The smoking ban has already produced some surprising consequences. Take smells. Tobacco smoke may have been unpleasant but it masked a myriad odours. Since the ban, hundreds of pubs have been forced to steam-clean carpets stiff with years of beer spillage and other deposits. Nightclubs are now pumping perfume into their air-conditioning systems to mask the body odour given off by dancers.

There is a topsy-turvy feeling to many British pubs today, with scores of people crowding outside while bar rooms lie empty – even in cool weather.

In Ireland, which pioneered the smoking ban, the effects were far worse. Hundreds of pubs closed, particularly in rural areas.

Some pubs have gone already. Deejay Royall spent thousands of pounds transforming the interior of The Bush, in Wigan. He decided to pre-empt the ban and steal a march on rivals by prohibiting smoking from February. The result was a catastrophic fall in customers.

“People started to go to other pubs that hadn’t introduced the smoking ban, and then, when it came in last month, they stopped going out altogether. They are staying at home, buying cheap booze from the supermarkets and sitting in with their friends, smoking their heads off.”

Paul Jones, the landlord of the New Inn in Lower Cwmtwrch, in south Wales is another victim. “I’ve sold my lease because I can’t continue,” he laments. “About 40 per cent of our trade was cut by the smoking ban.”

Unless smoking in the open air is banned, Britain had better get used to night-time crowds. Terry Archer, the manager of the Lamb and Flag in London’s Covent Garden, has no option but to let his customers drink on the street.

Source: Tellegraph UK. Link

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