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Cllr the Hon Mr. Ian Hansen (IH):
In rising to speak to this Motion I shall be brief as fellow Councillors have covered all the aspects, I believe. I would just like to say initially that I think it is a great shame that four Councillors aren’t here to take part in this debate as it is an important issue. I am not going to try and make any long justification as to why I should support this Motion. I guess I can say that as a non-smoker I am doing it for purely selfish reasons.
I am asthmatic as are others and to be in the company of someone smoking for any length of time is pretty uncomfortable.
I have also seen in the past friends and relatives suffered terribly from smoking related diseases. I think I would prefer or it would be preferable to see others follow the example of the Brasserie, Malvina and the Trough. But realistically I doubt, unless a smoking ban is compulsory, we shall ever see one.
As the Honourable Michael Rendell pointed out, the fact that other countries taking this step and successfully, it must give us some direction.
Mr Speaker, I support the Motion.
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AS ONE wag put it, the smokers of Stanley were probably out polluting the atmosphere of pubs, because they certainly weren’t present in Stanley Town Hall where a mere fifteen members of the public gathered on Tuesday evening to discuss with councillors the motion on smoking in public places which is due to be put before Legislative Council today.
Andrew Alazia began proceedings by asking the panel of six councillors what the options were for the introduction of a smoking ban. Responding, Councillor Dr Richard Davis, who will be proposing the motion at today’s meeting, said that there were three parts to what was proposed, the first being to seek majority agreement in principle that smoking in public places was harmful, not only to the smokers themselves, but also to others about them.
The public smoking ban controversy has definitively reached the Falkland Islands, a community of heavy smokers.
The Malvina House Hotel in Stanley is to become the latest public venue to ban smoking on its premises. This follows a recent decision from another famous Stanley house, FalklandsÂ' Brasserie.
During July, the Malvina House Hotel asked customers to complete a questionnaire about their views on smoking in the hotel. The results of the questionnaire have now been collated and Manager of the Hotel Carl Stroud notes that out of a response of 103 completed forms an overwhelming 75% of respondents would like a complete ban on smoking in the bar and public areas.
Mr Stroud says that in view of the customers overwhelming response, a total ban throughout the hotel will commence from the 14th August, which he believes will give a much more pleasant environment both for the customer and staff alike.
PEOPLE are overwhelmingly in favour of a ban on smoking in enclosed public places in the Falklands. That’s according to the first results of the health census carried out by the government.
While the results released yesterday are only interim indicators and more questionnaires are expected to be received, 76.83% of the 669 people who have so far responded are in favour of a ban on smoking in enclosed public places.
Councillor Richard Davies was expected to propose a motion at today’s meeting of Legislative Council that smoking in public places be banned. However he said yesterday that the motion is likely to be postponed from today’s meeting to the next, in September.
Some members of the Falkland Islands Legislative Council, who are currently pondering whether or not smoking should be banned from public places in the Islands, today reacted negatively to the suggestion in a Mercopress report on this subject (Thursday 10th August) that the Falklands is “a community of heavy smokers”, something that Councillor Mike Summers referred to as “a slur on our good behaviour”.
The Falkland Islands Government Medical Department is currently carrying out a survey on the smoking habits and has circulated questionnaires to everybody over the age of sixteen on the hospital’s database.
According to Councillor Mike Rendell, who holds the Public Health Portfolio, while some 1800 of these questionnaires have not yet been returned and probably never will be, the 800 completed questionnaires received indicate that just over 24% have declared themselves as smokers.
A DARE Graduation took place at the Infant/Junior School on Thursday, 03 August 2006. In his introduction Sergeant Dave Roberts of the Royal Falkland Islands Police said that the DARE programme in the Falkland Islands has been going for eight years now and that nearly 400 students in Year 6 have received their DARE Certificates. During that eight years the course had been adjusted to reflect the problems that young people were facing today. He emphasised that DARE was not anti-alcohol but he did say that as adults these students needed to know how to drink sensibly. However, he said that DARE WAS anti- smoking and anti drugs.
Answer By the Attorney General Mr. David Lang QC:
Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, under section 90 of the Licencing Ordinance, it is unlawful for any person to sell any tobacco to any person who he knows or has reasonable cause to suspect is under the age of 16.
Under the same section it is unlawful for any person under 16 to consume tobacco in any way. And, a Police Officer may, with the use only of such force as is reasonably necessary in the circumstances of the case, seize any tobacco, which he finds in the possession, in a street or other public place of a person, whom the Police Officer reasonably suspects to be under the age of 16.
Any such tobacco seized is to be delivered to the Chief Police Officer or as the Chief Police Officer may direct.
Cllr. the Hon. Dr. Richard Davies: . . . A ban on smoking in public places would encourage and assist many smokers to give up. And, it would have beneficial affect in human terms and economic terms. And, I think it’s clear that any gains that Government may make by taxing cigarettes will be more than offset by the savings in health costs in the longer term. A ban would also protect non-smokers and staff who work in establishments from the affects of passive smoking. I do understand the views of those who feel that this is taking the Nanny State too far. . . . .
Cllr. the Hon. Mr. Mike Rendell: . . . . The medical benefits are obvious and proven but there are financial spin-offs, too. An average smoker spends at least £2,000.00 a year at today’s prices – all that money literally going up in smoke. I therefore urge fellow Honourable Members to take up the challenge of providing some real motivation for youngsters in particular to stop smoking.