Embargoed 00.01hrs Thursday 16 October 2003

Smokers lobby groups attacks
'Americanisation of Ireland's pub culture'

THE smokers' lobby group FOREST has criticised plans to ban smoking in Irish bars and restaurants and urged people to reject the 'Americanisation of Ireland's vibrant pub culture'.

Speaking in a debate at University College Dublin [Wednesday 15 October], Simon Clark, director of the London-based organisation and a non-smoker, said, 'People are fed up with anti-smoking activists telling us how to live our lives. Just because California and New York have banned smoking doesn't make it right. Britain, Ireland and America have very different traditions and we should reject the Americanisation of our vibrant pub culture.'

Clark criticised American activists who visit Europe promoting a US-style anti-smoking culture. 'Placing excessive limits on smoking is an American obsession. The vast majority of people want some form of restriction on smoking but a total ban is out of all proportion to the problem of environmental tobacco smoke.'

Solutions, he said, should include designated smoke free areas in large bars and restaurants, tax incentives to improve ventilation, and no-smoking pubs to meet a niche market. 'The hospitality industry needs guidance not regulation and should be given time to succeed.'

'A modern, independent nation,' said Clark, 'should resist attempts to unduly sanitise its social life. Prohibition isn't the answer. The challenge for a truly healthy nation is finding ways to accommodate the eccentricities of a minority without inconveniencing the majority.'

Antony Worrall Thompson, TV chef, restaurateur and patron of FOREST, whose wife Jay was born in Dublin, said, 'The whole thing about Ireland is being able to enter a bar or restaurant and everyone makes you feel welcome. You can enjoy a laugh with complete strangers and never feel threatened. One has to be allowed a certain amount of debauchery in life and drinking and smoking are all part of the craic.'

For further comment contact Simon Clark or Jo Gaffikin on 00 44 7774781 840 or 00 44 7989 342197. FOREST will be in Dublin for three days, 14-17 October.