Government minister: 'smoking ban has not closed pubs'

The smoking ban has not caused pubs to close, according to public health minister Gillian Merron MP.

Despite figures showing around 40 pubs a week are currently closing Merron said the ban was not a factor in this.

She was speaking today at a meeting of the health committee in Westminster as it looked at ways the government is tackling health issues.

Merron said: "The pub trade does have challenges and I am aware of that but it isn't the case that the ban had led to pub closures."

She went on to describe the smoking ban of 2007 as a "tremendous success" and said it had the support of 80 per cent of the public and that there has been a 95 per cent compliance rate with smoke free legislation.

In a wide-ranging debate Merron went on to say that minimum pricing has not been ruled out as a way of tackling alcohol-related problems.

She said the Home Office is conducting more research on minimum pricing but added that while "price is an issue" it was not the only factor that needed to be addressed.

"I do think price has an impact and it is one of a range of factors," she said.

Adding that education, treatment, and the environment people drink in also needed to be considered.

The committee has backed research that shows a minimum price per unit of alcohol of 40p would take some of the strain off the NHS.

Merron also denied suggestions from the panel that the government was "too close" to the industry and that it would regulate on labelling if the industry did not act quickly to include the appropriate information on bottles and glasses.