Reality check (Letter to Editor, 10 November 2006)

Anthony Hedley's letter attacking the stand taken by myself and the Liberal Party on anti-smoking legislation shows the different worlds academics and legislators inhabit ("Tobacco-friendly Tien", November 2).

Professor Hedley criticises me for not supporting the most extreme forms of anti-smoking legislation possible, going as far as to suggest smoking on beaches puts marine and bird life at risk and contributes to air pollution.

I respect and applaud the work contributed by Professor Hedley and other academics towards our new anti-smoking legislation. However, the extremes he wants us to go to - such as banning smoking at the seaside when there is no such ban even on the crowded beaches of the US and Europe - would take an army of officials to enforce.

Legislation is not credible unless it can be enforced. As legislators, we must consider the practicalities of new laws, and the effects they will have on real people and real livelihoods.

Academics at institutions such as the University of Hong Kong can afford to be idealistic. In Professor Hedley's ideal world, squads of officials might patrol our shorelines, pouncing on smokers crouched behind rocks having a sneaky puff. Back in the real world, however, we must acknowledge that some people will continue to smoke, and we must find reasonable ways to persuade them not to put other people's health at risk.

I believe we have achieved this with our new anti-smoking legislation, without resorting to social victimisation or unenforceable and counterproductive measures.

JAMES TIEN, chairman, Liberal Party