Smokefree public places and workplaces will provide 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.
Good for business
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.
Case study evidence
Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the pub group that owns the All Bar One and O’Neill’s chains, reported in September 2006 that food sales, which make up 28% of their sales mix, were up by 11%, as a result of the introduction of smokefree legislation in Scottish pubs.
In the betting industry, many worried that the ban would deter punters from visiting bookies, however Ladbrokes’ chief executive Christopher Bell said the evidence from Scotland had been the reverse. Mr Bell said he relished the introduction of the legislation in England, saying it would be “the removal of the last stigma attached to high street betting shops.” The pub chain Wetherspoons has reported that overall sales in August, September and October 2006 were up 9.2% on last year, but rose 11.8% in their 101 non-smoking outlets.
Punch Taverns started to introduce non-smoking outlets nearly three years ago and now has over 70 smokefree pubs. Francis Patton, customer services director said: “Too many people are looking at the smoking ban as a threat, but we know this is a huge opportunity. The smoking ban is a great opportunity to get new customers (who want to eat) into pubs and also keep people there who go regularly.”
Importantly, it is widely acknowledged that smokefree legislation will improve the health of hospitality workers and patrons. The Br itish Institute of Innkeeping’s magazine said earlier this year that: “We are talking about banning the use of a carcinogenic substance which is enclosed spaces kills or damages the health of passive smokers – that means licensees and bar staff and customers. This is a scientific fact, and we should bear this in mind along with the economic arguments.”
