The Progressive

Will a smoking ban increase pub takings?

The headline “Smoking Ban Boosts Pub Takings” from thelondonpaper last week (Wednesday 24th January) surprised me. Apparently 61 out of 103 Wetherspoon pubs which have already instituted a smoking ban, ahead of the full ban in England in July this year, have seen a growth in sales.

Of course this may be because they were specifically selected out of the 665 outlets that Wetherspoon owns and therefore more likely to have clients who were positive about the ban. But it still suggests that England’s smoking ban may not be as calamitous for the pub industry as we were continually warned at the time of the smoking ban debate. The pro-smoking lobby group FOREST doggedly carries on with its tobacco industry-funded mission of opposing the ban. But if one of Britain’s largest pub chains even say that they welcome the ban, it looks like one of the more compelling arguments against the ban – the loss of jobs in the industry – may be thankfully less of a problem than expected in July.

No smoke without fire

Being in storm-racked Scotland over the New Year gave me a chance to experience first hand the effects of the smoking ban, due to come into effect in England and Wales in July this year.

As an occasional social smoker myself, I confess to having had mixed feelings about the forthcoming ban. I can appreciate that bar staff have the right not to be exposed to customers' cigarette smoke  - although you rarely hear that argument being made by bar staff themselves. And while the ban will have wider public health benefits, it could also have unintended consequences. Whether, for instance, it will result in more children exposed to cigarrete smoke as a result of increased smoking in the home remains to be seen.

The liberal in me also balked at the idea that there should be no area of social life free from government intervention. Why shouldn't your Average Joe be allowed to enjoy a crafty fag with his pint of best?

My experience in Scotland over the New Year, however, has made me a reluctant convert to the ban. After a night's crawl round the bars of St Andrews, next morning not only did I find my clothes free of the nicotine fug that normally accompanies a night out in England. I had also made significant inroads into overcoming my own smoking habit - a fag in a doorway during a driving Highland gale is far less appealing than one round a cosy pub fire.

So much so, in fact, I decided my midnight cigarette on New Year's Day huddled on a rain-sodden doorstep would be my last. Hopefully, the ban in this country in six months time will make keeping this resolution that little bit easier.