Hats off to the workers’ unions who are trying to bring in no smoking in public places and shame on our Minister of Health, Dr. Marcus Bethel, for not agreeing with them.

Several years’ ago I wrote lots of letters to the newspapers, appealing for separate non smoking areas in restaurants and for smoke extractors such as those we saw in a small Chinese restaurant in London, England, so that restaurant staff and non smoking patrons would not be exposed to the harmful effects of second hand smoke. My letters fell on deaf ears, although I sent copies to the then Minister of Health under the FNM administration.

There are several eateries in Nassau who do not allow smoking at all and they do not seem to have suffered from a lack of business (examples - Wendy’s, Caffe Caribe in Logo’s Bookstore, and Johnny Canoe). And I was delighted to see that the new restaurant in the El Greco Hotel on the Western Esplanade is following this trend which is spreading throughout the First World. These restaurant owners are not afraid. Why is Dr. Marcus Bethel reluctant to protect us from this known health hazard?