Pub trade 'not hit' by smoking ban
Pub trade 'not hit' by smoke ban
A quarter of Scots are likely to visit pubs more often now public places are smoke-free, according to a survey. The Cancer Research UK poll found just 10 per cent of the 1,000 over-18s surveyed were less likely to visit a pub since the ban came in three months ago. The charity said the net result indicated the smoking ban would not lead to losses for the pub trade. Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said the results mirrored the positive experience of other countries that had already banned smoking in public places. 'This survey should reassure publicans still worried that the smoking ban will drive customers away,' she said. 'Making pubs and bars smoke-free gives workers the protection they deserve and creates a more appealing place to go to for your social drink with friends.' The survey found since the ban 24 per cent of those questioned visited the pub more often, 45 per cent about the same and 10 per cent less often. Meanwhile, new figures from local authorities indicated a 99 per cent compliance with the ban. The US government's top medical adviser this week said secondhand smoke kills people and the only way to control it is to ban all smoking in workplaces. Launching a new report, US Surgeon General Richard Carmona said: 'The scientific evidence is now indisputable: secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults.' In a preface to the report he wrote: 'Nonsmokers need protection through the restriction of smoking in public places and workplaces and by a voluntary adherence to policies at home, particularly to eliminate exposures of children.' The report said it is impossible to protect nonsmokers even with designated smoking areas, making a workplace ban necessary.
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