New Zealand: Hospitality Industry Blasts Smoking Ban Bid

Source from:  Stuff 07/20/2015

Hospitality New Zealand has blasted a "discriminatory" bid to ban smoking in outdoor areas of bars and restaurants.

City and regional councils have asked the Government to develop and implement legislation to prohibit smoking outside cafes, restaurants and bars.

A vote at Local Government New Zealand's annual general meeting on Sunday had 70 per cent voted in favour of the ban.

Smoking was banned inside licensed premises, workplaces and schools in 2004.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Bruce Robertson said it was "pretty discriminatory" to single out bars and restaurants.

"We believe it should be the members choice, really, to allow smoking or not," he said.

Patrons were not at risk of second-hand smoke outside as much as they were inside.

"It's hardly going to impact on other people's health outside. It's more a social engineering issue than a health issue."

Restaurant and bar operators across New Zealand did not seem to oppose the change, and many had been expecting it.

Blair McIntyre, group general manager for Cassels and Sons, which owns CBD Bar and The Brewery in Christchurch, said "the million dollar question" was the potential impact of an outdoor smoking ban on business.

"Certainly long established smokers will say I'm not going out anymore, but there's nothing you can do about that," he said.

"It's common sense that smoking has to eventually stop and this is is just a continuation of the process. At the same time . . . smoking and drinking have been long-time friends."

McIntyre said an outdoor ban could impact smoking, which would a good thing for New Zealand.

Wellington's Southern Cross Garden Bar and Restaurant bar manager Andrew Watson said the ban was "natural progression".

"It's how society's going in regards to smoking."

There would likely be backlash to the decision, but expected it to die away as it did when smoking was banned inside bars and restaurants, Watson said.

"I think now everyone agrees it was the right idea."

He thought business might be affected, but only for a "couple of months", as people "aren't going to stop going out".

Federal Delicatessen and Depot in Auckland offer designated smoking areas outside.

Restaurant manager Warren Ford said he had worked in other places enforced a smoking ban.

"People will just spark up away from the restaurant," he said.

Christchurch city councillor Glenn Livingstone, who attended the conference, said the ban would help New Zealand to achieve its target of being smokefree by 2025.

The Christchurch City Council has made its facilities smokefree and wants to include other public areas, including bus shelters.

"We're trying to get the Government to realise its own goal. The next step is for the Government to take it up."

It was a misconception that smokefree outdoor areas would be bad for business, Livingstone said.

"People actually prefer a smokefree environment." Enditem