How Has the Smoking Ban Affected Bars?
The smoking ban came to force in the UK in July 2006 after being trailed in Wales several months before. Since then smoking in all enclosed public spaces such as bars and restaurants has been completely banned and anyone breaking the ban is subject to large fines. Since the inception of the ban many individual bars and pub groups have reported a decline in both visitors and profits. Some have even attributed their entire closure to the ban, claiming they have lost up to 20% of their trade. Others have named the smoking ban as part of the problem rather than the sole cause, but not many pubs can claim they have seen an increase in business since the ban came into force. However, some pubs have actually come out in favour of the ban, stating that a change in ‘pub culture’ could lead to positive affects in the medium and long term. Some of the larger chains have reported that on the whole, staff are happier and few real customers have stopped visiting. On the other hand, a whole new set o
