We have now entered the fourth week of the smoking ban and we are told by some that the ban is having little effect .
And yet a poll of licensees for MA online showed clearly that it was having a negative impact at 64%. Just 15% said they had improved trade. Others predictably suggested the weather was to blame, and yet the ban was introduced in July because the weather would reduce the negative impact, or so we were told . As time goes on the protests, not just from within the pub industry, are growing, and those defying the ban in hospitality are no nearer being prosecuted. I think it is true to say that LA’s are running scared. The protesting pubs are armed with a document produced by the Health and Safety Executive which states unequivocally that Passive Smoking does not elevate a risk of worker ill-health.(HSE OC 255/15),the reason for the ban, at least it did. Readers must remember this document was commissioned by the Government, for LA enforcement staff. It is/was a public document which during the course of F2C’s research we found. We queried the document with the HSE as we were surprised at it’s statement, which is diametrically opposed to the view of HMG/DoH. The HSE have to go through a rigorous evidence based procedure, in this case reviewing the same science as HMG/DoH did, ie The Scientific Committee on Tobacco Health’s (SCoTH) 2004/5 review of the SCoTH report of 1998, before issuing policy guidelines which are enforceable in law. Whilst it is true to say that the response from the HSE skirted around the issue, they nevertheless stood by the document.
Imagine our surprise then, when we were told OC 255/15 was no longer on the HSE website as an accessible document. A quick emailed response revealed that this document, which was not due for review until 2011, had been replaced by OC 255/16. Readers will not be surprised to learn that paragraph 9 in 255/15 dealing with the epidemiological evidence based statement, had been removed and a watered down version replaced it at paragraph 14, with no mention of the HSE’s previous conclusions.
Readers are left to ponder firstly why the document was amended when conceivably nothing has changed since the original was released to LA’s in July 2006 long after Royal Assent of the ban and secondly why was their rigorous evidence based assessment and categorical statement changed when there was no original intention of review for 5 years from the date it was published.
Readers will not be surprised to learn that F2C believe that the Government has brought pressure to bear on the HSE as this document rightly debunks the entire reason for smoking bans and confirms the Lie of Passive Smoke. F2C at the time of writing are still awaiting an explanation from the HSE.
To see 255/15 Google HSE 255/15 click here (courtesy of our superior technical knowhow!)
Finally it is clear OC 255/15 is an embarrassment to HMG/HSE/DoH as the instructions on OC 255/16 is to Cancel and Destroy it. Their embarrassment has only just begun, the HTML version will always be out there.
