SEAMUS BAYNES,
Madam, - Mr Frank Fell of the Licensed Vintners' Association really needs to get out and about a bit more. His assertion that a ban on smoking would cause customers to abandon pubs in droves is certainly not borne out by the Californian experience.
My wife and I have been holidaying in California since 1993 and have had ample opportunity to observe the bar and restaurant scene before and after the smoking ban introduced in 1996. We couldn't detect the slightest drop in numbers.
In the popular bars at weekends, it is usually standing-room only, just as in Dublin.
Yes, our experience is anecdotal, but I was interested to see it confirmed by Dr James McLoughlin of UCD (The Irish Times, February 1st), who found that Californians were now spending more time in bars and restaurants because of the cleaner air. - Yours, etc.,
SEAMUS BAYNES,
Novara Park,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.