Hundreds of community pubs face closure and many barstaff risk losing their jobs once a smoking ban arrives.
A quarter of pub companies responding to The Publican's Industry Report 2006, published last month, said that some of their Apubs would become commercially unviable if a complete ban was introduced.
And last week the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) spoke out about its fears after MPs voted to ban smoking in all public places by summer 2007.
Mark Hastings, communications director for the BBPA, said: "Now the real hard work begins - preparing our customers and pubs for this cultural shift. There is still the prospect that hundreds of community pubs will close and people will lose their jobs."
Licensees have also voiced their concerns over the effect a ban on smoking will have on their businesses. Pete Harrison, licensee at the Unicorn, in Leek, Staffordshire, said: "This ban will hit my business seriously, almost to the point that I will think about calling it a day. We have a lot of customers who smoke and they will just stay at home now."
At the Friendship Inn, in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, licensee Christine Desborough also believes her business will be affected.
"We have about a 50/50 split of smokers and non-smokers and will definitely be hit - as will a lot of people. But overall a blanket ban is the best option we could have hoped for."
In Ireland, where a ban has been in place since March 2004, trade has been hit by up to 30 per cent and some pubs have been forced to close. In County Clare 26 pubs closed in the first year of the ban and an estimated 170 licences were lost in Cork over the same period.
However, Tony Payne, chief executive at the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations, urged licensees to accept the ban and look for other ways to attract customers. "If some pubs are forced to close during the day, they should look at offering other services such as post office facilities, health clinics or welfare places," he said.