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Smoking ban 'puts staff at risk'

By Zentaurus41 · Jul 31, 2007 · 334 · 3
  1. Zentaurus41
    Smoking ban 'puts staff at risk'
    Smoking (generic)
    The smoking ban was introduced across England on 1 July
    A pub landlord has said he will allow people to smoke in his bar to avoid risking his bar staff getting attacked if they try to enforce the ban.

    Tony Blows, of the Dog Inn at Ewyas Harold, in Herefordshire, said the ban contradicted health and safety laws.

    He said other sections of the law dictated that staff should not be put in potentially violent confrontational situations.

    The smoking ban was introduced across England on 1 July.

    Mr Blows said that under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, employers have a duty of care to provide a safe place of work for all staff.

    'Not an excuse'

    He said he believed asking bar staff at the village pub to confront smokers would contradict those guidelines.

    Mr Blows said: "When people come in here I tell them that smoking in a public place like this is against the law and they could face a £50 fine or a court appearance.

    "However, because of the previous health and safety rulings, we can't enforce it.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/6923843.stm

    "This is not an excuse to just get us out of the smoking ban - anyone who looks on the Health and Safety Executive's website can see the contradiction there in black and white."

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  1. Nature Boy
    In all fairness, it seems as though this man is letting the inmates run the asylum if customers can smoke in his bar and the staff cannot do a thing about it.
    Nature Boy, Jul 31, 2007
  2. OccularFantasm
    It's a bar. Sure it would be nice if everyone could just play nice, but it rarely happens in such a place. If there is no bouncer-type person working at any given time, then the bar is simply not being run correctly. You just ask people nicely once, then get people to pick them u and throw them in the start the second time. After all, the pub belongs to the landlord, so if someone is breaking a law there, and they are asked to stop, it is the equivalent of trespassing. Until the person decides to leave, you have the right to "persuade" him to do so. This is not the way swim personally would want to handle things, but if your running a bar there really isn't much choice. Maybe they have different rules or laws in the UK, but back in the rural part of the states, thats how it goes.
    OccularFantasm, Jul 31, 2007
  3. Zentaurus41
    here is a news story where a member of staff aksed two people to stop smoking in a london pub and well they pulled a gun on him and shot him, he is now dead. Ill see if i can find it for ya.

    Here it is :

    Boxer shot in smoking ban row is dead

    ormer champion boxer James Oyebola, who was shot in the head in a row over smoking at a London bar, died today at 12.39pm.

    A police spokesman said Mr Oyebola was pronounced dead by medical staff at New Charing Cross Hospital at 12.39pm.

    Detective Chief Inspector Scott Wilson said: "This is now a murder inquiry and we need the people who were in the club that night to come forward as they may have information that could help us piece together what happened last Sunday night.

    "James's family are devastated. I would urge anyone with information to come forward to police and assist us in bringing those responsible for murdering James to justice."

    Officers from Operation Trident carried out searches of three addresses in Wandsworth today in connection with the investigation.

    Mr Oyebola was injured after asking three men to stop smoking in a covered courtyard area at the rear of Chateau 6 in Fulham Road.

    James Oyebola

    Oyebola celebrates victory after his British heavyweight WBC title fight at Cardiff

    The 6ft 9ins former British heavyweight champion was shot in the head and leg during the incident in the early hours of Monday morning.

    Four shots were fired, but no weapon has been found. No one has been arrested in connection with the incident.

    Mr Oyebola, known as Big Bad during his fighting career, arrived at the bar about two hours earlier for a drink with the owner after finishing work at a nearby bar.

    The shooting took place 23 days after smoking was banned in pubs, clubs and restaurants in England.

    His attackers, described as black and aged between 19 and 25, fled the club on foot - apparently in separate directions.

    Chateau 6, formerly the White Hart pub, is close to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium and is a popular haunt for football fans.

    Police said there were at least 40 customers in the premises when the shooting took place, many of whom apparently panicked and ran away.

    Mr Oyebola, born in Nigeria, won 18 of his 23 fights, and was a bronze medallist at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. After winning the WBC international heavyweight title in 1993, he retired in 1996.

    http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article...#39;/article.do
    Zentaurus41, Jul 31, 2007
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