Smokers Return
THE OXFORD UNION bar could be surrounded by its traditional haze of blue smoke once more if a motion to re-introduce smoking on the ground floor of the building is passed this Thursday. The bar became the first non-smoking bar in Oxford after a referendum passed in 6th week of last term, but since then there has been a significant voice of dissent at the ban which forces smokers upstairs to use the Gladstone and Morris rooms.
Richard Coates, who has introduced the motion, believes that the current anti-smoking rules are "dangerous and damaging to the Union" and pose a fire risk by forcing smokers into areas which are badly supervised and less well served by fire escapes.
He also fears that Union bar profits have fallen significantly since the introduction of the ban, although he admits his information is currently based on unofficial surveys. He rebuts the claims of Patrick Mackerras, the driving force behind last year's anti-smoking campaign, that a new influx of non-smoking customers would boost the bar's profits. "Clearly this shows that Patrick's claims are false" he said.
Meanwhile Mackerras has been disappointed by the new motion which, if passed on Thursday, will force a new smoking referendum with the Union elections on Friday of seventh week. He has criticised the motion's offer to install smoke extractors in the bar while allowing students to smoke. He revealed that supporters of the Coates motion have confessed that the smoke extractors will be inadequate and will not remove carcinogenic particles from tobacco smoke. He expressed doubt at the scientific strength of their arguments and told the Oxford Student that "I'm disappointed that hundreds of asthmatic Freshers, for whom even a few minutes queuing in a smoky bar will trigger an asthma attack, are now being deprived after only five weeks, of what made for them the difference between joining and not joining the Union."
Richard Silcock, President of the Oxford Union, said he did not mind whether or not the Union bar allowed smoking, and stated that he was happy to obey the outcome of the motion, as long as it maintained the wishes of the members. He believed that there had been no significant effect on the atmosphere of the bar and said that any official survey on bar profits would need to examine the effects over a longer period of time.
Richard Coates claims his motion will offer a choice to students and has asserted that Patrick Mackerras conducted an unfair campaign last year, calling the referendum on a day when few Union members could vote. The referendum was conducted on Tuesday 5th June and 617 members voted. He said: "My motives here are clear and open. I want to provide Union members with the best facilities they can possibly have," and defended his position to non-smokers, saying, "Many of my supporters are non-smokers, some even allergic to tobacco."
16th Nov 2000