Strip joint puff van-quished

Smoking ban or not, Showgirls customers can still enjoy a cigarette indoors, thanks to "Ron's mobile smoking home".

Ron King owns the popular Auckland strip club. His smoking home is a caravan parked outside Showgirls for customers who want a puff without standing on the footpath.

Mr King is a non-smoker and "loves" the new ban, but fears it may turn business away.

So just before midnight on Thursday, when the law came into effect, he parked the black caravan he had towed from his son's farm at Albany in a spot that is a bus-stop during the day.

Mr King hopes the council will not take exception to his parking spot, but is not ruling out city officials turning up for a chat.

The caravan has the words "smokers only" painted on it, as well as the phone numbers of the massage parlours and bars that fall under the Showgirls umbrella.

Three sofas inside have new covers and a small fridge will soon be stocked with water. (By law, customers cannot bring alcoholic drinks out of the club.)

The caravan also has a good supply of ashtrays, which were littered with butts half an hour after the smoking ban began.

Showgirls management reminded smokers to go outside when the clock struck 12. Several headed for the comfort of the caravan, Mr King said.

They were back inside the club when the Weekend Herald arrived at 12.30am but the smell of smoke in the caravan was evidence that the sanctuary had gone down a treat.

Mr King said the caravan was only for customers only. It was strictly off-limits to passers-by.

* Just five complaints about breaches of the smokefree legislation were lodged with the Health Ministry yesterday, NZPA reports.

A spokesman said two complaints related to smoking in licensed premises, and the rest were from staff questioning the actions of their employers.

Reminder letters would be dispatched.

* The Government has knocked down a Health Ministry proposal to place age restrictions on movies that show smoking.

A ministry document that looks at anti-smoking strategies over the next five years suggests the movie restriction. But a spokeswoman for Associate Health Minister Damien O'Connor said the idea was not being seriously considered.