Pubs are reeling from smoke ban as habits change

THE ban was guaranteed to change the smoking industry for better or for worse when it was introduced two years ago. Jo O’Donnell has met with doctors and landlords to see how the rules have affected smoking – and drinking – habits across the North East

TWO years after smoking was banned in bars, pubs in the North East are reporting huge losses in custom and alcohol sales.

Across the country pubs and clubs are calling time and closing at a rate of 50 a week.

And now the full impact of the change has been felt, landlords say they have been let down over promises non-smokers and families would pour in to their clean-aired taverns.

The smoking ban came just months before the economy peaked, then came the recession damaging sales at a time when supermarkets are offering more cheap drink offers.

Barmaid Carla Lagan-Brown, 36, from Whitley Bay, works at the Magnesia Bank pub in North Shields.

She said: “The ban has directly affected sales in a negative way. The intake of families and non-smokers is no more than normal. We actually used to get more customers in before the ban.

“There is nothing wrong with having designated smoking areas and it should be down to proprietors to decide what they do in their own pub.”

The Beehive Hotel in Newcastle’s Cloth Market – where most of the customers are smokers – has suffered since the ban was introduced, because it does not have the space to provide an outside sheltered area for people to smoke.
Beehive bar man Michael Collins, 28, of Gateshead, said: “There are no canopies or heaters outside and nothing to stand under, so customers do whinge and moan about the ban in bad weather.”

Ex-smoker Mr Collins does think the smoking ban has been a good thing for staff. He said: Before the ban I used to go home stinking of smoke, but now the conditions for staff are much better.” Some pubs say it’s hard to tell whether their drop in profits is caused by the smoking ban or the recession.

The British Beer and Pub Association agrees that the current economic down-turn is also to blame for the decline in the British pub trade.

Regional secretary, Lee Le Clercq says the huge rise in excise duty of 20% on alcohol has also contributed to the industry’s troubles.

He said: “Alcohol in supermarkets is cheaper because it has not experienced this duty increase.

“Plus with home entertainment systems and plasma TVs becoming more popular, people are choosing to drink at home.”

Mr Le Clercq also believes workingmen’s clubs have been hit especially hard. “In the North of England, there are more workingmen’s clubs and these kinds of premises are disproportionately affected compared to other UK areas.” But the Beer and Pub Association says that a few pubs have benefited from the ban.

Mr Le Clercq said: “Foody-gastro pubs, where they sell more on a plate than in a glass, are not affected and custom has increased.”

One such pub is The Beacon Hotel, Earsdon Road, in Whitley Bay. Bar worker and smoker Ewan Sutherland, 27, of North Shields says the hotel has got busier since the ban.

He said; “It is a good thing for the Beacon and good for all pubs, and the working atmosphere is better as you’re not breathing people’s smoke.”
The smoking ban was introduced to protect workers from the effects of exposure to second-hand smoke, which health experts claim increases the risk of heart disease and lung cancer.

The Office for National Statistics announced this month that excessive smoking was a clear problem in the region, with 10% of over –16s smoking 20 or more a day. Nevertheless, a spokesperson for NHS Newcastle and North Tyneside Stop Smoking service said: “Anecdotally, more people are telling us their reason for quitting is because there is nowhere left for them to smoke at work or in pubs and restaurants.

“Stopping smoking is the single most important thing you can do to improve your health.”

Meanwhile, pro-smoking campaigner Derek Platten, 56, of Gosforth, Newcastle, opposes the total smoking ban and has set up his own political party called the We Can Smoke Party (WCSP).

He said: “The smoking ban is only right if the Government is prepared to ban the sale of tobacco products, but they don’t because they know they wouldn’t get away with it.”

For further information and advice about stopping smoking contact the NHS Newcastle and North Tyneside Stop Smoking Service on (0191) 219-5111

Ban backing

RESEARCH in the region shows 80% of people support the smoking ban.

The 2009 national YouGov survey of 13,000 people found that in the North East:

80% of people support the smoke-free law, with just 15% opposing.

90% of people say the law is good for the health of most workers.

82% of people say the law is good for their own health.
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