Letter: Meanwhile, in the pub
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Your support makes all the difference.Meanwhile, in the pub
Sir: The latest proposals from Action on Smoking and Health ("Smokers face American-style prohibition", 10 November) raise the question of what the effect of prohibition would be on British pubs and restaurants.
In 1996, the Campaign for Real Ale published details of a survey on this issue, carried out by the East Midlands Brewing Association. This found that 53 per cent favoured the introduction of no-smoking areas, with the remainder against. Only 9 per cent supported a total ban - not so much a silent majority as a strident minority.
In Toronto, a US-style ban was partially relaxed because of a 30 per cent loss of business.
It is right to question the motivation of people who cannot or will not tolerate tobacco smoke and yet seek work in a pub. This is about as convincing a someone with acrophobia asking for a job as a steeplejack.
DAVID J ANDERSON
Wakefield,
West Yorkshire
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