In a statement, the chamber says it is immaterial whether Philip Fenech was misunderstood, misreported or if he just failed to express himself clearly. The fact remains that slavish adherence to a single aspect of social interaction, be it the economy, leisure pursuits or health, ignores the reality of human experience.

“Naturally, there are priorities, and health is foremost among them. The point is that Health Minister Louis Deguara reneged on his agreement with the GRTU over the manner in which smoking in indoor leisure venues was to be regulated. When a minister says that he will do one thing and then proceeds to do something else, confidence in the administration of the country is inevitably dented, and the minister would do well to reflect on this.

“In this instance, the minister said arrangements would be made to ensure that smokers and non-smokers could be accommodated in the same establishments without the imposition of blanket smoking bans or the construction of artificial barriers to social interaction,” the GRTU explained.

This was not to prove the case when the revised regulations were published – a clear instance of ministerial back-tracking, the GRTU said.

The GRTU said it deplored this and hopes this sorry episode will be put behind us once and for all with the enactment of sensible regulations that do not pander to the knee-jerk reactions of those who believe that smoking is the most important issue in the world.