Ban on smoking 'will not hurt pubs'
A scientist who played a key role in persuading the Irish government to ban smoking in pubs has urged Hong Kong to move in the same direction.
Hong Kong is bracing for a political struggle between health authorities and the catering and entertainment industry over plans for tougher smoking laws, including bans on lighting up in bars and restaurants, expected later this year.
Shane Allwright played down fears that drinking and eating venues would lose business, saying that early studies suggested that people frequented Irish pubs more often after the smoking ban was imposed there in March.
They also suggested that the ban, which covers restaurants and workplaces, had been a 'resounding and astonishing success'.
Dr Allwright, a senior lecturer at Trinity College's department of public health and primary care in Dublin, chaired a scientific review group that published a report crucial to Ireland's adoption of the world's toughest smoking legislation.
Second-hand smoke has been associated with cancer, heart disease and respiratory illnesses. Anti-smoking groups claim present Hong Kong laws that require only one-third of restaurant seats to be designated non-smoking put frontline catering workers at risk.
'If the Irish can [ban smoking], anyone can,' Dr Allwright said, referring to the popular national pastime of lighting up in a pub with a pint of Guinness.
Speaking yesterday at the 26th Asia Pacific Dental Conference in Wan Chai, Dr Allwright said Hong Kong should expect heated debate once the tougher smoking-control legislation was unveiled.
She said one of the reasons Ireland had been successful in implementing its ban was the willingness of officials to draft legislation that took on the nation's pubs.
Hong Kong is estimated to be home to about 820,000 smokers, or 15 per cent of its population.
