Stubborn Industry Brought Smoking Ban On Themselves

11.41.59am UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 16th Nov 2004

Moves to restrict smoking in pubs and outright bans in cafes and restaurants have been welcomed by West Midlands Euro-MP Liz Lynne.

The Liberal Democrat MEP who has long warned bars and restaurants that a ban would be inevitable if they did not provide proper non smoking areas, said that the public had finally run out of patience with the industry.

Liz Lynne said:

"Last year I called for bars and restaurants to be given one last chance to provide smoke free areas. At that time I warned the industry that unless they turned the situation round within a matter of months, the pressure for an outright ban would become irresistible. Unfortunately they did not heed the warnings and it looks almost certain that a smoking ban is on the way.

"It is of course right that adults should be free to smoke in private, but employees also have a right to be able to work in a place that doesn't endanger their health.

"As an asthma sufferer I know how difficult it is to find smoke free restaurants. With doctors now treating 20,000 new cases of asthma each week, it maybe isn't surprising that more people want to find non-smoking areas.

ENDS

Notes To Editors

Liz recently hosted a press conference in Brussels to officially launch two new reports, drawn up by the European Network for Smoking Prevention (ENSP) on the effects of smoking in EU countries. To view the reports please visit www.ensp.org