Passive smoking: the Paceville scenario

This letter has been developed gradually since the start of the law, which protects the public from the dangerous, sickening health hazard of passive smoking. It is also a collection of experiences since the start of the smoking ban in public places.

Last weekend I opted to stay at home since I could not tolerate another night of insane entertainment in poisonous fumes. The previous Sunday morning, after a night out in Paceville, the following symptoms unwillingly kept me company: my throat was dry, I felt sick and unhealthy, my hair stank and my clothes had to be aired in a separate room due to the unbearable toxic chemicals they had absorbed throughout the night - right into the depths of their fibres.

The main focus and concern of this letter is the Paceville scenario. From the experiences collected, I insist that this place needs to be tackled specifically. From my perspective, Paceville is the biggest and most condensed place on the island, where there is the highest probability that the most immature, unaware and lawless or drunk (of all ages) meet together.

By immature I mean the care free, the short-term thinkers. By unaware I mean lack of consciousness and education about the health hazards of passive smoking. By lawless I mean those who arrogantly and blatantly defy the law.

Paceville needs to see specific enforcement. Improvements have been made, but without constant and consistent enforcement there is a risk that things will return to the previous status quo. The following are a few examples to illustrate all this:

Case 1) At a specific bar in Paceville, I politely asked a security officer to ask a group of four people to stop smoking inside the bar. His reply was that he could not do anything and that the instruction from his superiors was to allow people to smoke!

I told him that this was unacceptable and that the law was there to be observed and to safeguard the health of patrons - he remained silent. Another security officer at the same club said that he could do nothing, that his job was not to stop people from smoking, but this was the police's job.

Case 2) At another club I asked security staff if there was a separate section reserved as a smoking area. I posed the question since there were a considerable number of smokers in what was supposed to be a non-smoking club.

The reply was: "The place is non smoking, but if you see someone suspicious approaching, just put it off." A few weeks later, the same club set the largest area of the place as a 'smoking area' while another remote area downstairs was set as 'nonsmoking'.

At first I looked at this change with hope. Yet, this action was a gimmick, because the 'non smoking' area is only opened on a Saturday night, thus creating a situation were for six days a week one has no choice but to stay in the smoking room.

To add insult to injury, on a Saturday night, when the no smoking area is open, it is left without music and without a barman and, obviously, as a consequence, without people. It is purposely kept plain, dull and empty.

This tactic seems to be adopted by a number of owners of establishments, who keep a small, poorly lit, unattractive room left for non smokers. When witnessing these situations, I end up asking myself: who are these people, the untouchables?

It seems that some specific bars in Paceville have a kind of power to do absolutely what they want when it is clear that they are defying the law through their tactics and manipulation.

Case 3) Another club does cater for smokers and non smokers separately, yet, the exit is situated in the smoking area and there is no other way out. Just like the club mentioned above, when the number of patrons is not large, the management closes the non smoking area, leaving the smoking area as the only one available.

On a Saturday night, at this club, the situation is even worse because ignorant and arrogant smokers also pervade the non smoking area. When I personally asked one of the club's staff in the non smoking area to request another two patrons nearby to stop smoking and to go smoke in the smoking room, he said that he had already told them and asked what else he could do.

Case 4) People try to smoke by hiding their cigarettes under bar benches and tables so as not to be seen. They pollute the air in an equally health-threatening manner. It is clear that they are missing the point of what the legislation is all about.

People need to be educated about the spirit of the law, by explaining and educating the public through meaningful statements which explain the in-depth thought that lies behind a public smoking ban.

By the way: I am a person who believes in the spirit of the law, mainly the meaningfulness behind it, rather than the law in itself. Yet, since many members of the public are not aware of the spirit of the law, the law becomes equally necessary and important.

Case 5) There are also situations where, at first in the early hours of the night, smokers are respectful of the health of others. Then after a number of hours, especially towards very late hours, the situation becomes a "free for all" - to quote a smiling bar owner.

Case 6) At a Paceville wine bar, staff inform patrons that they can smoke and that their bar is different, because it's a wine bar and therefore exempt from the law!

Case 7) After politely asking a woman nearby to refrain from smoking, with sheer arrogance and ignorance, through a shoulder shrug, she signalled that she couldn't care less.

Case 8) The worst case I heard of so far was one in which a customer complained to the Paceville police about smoking abuse at a particular bar. The police went to the bar.

Afterwards, the security officers threatened the customer. He was warned that, if he did not leave, he would be punched out of the place.

Case 9) Some people seem to think that cigarettes are a form of discotheque light to dance with and move around in particular rhythms at eye level. Very often places are crowded; cigarettes are not only a cause of poisonous fumes inhaled, but of burns on clothes and people.

As I see it, progress has definitely been made all around the island. The new legislation has led to a drastic cut in smoking in public. I have been to many bars, restaurants, offices and cafeterias that observe the law perfectly.

This is the way forward; it is a step towards healthier daily living and more sensible night entertainment.

Yet, there is still a long way to go and what worries me most is the fact that one weekend after the other, in places like Paceville, the situation seems to be getting worse.

An enforcement drive must be ordered in a way that is strong enough to get the message across and make the law effective in practice.