that total smoking bans are unnecessary and unfair.  It is perfectly possible to continue to strike a balance by accommodating non-smokers and smokers separately and providing proper ventilation to reduce involuntary exposure to ETS.

Most governments are seeking to balance freedoms and responsibilities. Very few countries have adopted the total public place smoking bans that have been introduced in Ireland, Norway and New Zealand and a complete ban in 1999 in British Columbia in Canada, for example, was overturned by the courts in March 2000 on the basis that it was excessive.

Ventilation
There are good and workable ways to banish smoke but not smokers, so that people who smoke don’t have to suffer social exclusion. Recent research shows that proper fresh air ventilation works. The University of Glamorgan in Wales investigated the effectiveness of ventilation systems in UK on behalf of the Atmosphere Improves Results initiative.

The results, published in the Building Services Journal in March 2005, show that ventilation keeps levels of some important gases and air-borne particulates well below any recognised occupational exposure limits for a range of common pollutants. The tests were run on the pubs’ busiest evenings and at the busiest times, so with fewer people in the pubs, the results from this equipment would be even better.

Public health bodies have reported that exposure to ETS, is a cause of various diseases. The risks they report are far lower than those associated with active smoking, but are said to be large enough to make public smoking an important public health issue.

Teresa La Thangue is Senior Press Officer at British American Tobacco