Cigarette machine ban in pubs sparks fury
7:34pm Monday 3rd December 2007
LANDLORDS in Bolton have reacted furiously after the Government announced plans to ban cigarette machines in pubs in a bid to beat cancer.
The five year, £370 million cancer plan was officially launched today by Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Proposals include extending cancer screening and providing greater care for patients trying to manage the long-term effects of cancer.
They also hope to increase regulation of tobacco sales and sunbed use, and cigarette vending machines could be wiped out to slash the number of smokers.
But Bolton licensees believe it is one step too far and insist they are regulating the sale of cigarettes to underage smokers without the need for legislation.
John Jewitt, landlord of Ye Olde Man and Scythe, in Churchgate, said: "A ban of this kind is totally unnecessary. The restrictions on people coming in to town centre pubs are already very strict and anyone who looks under 21 is id'd. I just don't think youngsters buying cigarettes is a problem because it doesn't happen."
Landlady of the Albion in Moor Lane, Liz Berry, has blasted the Whitehall plans as "heavy handed".
She said: "I've just had the pub refurbished and we had to have the cigarette machine installed close to the bar, where we could easily see it and monitor who was using it. There's no way young people would be able to buy cigarettes in my pub.
"These plans do seem like overkill. I disagree with the ban in the first place, as many landlords do, and this just seems heavy handed. I understand the government has to come down hard for health reasons, but this is a ridiculous way to go about it and this feels like we're being dictated to."