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Pub trade split over new law
Jonathan Prynn, Consumer Affairs Editor4 Feb 2008
London is a tale of two cities six months after the smoking ban, says the licensed trade.
In wealthier central and suburban parts, where pubs are more likely to double up as restaurants and fewer drinkers smoke, trade is little changed or even up.
But in neighbourhood pubs in poorer east and south London, sales of beer have been badly hit, in some cases by as much as 15 per cent.
In these areas a much higher proportion of customers than average are smokers and they are much more likely to now drink at home.
Not only that, but these pubs depend on revenue from fruit machines and do not have food sales to fall back on.
Rob Hayward of the British Beer and Pub Association estimates that up to 5,000 pubs nationwide will be forced to close, including 750 in London.
He said: "The ban has had a very marked effect and since November the downturn has been even more marked. That's partly because of the winter weather but it's also clear the economic effects are piling in on top."
But Simon Emeny of Fullers Inns, the last independent chain of brewer-owned pubs in London, said: "All the evidence is a smoking ban initially causes some disruption - the sulky phase - but in the longer term it give pubs a fantastic opportunity to recruit new customers, particularly women and families. It could turn into the best thing that's happened to pubs."
Surveys suggest publicans and restaurateurs in central London are happy about the ban. In Westminster, more than half of all licensed premises reported no change in their revenues. Only 15 per cent said they had lost money.
According to the Publican Industry Report 2008, only 27 per cent of licensees want the ban reversed.
Reader views (2)
I think it will be a lot more pubs than 5000, up here in the north more people smoke and looking around a lot of the pubs (I travel around a bit) it is not worth putting the lights on for the solitary one or two customers. This law was badly thought out and has eradicated the social lives of millions of smokers and non smokers, as smokers have partners and friends, and for what?
There is no significant epidemiological evidence that second hand smoke is harmful, just like the units of alcohol we can drink, was made up twenty years ago, and this surfaced in the media on October 20th 2007, will we have to wait 20 more on SHS.
The pub companies are not letting on how bad it is, as their share prices have already fallen by 40 to 50% since the ban.
- Greg Burrows, Dewsbury, England, 04/02/2008 22:36
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Well maybe they could support some of these -
8th August 2006 the HSE in the document OC 255/15 article9 state
for some strange reason hmm it has been changed to OC 255/16. Paragraph
14
" HSE cannot produce epidemiological evidence to link levels of exposure to second hand smoke to the raised risk of contacting specific diseases".
We need to get this ban amended to include ventilation.
- Mandyv, Cambs, 04/02/2008 21:56
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