Smoking - how it effects smokers and non-smokers alike

Smoking in pubs is a controversial issue - in the latest of her exclusive columns for Your Business, Dr Paula Franklin looks at the issue from the health perspective

Dr Paula Franklin is the assistant medical director at BUPA. ​

Even with no-smoking areas, pubs are seen as one of the last bastions for those who enjoy a cigarette. For a publican, temptation is always going to be a problem if you want to quit. Non-smokers, too, can be a sitting duck behind the bar as smoke wafts around. But don't be affected by the gloom; you can still stop smoking - and make your pub a healthier, reduced-smoke zone.

First, let's tackle passive smoking. Concern about this is one of the reasons the pub industry backs the Public Places Charter voluntary code. There are plenty of reasons to reduce levels of passive smoking:

• The Government accepts several hundred lung cancer deaths a year in the UK are the result of passive smoking
• Passive smoking can aggravate asthma, irritate the eyes and cause headaches, coughs, sore throats, dizziness and nausea
• It has also been linked to heart disease and low birth weight
• Cut smoke levels in your bar and you'll reduce cleaning and refurbishment costs
• More people are commenting on the air quality in pubs. If yours becomes less smoky, you could win yourself new customers
• Non-smoking staff will feel happier - and fitter. It might help smokers think about quitting themselves.

These steps will reduce passive smoking in your bar:

• Clearly sign smoking and non-smoking areas
• Site smoking areas in well-ventilated, high-ceilinged parts of the bar
• Make sure all the pub is well-ventilated, investing in an extraction ventilation and air cleaning system if you can
• Make part of the bar no-smoking, if it doesn't naturally fall within a no-smoking area
• Rotate staff so they all spend time in the no-smoking zone, if they wish
• Make sure there is a smoke-free area where staff can go for breaks
• Consider no-smoking times for the pub - lunch-times, for example, or before 9pm.

If you're a smoker yourself, there are a couple of additional motivators for giving up. You'll save around £1,400 per year if you're on 20 a day. You won't be one of the 120,000 smokers in the UK who die as a result of their habit every year. That's 330 every day. In fact, half of all regular cigarette smokers will eventually be killed by their habit.

Cutting smoke from your life - and bar - might not be easy but stick to your guns. You - and your staff and customers - should feel a whole lot better for it.

Tips for quitting​

• Don't try phasing out cigarettes; it's more difficult in practice than a complete break
• Set a date (not too far away!) and tell your family and staff to enlist their support
• Make your first non-smoking day a day off. Do something different, to take your mind off the temptation
• During the first few days, try not to work when the pub is especially smoky
• You'll have withdrawal symptoms like irritability, hunger and sleep problems. But they taper off after two or three days
• Stand at a different part of the bar; an
  ashtray-free zone you won't associate with having a cigarette
• Try chewing sugar-free gum or eating a healthy snack, like fruit. Keep your hands busy with a pen - or clean a few glasses
• Exercise whenever you can
• There are lots of products to help you stop smoking. Discuss with your doctor what's best for you

Further information​

For help with stopping smoking ring the NHS smoking helpline on 0800 169 0169 or Quitline on 0800 002200. Both are free.