Pub landlord finded for breach of smoking ban
November 23, 2007
A pub landlord has been fined £500 and ordered to pay £2000 in prosecution costs after he admitted flouting the smoking ban in public places in England.
Hamish Howitt, 55, of Blackpool, Lancashire, is the first publican in the country to be convicted of breaching the legislation, which came into effect on 1 July 2007.
Victoria Cartmell, prosecuting, told the court that the defendant, the owner of the Happy Scots Bar, made a public stance through the media about his intention to flout the ban before it was introduced.
She said that Howitt covered his bar with posters and banners opposing the regulations and set up a website promoting his political party.
Council officers issued a written warning after they visited the bar in Rigby Road in July 2007, where they found cigarette butts in ashtrays, a strong smell of smoke and a woman openly lighting up at the bar.
Further visits followed, including several with police officers in attendance, and a number of fixed penalty notices were issued to customers on the premises.
On 19 July, the council served Howitt with seven court summonses. However, he continued to permit smoking on the premises and another five were issued by the end of the month.
Howitt, a non-smoker, briefly spoke in court and said he respected the judiciary but could not bear to ask a blind woman with a guide dog to leave his pub so she could smoke.
He said he would continue to attempt to take the matter to the Court of Human Rights and that he would continue to allow smokers to light up on his premises.
Smokers in England, like the rest of the UK, have taken to the ban on lighting up in public spaces largely without fuss. However, a tiny stronghold led by the campaign group Forest maintain the right for smokers to enjoy a cigarette when and where they please.
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