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Tuesday, 9th February 2010

Smoking ban has hit trade – expert

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Published Date:
27 June 2008
The ban on smoking in public places has led to a drop in trade for pubs, according to an industry body.
A year after the ban's introduction under the Health Act 2006, the Bury St Edmunds and District Licensed Victuallers' Association (LVA) said there was a mix of opinions in the industry about its effect, but that many landlords had seen a negative effect.

Colin Pearce, LVA chairman, said: "There's a mish-mash of opinions – some landlords have decided it's the final nail in the coffin, one or two have said it hasn't affected trade at all and others have fought back with outside smoking areas.

"But in general, it hasn't done trade any good at all. We were told to expect an influx of non-smokers and that hasn't really happened – if people have been sitting at home all these years waiting for a ban, we've found they're still at home."

Jack Burton, manager of The Nutshell, in The Traverse, Bury, said his trade had dipped but not as sharply as he had feared.

"It's not been so bad," he said. "We've taken a bit of a loss, but it's not as bad as we were expecting."

Enforcement officers across West Suffolk said there had been little difficulty getting people to comply with the changes, with members of the public policing the ban in most cases.

In St Edmundsbury, officers issued 55 warnings in the first year – mostly to drivers and owners of company vehicles, Mid Suffolk District Council issued just three warnings and Forest Heath District Council issued none, while there were no fixed penalty notices and no prosecutions for people flouting the new laws.

John Grayling, Mid Suffolk's head of environmental health, said: "By and large people have been very compliant. It seems to be policing itself, with businesses doing what they should be – we're certainly not getting complaints."

Meanwhile, Hilary Andrews, co-ordinator of the Suffolk Stop Smoking Service, said more people had asked for help giving up since the ban was introduced.

"We have seen an increase in people coming for support to quit smoking, and we're very pleased," she said.

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  • Last Updated: 05 September 2008 9:26 AM
  • Source: Bury Free Press
  • Location: Bury St Edmunds
 
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27/06/2008 14:01:18
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27/06/2008 23:38:18
Comment Reported Unsuitable By User
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tug f wilson,

nottingham 29/06/2008 16:07:26
The smoking ban has been a disaster all over the Country,what good has it done?,none,it has put thousands out of work and home and is still doing so,how many lives has it saved?,none,as Spanners pointed out there is no danger from secondhand smoke,just take a look at the REAL studies,it is time for the ban to end and give people the freedom of choice,smoking and non smoking venues are the way forward,everyone happy and still making a living,Merlin 90 you are right about the poll,it makes no sense,cheers Tug.
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