> Smoking ban poses new climate threat
>
> By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent
> Last Updated: 12:01am GMT 02/12/2007
>
> Pubs are likely to pump hundreds of thousands of tons of additional
> carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as a result of the smoking ban.
>
> Policy advisers predict that emissions from patio heaters in pubs and
> restaurants will increase from 22,200 tons of greenhouse gases a year
> to up to 282,000 tons - the equivalent of flying a jumbo jet 171 times
> around the Earth.
>
> Heaters will be used for more than 237 days a year, when outdoor
> temperatures are lower than 15C, says the report, from Market
> Transformation. A further 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide will be
> produced next year by patio heaters in private gardens, according to
> an earlier study by the Energy Saving Trust.
>
> Environmentalists say the heaters must now be banned if Britain is to
> meet carbon dioxide emission targets.
>
> Tony Juniper, of Friends of the Earth, said: "The impacts of the
> smoking ban are positive, but this should not cause more problems for
> the environment. Either smokers will have to give up smoking or simply
> put on a jumper."
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Deport smokers to the Australian colonies ??
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