Fuming about the smoking ban (2)

Smoker Sanni Voelker, from Leipzig, Germany, (September 13) wrote: "So some 'mixed' couples (one a smoker and the other one a non-smoker) opt for a destination where both are happy and it will not be Malta."

Does this mean that in order for a "mixed couple" to be happy, they need to be in a smoking environment? What about the non-smoker? Is she/he happy to be inhaling second-hand smoke?

Anyway, what is all this rubbish about relating the smoking ban to the drop in tourism? I wish to draw the attention of your readers to the article by Pete Harris (September 9) entitled Pub Operator's Profit Up After Smoking Ban Trials, which reported that British pubs operator JD Wetherspoon reported a 24 per cent boost in profit for a year during which it has experimented with restricting smoking ahead of a national ban.

This news comes from the country from where most of our tourists arrive. Should we base our health policy on what a few smokers like Mr Voelker and Conny Dittrich are trying to tell us, or perhaps stick to facts like the one mentioned above, and more importantly to facts related to the detrimental effects of smoking on our health?