So the answer to this problem and as forwarded by the Rest & Cateres Assoc. is to develop smoking rooms (properly Ventilated) in Restaurants for customers who like to enjoy an after dinner smoke.
That sounds like an emimently fair solution. A pity that it was rejected. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />
I can't see any reason why restaurants, pubs etc shouldn't have 'smoker's lounges', or whatever. Unfortunately, the smell of cigarette smoke ruins the taste and smells of a good meal even in outdoor al fresco eating areas. They're typically not all that large, and the effect of smoke doesn't magically disappear just because you're outside.
I'm not so sure about the point about losing business. Perhaps it has some validity, but I don't recall that many WA restaurants went out of business when the current rules came into force. My recollection is that there was a lot of grumbling and predictions of doom, but for the most part people did change their smoking pattern to fit the new rules. Maybe you also gain a bit of business from non-smokers who now find it attractive to come back?
Unfortunately, this sort of issue can't be decided by reference to people's 'rights'. Whose right do you chose - the smoker's 'right' to smoke where they please or the non-smoker's 'right' to breathe air that hasn't been stunk up by cigarette smoke. In fact neither are 'rights', they're both just wishes. And clearly they often conflict.
How do you feel about your own smoking Mea? Do you rather wish you didn't? Do you not believe that it's harming you?
