Star comment: Pub-goers must obey house rule
The William Withering pub in Wellington is named after a great medical pioneer from the town who, we may assume, would not have approved of smoking had he been aware of its lethal effects on health.
But what about those who give the appearance of smoking, without actually doing so?
The rise of the e-cigarette has taken us into new territory since the ban on smoking in public places came into effect in 2007, and Eva Ashton-Cox, who was having a drink at the William Withering, was to find herself in the front line as society tries to work out the issues involved.
She was using an e-cigarette in the pub when, she says, the deputy manager came across and asked her to go outside and smoke with the smokers.
This would, of course, expose her to the risks of passive smoking, which would defeat the whole point of having an e-cigarette in the first place. The arguments are continuing to be thrashed out, but they are promoted as a valuable tool in helping smokers give up by giving them a harmless – on this point again there is debate – substitute.
The reason why Wetherspoons does not allow them in its pubs is rather different, and based on practical considerations. The firm says in a busy pub it is hard for staff to tell what is an e-cigarette and what is a real cigarette.
With a bit of investigation, they could of course find out, but the staff have better things to do than to launch forensic tests on what may or may not be genuine cigarette smoke.
You can feel a lot of sympathy for Miss Ashton-Cox who will feel that she was doing something entirely legal and yet has been discriminated against, and treated exactly as if she was smoking a real cigarette.
And if those trying to kick the habit by using these devices still find that they are being asked to leave public places – with all the social awkwardness that entails – does that not devalue the incentive for using them?
However, as all these issues become clouded in a veil of blue smoke, harmless vapour, and general confusion about the correct way forward, what happened at the William Withering can be set apart and seen in an entirely different context – and that is one of pub management.
It boils down to something very simple, and that is that the bottom line is that public houses allow people in as guests, and as guests they have to obey the house rules.
