The downside of anti-smoking laws

Today, smokers are the lepers of society. They can be denied employment, have to pay more taxes for health and life insurance. They can be chucked out of so-called public places, even if they are actually private businesses. They can be harassed, offended, called filthy, worthless and whatever. They can be denied medical treatment, if they do not stop smoking. They can be denounced if they smoke in a "public" place, prosecuted, fined, etc. They are the cash cow of today, which finances more than it actually costs society.

There is hardly anyone to defend them. It has become a normality to trample on and discriminate against smokers. This only happened because the public believes that second-hand smoke kills. If everybody who believes that second-hand smoke kills can name a single person they have known who died of second-hand smoke and not of smoking then one knows how true the statement is.

The smoking ban has been in place more than a year and it is not very popular with the common pub-goer, otherwise the law would not be flouted as often as Jeremy Camilleri noticed himself. Many people do not mind being around smokers.

Paceville would be deserted if the law were to be fully enforced, and that is why eyes are kept closed as much as possible.

Bars and restaurants are already struggling to keep their doors open. The damage of lost business is already being done; a smoking ban is simply not good for the hospitality industry. Why are there suddenly so many tables outside bars and restaurants, which were not needed before?

Because they have to cushion their losses, as the spenders are the smokers and not the health fanatics.

The noose is not only round smokers' necks; it is also round the neck of owners of outlets which were used to having smokers as customers and now cannot serve them anymore like they would like to. The smoking ban is unjust, putting businesses in a disadvantaged position, especially if they cannot provide outside seating. No compensation is given to them for the drastic drop in business.

It is not only the bars and restaurants that suffer but also all the companies and businesses related to this industry, like beverage suppliers, taxi drivers, etc. They carried the financial risk of their businesses and with one stroke of the pen they were ripped of their fruits of labour. As the bad effect of the smoking ban on the hospitality industry is well known, maybe some are quite happy that other foreign media do not report on the smoking ban in Malta.

Even the official webpage www.visitmalta.com does not give information about it (at least a text search yields no results). There should have been enough time to update it if they really want to give proper information about Malta. Or does the Malta Tourism Authority prefer to make this issue non-public to the many would-be visitors? Tourists will only find out about it when they are already in Malta. That is a nice start to a holiday for a smoker and his companion!