Pubs blame smoke ban for fights
Licensees in South Devon have blamed the smoking ban for an increase in rowdy behaviour and noise.
“There have been more fights and problems since the ban than in the last eight years,” Kelly Townsend of the Old Coaching House told the Herald Express.
“In the last six months we have had to call the police three or four times and we have had to break up a lot of fights. It happens at least once a week and all the trouble starts out the back in the smoking area.
He added: “Because all smokers now have to share the same area to smoke in, we are seeing higher levels of aggression from groups of people who would not normally have anything to do with each other, but now have to sit together for a smoke.”
Source: Morning Advertiser. Link
