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No Smoking
Bad breath, teeth a sickening yellow, greyish skin, difficulty breathing? It is time for you to quit smoking.
In June 2007, Finland will introduce a restriction on smoking in pubs and restaurants. Similarly, England will impose a smoking ban in all enclosed public spaces from 1 July 2007.
Many people are vehemently opposed to the new legislation but, as a non-smoker, I wholeheartedly endorse it.
But, what are the arguments for banning smoking? Imagine the local swimming pool being divided into two sections ‘pissing’ and ‘non-pissing’. Would you still go swimming? I certainly would not. Yet, everyday non-smokers and smokers alike visit their local pub in their thousands, smoking or breathing in second hand smoke (passive smoking) that causes 90 per cent of all lung cancers. Let's face it; even the most courteous of smokers can't stop their smoke wafting into every corner of the room and permeating all clothes and hair fibres therein.
The detrimental effects of smoking have been known for decades. The head of Britain's leading cancer charity, states that smoking kills 114,000 people every year in the UK. He claims that banning smoking in public places would save more lives than the discovery of a single, new anti-cancer drug. In Finland, studies indicate that smoking increases the risk of asthma by 33% compared to that of non-smokers.
The benefits of a smoking ban for pubs and clubs
Businesses, trade associations and economic development organizations support the enactment of smoke free workplace laws and voluntary smoke free policies because such policies reduce health care costs, thereby reducing overall social costs for the employer.
In the USA, smokers and hospitality businesses initially argued that their businesses would suffer from a smoking ban. The reality has proved very different. In New York, air pollution levels have decreased six-fold in bars and restaurants after the ban came into effect in 2003. The city’s restaurants and bars have prospered despite the smoking ban, with increases in jobs, alcohol sales and business tax payments.
Scotland introduced a ban on smoking in public places on 26 March 2006. Since then, pubs have seen a significant rise in their food sales as patrons have began to come into the pubs for a coffee with friends or in the morning for breakfast.
The arguments for a smoking ban are compelling. But, if anyone is still opposed to a smoking ban in Finland, they might want to consider a recent development in Australia. In an editorial published in the Medical Journal of Australia, a leading doctor, Matthew Peters, head of thoracic medicine at Sydney's Concord Hospital, called for smokers to be denied elective surgery on the grounds that their treatment wastes scarce healthcare resources. He stated that “chronic smokers suffered higher rates of post-operative infection than non-smokers and so needed more extensive care.” Recent studies found that wounds became infected after joint replacement surgery in 30 percent of smokers, compared with zero in non-smokers.
Given the under investment and lack of funding for the Finnish health care system, I wonder how long it will before a similar idea is mooted in Finland?
Mike Bangle is the owner of Talking English language consultancy and can be contacted at mike.bangle(at)phnet.fi
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