Poll wants bars to set smoke rule

By HELEN TUNNAH, deputy political editor

Banning smoking in bars and restaurants should not be decided by politicians but should be left to the owners, say most of those questioned in a Herald-DigiPoll survey.

As MPs last night debated a controversial law change to ban all smoking in bars and restaurants, poll results showed 55.8 per cent of people questioned said it was a decision for owners. Just under 40 per cent of those asked said Parliament should be allowed to make the call.

The poll also found that although most people wanted to dine in smoke-free areas, there was strong support for being allowed to smoke in bars.

Only 26 per cent of those surveyed wanted smoking banned in bars. Of the rest, 62.6 per cent said smoking should be allowed in designated bars, and 9.1 per cent said it should be allowed in all bars.

Asked if smoking should be allowed in restaurants, 39.3 per cent agreed while 56.9 per cent wanted a complete ban.

Across the two biggest political parties, more National voters wanted smoking banned in bars than Labour voters. However, more Labour than National voters favoured a restaurant ban.

Politicians continued last night to debate the member's bill of Labour MP Steve Chadwick, which would bring in the ban.

Supporters of the Smokefree Environments Amendment Bill said it was the only way to protect patrons and staff from the harmful health effects of second-hand smoke.

United Future leader Peter Dunne yesterday tried to get the bill sent back to a select committee for scrutiny, so politicians could question anti-smoking lobby groups about revelations they had been given taxpayers' money to seek MPs' support for the law change.

Mr Dunne had earlier scored an own goal in the debate, when he tried to link the contracts, worth $2.1 million, to corruption.

Instead he was left explaining why he had accepted a paid lunch from a tobacco company while visiting Britain nine years ago.

Who had paid for the lunch was revealed to Parliament only after Mr Dunne insisted Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons tell everyone what was written in a letter she had about him.

The letter, from the British American Tobacco Company, said Mr Dunne was being sent £100 ($281).

Mr Dunne told Parliament any attempts to link the payments to improper actions would be "malicious and untrue".

He said the money paid for a lunch for him and his family during a private visit to Britain in 1994.

His actions were no different to MPs in Wellington dining with paid lobbyists.

Mr Dunne and Act leader Richard Prebble later called for MPs to delay debating details of the planned ban on smoking until there had been a chance to find out details of the Ministry of Health's contracts with anti-smoking groups Ash and the Smokefree Coalition.

The move was defeated, and MPs continued debating the legislation, opponents extending the debate to try to delay the bill's progress.

National MP Katherine Rich said she opposed the legislation because it gave the state too much control.

The Dunedin list MP said bar patrons from her area could face a "near-death experience" if they were forced outdoors in winter to smoke.

She also said she had spoken to one patron, a war veteran, who had told her he had gone to war to fight for the freedoms the bill was now trying to take away.

The poll of 801 people was taken between Friday and Monday and had a margin of error of 3.5 per cent.