People who own pubs often complain that a ban on smoking like the one that was passed last night will have a detrimental effect on their business. They say that smoking and drinking are inextricably linked and that if people can’t smoke in pubs then they won’t drink there either.
I don’t think that’s true. It’s certainly true that the percentage of people smoking seems higher amongst pub clientele than it is amongst the general population. It’s also very likely that some of these people (maybe even many of them) will decide to drink at home when the smoking ban is implemented next summer.
I believe that there are a large number of people who would like to visit pubs more often but don’t because of the smoke. I know I’d be a more regular visitor to my local if I knew I wouldn’t come home with my clothes reeking of smoke. I’m sure that over time there will be no effect on pub takings.
But wouldn’t it be good if the smoking ban had the opposite to the one that the pub owners are predicting? If pub profits went up as soon as the ban was put into place. What if a group like ASH ran a campaign to get as many people as possible into pubs once smoking is banned. To demonstrate to pub owners that it was smoking that was cutting their profits and that banning smoking was beneficial to their business.
On the night that the ban comes into force, I’d like to see every pub in to country packed with happy drinkers.
What do you think?
After Sweden banned smoking in pubs they did indeed notice increased business (according to some people I met at the Nordic Perl Workshop).
The thing that amazes me about this issue is that people believe that this is something that required legislation.
A landlord was perfectly capable of making his pub smoke-free any time he chose. The fact that it requires an act of parliament shows how completely unpopular the idea is.
This truly is a sad day.
Just because noone would do it if it wasn’t legislated doesn’t make it a bad idea.I agree with Dave: I’d go to pubs/clubs much more willingly if I could expect to come home without a headache and my clothes and hair reeking.