16 Dec 2008

Hotel prosecuted over smoking by patrons

3:16 pm on 16 December 2008

The Ministry of Health has been put in the rare position of having to prosecute licensed premises for flouting anti-smoking laws, but it says such action is usually successful.

Rightside Properties has been fined almost $6,000 plus court costs and solicitors' fees, for allowing smoking inside the Kaikohe Hotel in Northland.

The ministry's chief adviser of public health, Ashley Bloomfield, says he received several complaints from members of the public about the behaviour.

Dr Bloomfield says the penalties imposed by Kaikohe District Court sent a clear message of deterrence.

But he says that in the four years since the Smokefree Environments Act was introduced, there have been fewer than 10 prosecutions.

US move

Meanwhile, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that tobacco companies can be sued for the way they promote cigarettes described as light or low-tar.

The court said smokers could use consumer protection laws on deceptive advertising against the manufacturers, which promoted light cigarettes as less harmful than full-strength cigarettes.

The case was brought by three long-time smokers against the Altria Group and its subsidiary, Philip Morris.

They argued that the tobacco manufacturers had known for a long time that those who smoked light cigarettes tend to compensate for the lower levels of nicotine by inhaling more deeply and frequently.