Smoke ban long overdue

Published on 21/07/2006 01:34

Stephen McGinty (Opinion, 18 July) is wrong to compare the smoking ban in public places in Scotland to Hitlerian totalitarianism, not least because MSPs voted overwhelmingly for it. Under 30-year-old health and safety legislation, employers, such as publicans and restaurant owners have an absolute duty of care to protect their employees, eg bar staff, and members of the public to the harmful effect of substances known to be injurious to health.

Since the evidence for the long-term risks of second-hand smoke is overwhelming, this ban is well overdue. The fact that it has taken three decades to rectify a long standing anomaly in the working environment in relation to a cancer-causing addiction by a minority actually represents reluctance in a liberal democracy to impose Draconian laws such as this ban.

The Scottish Executive was right to seek to protect the non-smoking majority population.

MARTIN HULME, Alnwickhill Road, Edinburgh

In response to Stephen McGinty, Hitler's strong opposition to tobacco and alcohol has very little to do with our current health laws in Scotland.

He fails to give a convincing reason for exempting normal workplaces from this legislation, which is designed to remove a toxic and carcinogenic substance. He also fails to convince with his call to uphold the importance of liberty. Exactly whose liberty is at stake here? Surely the right to breathe air takes pre-eminence over the right to smoke in enclosed spaces.

And weighing up the "artistic liberty" of a puffed up actor against the health of an asthmatic stagehand, I am convinced Scotland made the right decision in adopting clear, unambiguous legislation. We took a rational position based on robust evidence. I hope England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the courage to do the same.

MAUREEN MOORE, Chief executive, ASH Scotland, Frederick Street, Edinburgh