Smoking Ban Commences 1 July 2007
From Sunday, 1 July 2007, virtually all workplaces and substantially enclosed public areas
in England will become smokefree by law.
Smokefree public places and workplaces will provide it is said healthier environments for employees and customers, protecting people from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, and will therefore have a positive effect on business.
Currently only 51% of people report their workplace as being completely smokefree. The
figure is lowest for people in routine and manual groups, with 44% reporting that their
workplace is completely smokefree.
There is considerable international evidence from countries that have introduced
legislation for smokefree public places and workplaces that the impact on the hospitality
industry is not detrimental. Analysis and international experience shows that going
smokefree can actually be beneficial to the hospitality industry, in particular because three
out of four people in England already choose not to smoke and three-quarters of those
who do smoke want to give up.
Many pubs, restaurants, hotels and B&B's in the UK that have already introduced a voluntary smokefree policies report an increase in trade and profits. A survey for The Times,
published in October 2006, found that amongst English pubs that have already banned
smoking:
· profits have risen by an average of 50%
· food sales have risen by 80% on average
· 9 out of ten pub landlords reported that they were selling more food
· Nearly half of landlords said that drinks profits had increased by 37% on average,
while a third said they had stayed the same.
It will produce a problem for B&B's which share owner facilities with guests if the owners smoke. Previous recent legislation has ignored the six bed rule. It would seem this is to be the case with the smoking ban. So if you welcome paying guests into your home and say your lounge and you smoke YOU will be breaking the law. Your lounge will become a public area and as such fall under the 'no smoking in public places' rule.
You will be able to offer bedrooms in which guests can smoke as smoking in guest/hotel bedrooms is interpreted as smoking privately, i.e. a bedroom is not a public place.
As a reformed smoker (I'm told we are the worst!) I would offer the advice that you ban smoking in your establishment completely. In a couple of years you will ask why you gave the issue so much consideration.
And finally some insurance companies will look more kindly on you if you ban smoking and you Fire Risk Assessment will be much simpler to complete.