Read the smoke signals

The industry has been accused of all sorts of things over its stance on smoking in pubs - not least dismissing concern over the effects of passive smoking on the health of its bar workers and customers.

But what should be taken into account when considering the issue is that pub businesses are fundamentally driven by their customers - the public - and it is not in the interests of the licensee to leave customers, whether they are smokers or non-smokers, or staff sitting in a smoke-filled room.

With competition being what it is, many licensees couldn't get away with running a smoky pub, because customers would simply vote with their feet.

The pub trade is striving to rid pubs of smoke, not smokers, and as customer expectations rise, publicans who fail to offer good ventilation and no-smoking areas are losing out.

The Publican's research has proved that publicans are taking the matter seriously and self-regulation is working.

Rather than introducing a complete ban on smoking in pubs, it is possible to accommodate both smokers and non-smokers in comfort through the use of ventilation and no-smoking areas. And through the use of signage, licensees are also giving their customers the option to choose whether they are happy with the pub's smoking policy before they enter the outlet.

The independent research revealed on this page is part of the first major independent survey to be carried out into consumer views on the smoking charter.

It demonstrates that the public supports the trade on this issue and we can only hope that ministers recognise that and continue to back the charter following their review next year.

The Atmosphere Improves Results (AIR) initiative commissioned an independent study to look at customer reactions to the introduction of the voluntary charter on smoking in pubs.

The results have been welcomed by the trade as a very positive backing for the charter which is opposed to a complete ban on smoking in pubs.

The research was carried out using detailed face-to-face interviews with 408 members of the public - it included a 50/50 split of men and women and was nationally representative in terms of age and background.

The results can be categorised under the following headings:

• Public awareness of the charter​

This showed a very promising 63 per cent - almost two-thirds - of respondents are aware of the charter compared to only 35 per cent who were not.

Of these 63 per cent, it is interesting to note that there is confusion about who has set up the charter and in fact a third of these respondents thought the charter was a government rather than trade-led initiative. This can be taken as a positive sign by the trade and shows that customers view the charter as being the definitive national scheme. There is work to do, however, on improving customer recognition of the more advanced signage. Many of those surveyed were less familiar with the signs for ventilation and separate areas than they were for the no-smoking signs.

Public reaction to charter signs​

The survey found that most consumers have a good understanding of what the signs mean which is an indication that the trade's charter message is getting through.

Only five per cent of respondents felt the signage was unclear and only seven per cent thought the signs were not a good idea.

In comparison, 64 per cent felt the signage was a very good idea and an additional 29 per cent rated it to be a good idea.

Interestingly, older customers rated the signs more highly than younger ones.

Public views on the importance of the charter​

A significant 81 per cent of respondents felt that the target of 50 per cent compliance, with a third of these opting for the best practice policies, would provide a reasonable choice for the consumer. Only 11 per cent felt this was not enough.

In addition, two-thirds (66 per cent) of those asked said they considered it very important that the trade reaches this target, 26 per cent (over a quarter) felt it was fairly important and five per cent said it was somewhat important. Only three per cent rated the targets as not important.

There was, however, a need for the trade to increase the number of pubs signing up to the best practice options - using ventilation and no-smoking areas.

Sixty-seven per cent of people felt it was very important for the trade to raise their standards over time rather than sticking with a "smoking throughout" policy.

On top of this, almost a quarter - 24 per cent - said it was fairly important to improve over time and six per cent said it was somewhat important.

Most importantly of all for the trade's fight against tougher regulation was the public support for the charter over the introduction of a complete ban.

A very promising 86 per cent of those asked said that the charter was at least as appropriate as a ban - and only six per cent said it was much less appropriate.

Public reaction to a smoking ban​

If smoking was banned, almost a fifth of people said they would cease visiting pubs and bars or at least go out less frequently - a figure that will concern many licensees.

But interestingly this is balanced by a fifth - predominantly non-smokers - saying they would go out more often. Almost half said they would not change their habits under a ban. In conclusion, the trade can take heart from the results of this survey - the charter message has not been lost on pub-goers and most are in favour of what the initiative is working towards. The results will now be submitted to the government for consideration when they review the success of the charter next year.

thePublican.com will, as always, keep you up to date on all the latest charter news as and when it happens.

The story so far​

The issue of passive smoking and its effects on those exposed to it has always been a highly controversial one.

In 1998, ministers bowed to pressure from the anti-smoking and health lobby and begun looking at how to offer customers and staff within the hospitality industry protection from the possible effects of passive smoking.

As they slowly introduced laws curbing smoking in the workplace - most are now fully non-smoking as the small clusters of bedraggled smokers who crowd the front steps of office blocks will testify - pressure mounted to consider a total ban in pubs and bars.

The trade was horrified.

Canadian bar owners visited the UK with tales of a dramatic drop in profits when a ban was introduced in Toronto and later in Vancouver and the trade in California also reported a sharp drop in custom as many smokers, now banned from their last bastion, simply stayed at home. Publicans in the UK estimate that a similar ban would cost them dearly.

According to this year's Publican Market Report survey of licensees, the average estimated loss of trade under a ban would be almost 40 per cent - a figure that would almost certainly mean closure for a lot of smaller outlets.

So in 1999 trade leaders and government ministers agreed that the trade would be offered a chance to self-regulate rather than imposing a full ban and the voluntary charter was born.

The Department of Health agreed that 50 per cent of pubs should be charter compliant by the end of 2002, and at least 35 per cent of these should be showing good practice through ventilation and no-smoking areas. The deadline for meeting this target is fast approaching.

In light of this agreement, anti-smoking groups switched their campaigning from pub-goers to pub workers and began lobbying the Health and Safety Execut