Switched on

I cannot remember where I read the following quote, or who said it. But, it is too good not to pass on: "Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?" Quite!

The president of the World Medical Association, Dr James Appelyard, interviewed by The Times on Tuesday, did not say it. But the gist of what he said was more or less the same. What he did say was that the introduction of air-purifying systems instead of a total ban on smoking in public places was a "con trick - a dishonest way of misleading people".

How does the Minster of Health, specifically, and the government in general feel about that comment? "There is no safe level below which no adverse effects can be seen... harmful gases were not filtered, which gives a false impression of safety... It is dishonest to mislead the public by making them believe that there are no hazardous substances in the air," he said.

He was dismissive of ventilation systems. Even "positive output ventilation, where the air in the room is completely replaced, does not eliminate the risk, although it may reduce it," he said.

So my question is: Why is the Standards Authority wasting time and money trying to find the best air cleaning equipment, when the doctors are telling us they don't work?

Dr Lorna Cachia, the authority's legal adviser, was quoted as saying: "No second-best will do." In that case, may I humbly suggest to the MSA that they save money, time and our health by listening to the health professionals and not the people trying to sell them equipment.

Besides, how can the government take the GRTU seriously when its hospitality and leisure representative, Philip Fenech, can say that one of the issues that needed clarification was that "there was no clause in the law that said the equipment needed to be switched on"!

I fully concur with Sonia Camilleri, Commissioner for Children, when she says it is sad that the economic interests of a few have taken prominence over people's right to a healthy environment. I urge and support her to keep lobbying to ensure that our children can enjoy a healthy environment.

More pollution

Noise is no new phenomenon. One English critic of the 1880s had written: "In our cities and commercial towns the ear is never at rest".

In 1906 Julia Barnett Rice of New York City, founded the world's first Society for the Suppression of Unnecessary Noise. She recalled with wry irony a visit to Paris in 1907, when the French writer "Marcel Prevost came to see me and we laughed together over the pleasing habit that Paris shares with most European cities of waking you up by means of church bells every quarter of an hour during the night so that you will know what time it is."

Well, as we all know, church bells are not the worst offenders these days. But as the festa season approaches we have the dreaded petards to shake our windows and shatter our ear drums to tell us its 8 a.m., noon, 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and any time in between according to festa pyrotechnic organisers' fancy.

We are not allowed to think and that is really dangerous. This is yet another issue Sonia Camilleri can add to her list.

The exam season is soon upon us and children and young people at University are going to be hard put to have the peace and quiet required for study.

Is our education system failing our children by not ensuring our children are not being constantly distracted and can't think?

The following quote was meant to shock: "Education is about making sure people can't think... They are attacked by this pollution from the earliest age - noise, non-stop distraction," Vivienne Westwood, the vieille terrible, speaking to The Times of London on the opening of an exhibition of her designs at the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum), which closes on July 11.

She was of course talking about Britain, where the noise is nowhere as bad as ours, unless you live on the A1, or next to an airport! And where local councils have the power to enforce laws curbing noise nuisance.

It was good to see a Rabat resident thanking the relevant authorities for responding to his letter - complaining of a noisy manhole on a busy road - and acting promptly and efficiently. Contrary to what some think, people do respond with gratitude when the relevant authorities take action.

What we need are more committed officials. I also must thank whoever took the necessary steps to stop the incessant hammering we had to put with for three consecutive Sundays and the weekdays in between.

We actually got some peace this week after I made some phone calls, when the hammering did not stop last Sunday. Another neighbour who works nights on Saturdays finally managed to get some rest on Sunday afternoon.

As I have done on previous occasions when dealing with noise, I am picking one of the letters, sent to me with a name and address (I do not take action on anonymous letters) on the subject for publication:

We came to live in San Gwann 30 years ago and we had been blessed with a quiet environment in every way, away from traffic and the main road.

But, recently things have taken a dive. Some horse owners have taken a fancy to our street. At 5.30 every morning they come to walk their horses up and down for about an hour. To add insult to injury, they talk to each other loudly, disturbing everybody's sleep.

If that was not enough, a bird trapper across the street has recently introduced two very noisy birds, which coo all day long - one sounds like a wooden rattle - even during the night.

We don't want to be spoilsports, but we deserve a good night's sleep and quiet surroundings. These people show no respect for the rest of us. How can we make them toe the line?

Would the police bother to take any kind of action? Or do we have to lie back and bite the bullet?

Talking of trappers and hunters, my other favourite people. Is there no law which stops constant recorded birdsong on Sunday afternoons? Birdsong can be soothing, but a tape recording repeating the same monotonous chirp for hours is certainly not, neither are birds which rattle all night long.

However when, some time ago, one of my other neighbours (my environs are not very salubrious) had introduced noisy birds, which never stopped, the local police did take action. So I suggest that anyone with the problem contact their local police first. Then try your local council.

FKNK, the Federation of Hunters and Trappers, is supporting its secretary, Lino Farrugia, in his bid to represent our country in the European Parliament.

The Federation is holding a press conference on Wednesday to launch his independent candidature. This rather surprised me since the press is not regarded too highly by FKNK.

Besides, one of the foreign journalists here recently was told by Lino Farrugia that his association does not speak to foreign journalists, because they give them a bad press!

So what is Mr Farrugia going to do if he is elected to represent our country in Brussels? Boycott the foreign press? If it was not that pride in my country prevents me from wishing such representation in Europe, it would be gratifying to see FKNK plummeting down to earth, rather like the birds they shoot, if they got that far.

Hoary old chestnut

I am sorry that Dr Saliba (Letters, page 16), who obviously has a very valid reason for berating MEPA, still cannot distinguish between chalk and cheese and insists on referring to "two identical instances" - of MEPA personnel taking a private initiative to oppose policy of the Authority, which employs them - when they are no such thing.

They are very different instances, as I explained on March 28. Maybe, Dr Saliba is unaware of the concept of whistle-blowing, or he might think it a "hoary old chestnut".

One employee was, although I did not use this title on March 28, whistle-blowing, which is a highly moral activity, and the other was allegedly acting abusively and corruptly - hardly "identical"!

Dr Saliba makes a common mistake, which is that I am protecting someone or taking sides. This is not what I do. I comment on current issues per se to encourage thought and debate, not to convince, as I am sure my educated, or otherwise, readership is fully aware.

phansen@timesofmalta.com