No Hotels Prosecuted Over Smoking Bans

Health inspectors have not prosecuted any hotels for breaching the NSW government's partial smoking ban despite more than 400 complaints.

Documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act also show the powerful hotel lobby tried to have smoking bans pushed back until 2009 and a one year "period of grace" allowed before fines were imposed, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

One hotelier has broken ranks to write to Frank Sartor, the Minister for Health (Cancer), to tell him many of her colleagues were not obeying the laws, the documents show.

Tricia Cooper, licensee of the Bird in Hand Inn in Pitt Town, sent the letter in March complaining that the attitude during meetings of licensees was "no one is being breached so why bother!".

Not one prosecution has been pursued by health inspectors since a ban was introduced in July last year allowing smoking in only 50 per cent of the total premises.

In July this year the smoking area was reduced to 25 per cent.

Mr Sartor said the government was about to move from "education to compliance" with a blitz on pubs and clubs and prosecutions would begin soon.

"Based on complaints and inspections, only two per cent of the state's 5,500 venues have not fully complied with new smoking regulations ... and have been warned to lift their game," he told the newspaper.

But the newspaper's survey of 16 city pubs found almost half were breaching the new laws.

? 2006 AAP
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