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Council investigator catches pub landlady flouting smoking ban
A pub landlady was prosecuted for breaching the smoking ban after a council paid an undercover investigator who saw people puffing away inside.
He visited the Stag's Head pub in Barnstaple, Devon, on three consecutive Fridays - and saw customers and the landlady smoking.
North Devon District Council licensing officer Nick Perkins said today the authority took the action because other publicans complained they were losing customers to the pub where smoking was being allowed.
It was the first time the authority had used an undercover investigator in connection with the smoking ban, and they would consider doing it again if necessary, said Mr Perkins.
The pub landlady, 45-year-old Joanne Kendall, admitted before Barnstaple magistrates smoking herself and allowing customers to do so in breach of the Health Act 2006.
She was fined £100 for failing to prevent smoking on premises, £30 for smoking herself, and ordered to pay £100 costs.
Mr Perkins said today following complaints that smoking was being allowed in the pub they sent Mrs Kendall two letters asking her to comply with the law.
"There were further complaints from other landlords saying it was an unfair advantage, and their customers were going to the Stag's Head,"
said Mr Perkins, adding the landlady was "clearly ignoring the advice."
Because the landlady knew Mr Perkins and his colleagues, the council paid someone unconnected with the authority to go undercover to prove or disprove the complaints.
"He went on three consecutive Fridays in April and saw smoking on each occasion, including the landlady herself," said Mr Perkins.
"We would have been delighted if she had taken our advice," said Mr Perkins, adding that the pub had a beer garden - providing 'plenty of room for people to smoke legally'."
Mr Perkins said 4,500 premises in North Devon were subject to the smoking ban - which came into effect on July 1 last year - and only one had been prosecuted.
COMMENTS
John Spear
Commented 10 weeks ago
If, as we are forever being told, the smoking ban is so popular, then why are other publicans losing customers to the pub where smoking was being allowed, and why does the licensing officer state this pub had an unfair advantage?
BarneyBear
Commented 10 weeks ago
The smoking ban is one of the most spiteful and divisive laws ever enacted.
This case once again shows the underhanded way in which the councils apply the draconian smoking ban. Publican and business managers are coerced to act as unpaid enforcers of the draconian smoking ban, with treats of astronomical fines. The smoking ban is based on the false claims of the treat to health because of SHS. No one has ever died as a direct result of SHS.
Bring back Freedom of Choice in the matter, let Publicans and Business owners decide for them selves!
People are getting fed up with the micromanagement by the state in their lifestyles!
There is something distinctly Orwellian going on in this country.
Is Freedom of thought becoming a crime? Big Brother is watching!
Nowhere to hide!
Johnny Boy
Commented 10 weeks ago
The smoking ban is based on deeply misleading science about the dangers of passive smoke and the further fraudulent campaign that banning smoking in public and/or private buildings will improve the nations health. The science that shows there's no dangers to a smoke filled room has been readily available for over a decade;
1. UN's 1998 WHO study - no dangers to passive smoke (the UN's WHO squashed this 13 country study)
2. Enstrom & Kabat study - the longest in medical history (38yrs) showing no dangers to spouses, work colleagues and children of people that smoked
3. John Hopkins University study - showed even the smokiest room still exceeded clean air workplace regulations by 2.6 to 25,000 times. You need the extremes of a laboratory to make smoke dangerous.
4). There's more - 58 out of 65 medical studies into the subject show the same - passive smoking poses no threat to public health
The health extremist groups (inc the corrupt United Nations) have been peddling junk-science, misleading hyperbole and scare stories to push a political agenda, not a public health or scientific one, for over 20yrs. It is an inditement of our political system that this internationally organised minority has deceived democracies worldwide to bully businesses and citizens into some sterlisied world based on lies (food and alcahol is next).
This deceipt needs continued deceipt to keep the campaign going. We've recently seen Scottish health ministers quote a 17% reduction in heart attacks proven to be absolute rubbish from a bent study. ASH Scotland has recently claimed smoke is "radioactive". Yes and so is your laptop, jewelrey and TV. Yet more garbage. We have Cancer Research UK claiming 40,000 lives have been saved from a charity that boasts an award for "transparency" but will not release the study!
The smoking ban was based on a one scientific lie about health and a second about economics and post-ban pubs and clubs would fill up with lots of happy non-smokers (even though non-smokers were perfectly happy with the ability to choose between smoking and non-smoking venues and usually filled up the smoking venues).
2,000 Pubs and clubs have now shut and nearly 40,000 staff are out of work (remeber it was the staff the Govt purported to want to protect - again not that they asked them!!).
At a cost of £1bn and an army of Enviro jobsworths with marching boots on this legislation has caused economic destruction and social devisiveness and the loss of social hubs in communities up and down the country (as has happened in Ireland, America and Scotland).
All for a handful of international loonatic groups signed off by a Labour Govt who now lose their deposit and have joined the also-rans of loonatic minority parties at by-elections. The nanny State isn't coming it has arrived. And we've long passed nannyism. We're now at bullyism with jack boots on.
Greg Burrows
Commented 9 weeks ago
Devon District council could be in breach of article 8 of the Human rights act, by using R.I.P.A (Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (c. 23)) LACORS (the council's advisory regulation body) states I quote 'Lacors believes such surveillance should not be an invasion of these article 8 rights as it is in accordance with the law and necessary for the protection of the public health'.
As there is no evidence that second hand smoke is significantly harmful (well no more than coffee) ask the HSE or read HSE OC 255/15, Devon district council may have broken the law, RIPA was designed for the war against terrorism, not to give council's a state police type authority to spy.
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