ASH claims smoking ban survey is 'misleading'

A leading anti-smoking charity has hit out at a study which claims the smoking ban is the main cause of pub closures in the UK.

Action on Smoking Health (ASH) called into question the report's validity, which found "an almost total correlation" in the introduction of the ban and the drop in the number of pubs in England, Scotland and Wales.

The report, compiled by CR Consulting, and commissioned by the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign, claimed that almost three years after the ban's introduction Scotland, Wales and England have seen between 7.1 and 7.6 per cent of their pubs close.

But Amanda Sandford, research manager ASH, said: "Despite claims to the contrary, there is no evidence of overall harm to the licensed trade.

"In fact, alcohol on-sales licences increased by five per cent in the first year following the smoking ban."

She claimed the survey was "misleading" and does not reflect the "reality of the licensed trade".

"True, many traditional pubs have closed, but more licensed premises have opened in recent years that now sell food as well as alcohol," she added.

But Simon Clark, director of the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign, said this was not the reality for many pubs.

"We were told that the ban would encourage a new wave of non-smoking customers but that hasn't happened," he said. "Instead, many smokers have chosen to stay at home and thousands of pubs have closed as a result."

Oliver Griffiths, director of CR Consulting, warned that further pub losses in England and Wales were inevitable.

"In Scotland the smoking ban was introduced 15 months before England and they have lost a further four per cent of their pubs," he said.

The smoking ban came into force in Scotland in April 2006, with England and Wales implementing the ban in July 2007.