SMOKING IN EATING PLACES

Southland Times, Issue 21093, 27 May 1930, Page 11

SMOKING IN EATING PLACES

MODERN SMOKING HABITS.

CONTROVERSY IN MELBOURNE.

Melbourne, April 28.

A spirited controversy has been raging in Melbourne over the subject of smoking in restaurants. It 1 seems that protests have been made to the Health Department against the growth of the habit by people who regard it as a danger to health. The department has pointed out that there is nothing in the law to prohibit smoking in eating places, and, anyhow, that it is not injurious to health. However, there were regulations to prohibit smoking by people who were preparing food, because of complaints that cigarette butts had been found in cake and bread Smoking is now general in restaurants.in Australia. Everyone 'does it, but more particularly the women. Women have not been bold enough to emoke their cigarettes while walking along the street and seem glad to enter restaurants for the opportunity it gives them to smoke rather than for the tea and cakes. One restaurant keeper in Melbourne said it was strange that the protests against smoking in restaurants should come from women, because it was the women who were responsible for the breaking down of the barriers that existed between smokers and non-smokers in the pre-war days. There was once a time,” he said, “when every restaurant had its smoking room in which men gathered and smoked in peace, but .at the end of the war yearn girls invaded these places and also disregarded any notices prohibiting smoking . which were conspicuously displayed in the dining rooms'. Eventually we discovered that any notices prohibiting smoking interfered with our business and so we fell into line and permitted smoking everywhere. Now we never receive complaints about smoking in our dining rooms. The only complaints we receive are about girls, who powder their noses while they are at the tables and comb their hair and perform other acts relating to their toilet. We certainly think that this is more objectionable than smoking.”