Madam, - In some ways it is fortuitous that the ban on smoking in the workplace was postponed from January to late March. This has given time for the independent report on the economic impact of the ban on the hospitality industry to be published. That report concludes that there is unlikely to be any long-term negative impact.
More importantly, it has allowed data to emerge from the drinks industry which show that pub sales of alcohol between July and December 2003 were down by 8 per cent while off-licence sales were up by 3 per cent. In addition, market research from the drinks industry has shown that the number of regular pub-goers has fallen by at least 20 per cent since 2000.
Many reasons have been postulated for this shift: changing demographics, the price of drink in the pubs, health concerns about alcohol, commuting times, lifestyle changes such as dinner parties and nights in front of the home cinema system, and drink-driving legislation, to cite but a few. And none of this fall-off in pub-going can be attributed to the smoking ban as it is not yet in force.
Publicans have stated repeatedly that a ban on smoking in pubs would damage their business. It appears that many other more important factors are at play here. That should be borne in mind when the inevitable cries of economic disaster are voiced by the vintners' representatives on March 30th. - Yours, etc.,
Dr FENTON HOWELL, ASH Ireland, Dublin 4.
Madam, - Martin Boers (March 24th) suggests the public health services should refuse to treat smokers for smoking-related illnesses, presumably because the illnesses are self-inflicted.
But why stop there? Poor diet and a lack of exercise are key causes of heart disease, so most sufferers must surely shoulder at least some of the blame. Perhaps we should refuse treatment for people suffering from bone-density problems because they really should have drank more milk. And sports injuries? Unbelievably easy to avoid: don't play sport.
We really could save a fortune by treating only those terribly unlucky people who become ill despite living utterly blameless lives. - Yours, etc.,
AIDAN O'CARROLL, Mount Argus Close, Kimmage, Dublin 6.
Madam - Based, no doubt, on the idea that a lie repeated often enough becomes the new truth, we have yet another so-called study on the effects of the smoking ban from the Office of Thought (sorry, I mean Tobacco) Control (The Irish Times, March 24th).
Perhaps, now that the anti-smoking legislation is firmly in place, we will at least be spared this repetitious junk-science, and the money being wasted on this type of pointless propaganda can be put to better use. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL K. POWER, Greenlands, Dublin 16.