Councillor Brian Oxley, leader of the Conservative group on Brighton and Hove City Council, and myself are correctly quoted in The Argus (August 12) as opposed to any blanket ban on smoking in public places in the city without a full and searching consultation.

We believe in giving freedom to the business community to decide its own policies on smoking in clubs, bars, restaurants, cinemas and other public buildings.

That said, we fully support the targets set to reduce smoking in the period 2003 to 2006 in the document produced by the healthy living partnership.

However, we have been unable to find any evidence which supports the article which first surfaced last weekend in The Independent and the Daily Telegraph that a ban is about to be introduced.

Nor is it our understanding that the Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust is about to decide upon such a ban, as quoted in The Argus.

To the best of our knowledge, no consultation has taken place with members of the council and such a ban could not be implemented without very considerable legal processes.

-Coun Ann Norman (Withdean Ward), Conservative social care and health spokesperson, Brighton and Hove City Council