Here we go again - The headline should be "Pressure group in dreamland".
Maureen Moore, now a social, financial and health expert blinded by a well rehearsed hatred of smoking, claims all the indicators point to the measure being a great success.
Just ask the (ex)customers of 5 Bingo clubs or 500 young people in Fife who have lost their summer treat if their lives are better for the ban.
The problem with ASH is that they actually believe what they claim when the result of the ban is actually a social tragedy sponsored by the Assembly

ASH live in a fantesy world. If the National Media reported the real truth behind smoking bans and there consequences the general public would not be so easily lulled into believing passive smoking was anything more than an irritant. Not only have bans world wide altered the socio-economic makeup of towns, cities, states and countries it has also had a negative impact, creating more smokers, and more harm to vulnerable groups, either through social isolation or more smoking at home. A paper published in January by The Australian National University, Centre for Economic Policy Research states, 'bans in recreational public places can in fact perversely increase their exposure (NON SMOKERS) by displacing smokers to private places where they contaminate non smokers, and in particular young children'. This confirms research already published by University College London, last year and a number of other studies. Add this to the overwhelming science that shows passive smoking/ets poses no scientifically significant risk in the order of 1.25RR (Relative Risk of under 3 show little or no causation), and we are left with the real hate of the anti-smoker, 'the smell'. Any ventilation system that can remove the deadly Avian Bird Flue Virus, can certainly remove smoke particles. That is the truth that Mareen Moore, and her English counter part Deborah Arnott refuse to debate, despite being repeatadly asked to do so. And finally remember Ms Arnotts article in the Guardian where she proudly pronounced our campaign was 'a confidence trick'. ASH are liars supported by Big Drug Companies and your hard earned taxes. Fight back support Freedom to Choose, www.thebigdebate.org, in our fight for a Judicial Review, remember if we suceed in England the Scottish Executive would have to listen.

lies ,lies and more lies from nanny group ash.m moore is in cookoo land.

The smoking ban legislation will go down in history, as the biggest confidence trick from the likes of trASH, BHF, CRUK and our illustrious Chief Medical Officer. Unfortunately, the ones who were taken in by the passive smoking "smoking gun" were our even less intelligent politicians of all persuasions.

One day I hope that this nonsence will be assigned to whence it came and I can again enjoy a simple pleasure of a pint, a cigarette and the company of people with far more intelligence. Not too much to ask.

If ash/BHF/CRUK and the rest had stopped pushing their luck they would have got away with it. Their problem is that they can't help pushing themselves to the foreground by further attacking the social lives of UK residents. They dont just want blood they want the carcas as well. Their fascist rantings have annoyed not only smokers but alot of non smokers as well. The result is that the nation has started looking into them big style and slowly their lies and deceit are being exposed for what they are. I wonder how many people have raised thousands and thousands of pounds for these so-called charities who are supposed to ploughing this money into furthering research when a good look at them reveals that they are not doing that. They are too busy pumping their cash into groups like ash to pay their generals big bucks. HMG also fund them while our hospitals are on their last legs. Who cares about us? not HMG or BHF/CRUK. The smoker contributes £11bn a year so why are we treated like dogs? I wonder if the prime minister will be doing a visit to the war veterans shivvering outside their social clubs in winter to thank them for risking their lives for him! Ash and co have spent the last 35 years trying to get their story straight and it still isn't working. In their eyes they have won so why don't they all just shut up! then again, they still want their wages so they have to be seen to be doing something. The government have got their pension funds invested in big tobacco cos so they'll be ok.

Here we go again, indeed.

We had the same caterwauling from the hospitality industry in California, in Delaware, in New York City and State, in Ireland, over and over and over again. All, all is hogwash.

The fact is, smoking bans are popular, and get more popular as time goes on. AND they do not harm the industry, no matter what the "Oh, dear, the sky is falling!" Chicken Littles scream.

Now here we go from instant disaster to "wait a year." Do they think we have short memories about their dire predictions last year??

What a load of crap these people try to pull, every time. And without the tobacco industry pulling the strings, comprehensive smoking bans would have been in place 5-10 years earlier.

In Beverly Hills in 1988, the first full restaurant ban was met with zero--yes, zero-- opposition. The tobacco industry had to manufacture opposition, and formed the "Beverly Hills Restaurant Association." They had to make up their own group! The pattern was repeated; sometimes they made up the group, sometimes they just paid an existing group.

As time went on, Tobacco discovered they could emit PR from front groups promising that revenues would go down 30% ("The 30% Myth," Consumer Reports, 1994) and get everyone to believe it. In NYC, Philip Morris minions themselves apparently visited upwards of 3,000 restaurants to communicate its message of doom and gloom. THEN they'd send in an opinion firm for a survey-- and sure enough, the groundwork paid off, and hospitality venues would report they'd lose 30% of their business under a smoking ban. This technique was used again and again--buttressed by the previous surveys. But strongly contradicted, for anyone with sense, by the actual results of smoking bans.

The idea of these massive losses apparently snowballed, with a little help from donations to the National Restaurant Association and the like.

Don't any of these hospitality

http://www.fifenow.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1015..., to back up Chris.

Gene – there are enormous differences within the pub and restaurant trade here: does that make it right for the smaller independent outlets to lose business, areas to lose social amenities etc and people to face isolation. The people you have talked to about this must be a) non-smokers and b) not dependent on their local pub for a place to meet their neighbours and friends in comfort – perhaps those people who feel the ban is universally popular can just jump into the car and head off for the nearest hotel with a beer garden. All an idle quest to improve the nation's health by issuing orders to people.

Government are our servants, not our masters.

Lots of bars are not doing so well in Ireland unless they have succeeded in adapting their premises, but if you had a pub that was not trading brilliantly, would you go to town advertising the fact or would you try and sell on the promise of better things to come?

Gene - Travel to Fife - see the damage - Social units are dying.
Life for a large proportion of Scottish people will continue within a shrinking world and many non-smokers may enjoy their new designer world BUT so much more will be lost.
Individuals are not important to government and have been shown they are not even worthy of being members of New Scotland.
The character of a Country comes from it's people - ALL it's people --- welcome to Theme Park Scotland.