Madam, - The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance would have us believe a smoking ban in pubs cost tens of thousands of jobs in New York. Meanwhile, Chicago is marketing its advantage: "Come to Chicago as we have everything New York used to have," according to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen (The Irish Times, August 12th).
Rather than have our visitors and Irish natives lured away to Berlin-style smoky venues, we should draw on another Chicago heritage: using firearms on licensed premises. With the upsurge of shootings in Irish pubs, we are in an excellent position to combine two vibrant traditions, the right to smoke and the right to bear arms, in selected and qualified Irish pubs.
Dedicated smokers could then enjoy a rip-roaring environment where they can indulge the beloved vice, and better still, defend their rights with hot lead. Any disputes could be settled in the summary fashion of the old West.
If the situation gets out of hand, the bartender emerges from under the counter with a pump-action shot gun and clears the house.
Eat your heart out, Chicago! These rip-roaring Wild West theme pubs would attract aficionados of hard-core "craic" from all over the world. Consider the benefits for the undertaking trade, which could offer Wild West-themed funeral products. Wild West pubs would also remove - permanently - many long-term and expensive sufferers of chronic smoking-related ailments from our hard-pressed medical services. - Yours, etc.,
TONY MULQUEEN, Aughrim, Co Wicklow.
Madam, I note that Mr Cullen, who once campaigned for the establishment of a radiotherapy unit in Waterford for the treatment of cancer patients, is now opposing the proposed ban on smoking which is specifically designed to curb the spread of cancer. - Yours, etc.,
M.D. KENNEDY, Silchester Park, Glenageary, Co Dublin.