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And Again Smoking Ban!

Published on August 6, 2008 3:28 AM

The hand-rolled cigarette has become fashionable thanks to the legislation, introduced banning smoking in public places in England a year ago. And many pubs began to suffer from the new smoking laws.

The new idea for smoking roll-up cigarettes is one of the few silver linings for the industry in the tobacco-ban cloud. Bars, cafes, clubs, pubs and bingo halls are all suffering from the legislation.

Not long ago a study by Cancer Research UK stated that 400,000 people had stop smoking since the introduction of the ban and counted 40,000 lives will be saved over the next decade. Robert West, director of tobacco studies at the Health Behavior Research Unit at University College London said: “These figures show the largest fall in the number of smokers on record. The effect has been as large in all social groups – poor, as well as rich. I never expected such a dramatic impact.” Health experts are celebrating while publicans have been gasping. The Campaign For Real Ale has informed that over 50 pubs close every month, because of the main reasons – the smoking ban.

Also 60 bingo halls have closed in the last 15 months. Ken Smythe, general secretary of the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union says: “An awful lot are hanging on by their fingertips. The next six to nine months are likely to see a lot more go under. I fear the end of the working man’s club may be nigh.”

Meantime, many levels of society have been affected. Sales of Havana cigars have reduced by 25% since last July, while hookah bars have been badly hit. One of the owners says: “I have lost 60% of my income. They used to queue to get in, now I am empty. Most of the hookah bars here have shut.”

Ranald Macdonald, managing director of the London-based Scottish restaurant group Boisdale and a spokesman for the campaign says: “We do not wish to reverse the smoking ban, but want sensible revisions to be made to it. The Government announced there would be a review of the smoking ban three years after it was introduced. This would mean a review in the summer of 2010. Significantly, this could be the year of the next general election. We will be encouraging Labour MPs to deliver on their 2005 manifesto, which stated: ‘In membership clubs, the members will be free to choose whether to allow smoking or be smoke-free’.”