18 years since smoking ban came into force

However, 18 years after the ban came into force, a number of operators believe it was a positive change.

JD Wetherspoon (JDW) changed its business prior to the ban coming into force in 2007.

Spokesperson Eddie Gershon said: “JDW was ahead of the curve by banning smoking in its pubs before the ban came in.

“Many years before the ban came into effect, JDW designed large parts of each of their pubs as non-smoking.”

Varied impact

Thorley Taverns director Philip Thorley’s initial reaction to the ban being in place in 2007 was of trepidation.

He said: “However, we made smoking areas, making them as nice as we could.

“The impact was quite varied. In community, wet-led sites, it affected trade by some margin but the thing that was really hit was the fruit machine takings - no more ashtrays on the top or to the side of the machines.

“Customer habits changed. Some decided not to come, some were happy using the smoking shelters, some varied their visit frequency. It didn’t really affect our food houses but we had to change doors, create more lobbies as people were in and out of the doors much more.”

The ban was a landmark occasion in the pub industry, operator of the Gardeners Arms/Murderers in Norwich Philip Cutter said.

“The traditional pub saw ‘beer and cigarettes’ going hand - in - hand, and this was all about to change!

“As an industry, we have always seen innovation in challenges - and measures we introduced to encourage customers to smoke outside proved successful (to be fair, we didn’t have much choice.

“I believe the smoking ban wasn’t the final nail in the coffin for many pubs.

“As a non-smoker, I can only assume my health has been improved, as has that of my customers who neither enjoyed, or desired to go home smelling of stale cigarette smoke.

“Gone were the days of my kids breathing in the smoke that wafted through the ceilings on a 16th century pub, giving by daughter asthma, and making toys and clothes smell.

“The perfect storm formed beyond the smoking ban - the beer duty escalator which increased prices across the bar, followed by the ‘giveaway prices’ of supermarkets, VAT increases, and more recently the pandemic.”

Significant moment

UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls described the ban as a “significant moment”.

She said: “But businesses responded and adapted to new requirements and significantly, changing consumer demand.

“The ban will feel like a distant memory for operators and most will feel the cost pressures of today far outweigh the ban in terms of significance and consequence.

“As they did almost 20 years ago, it’s crucial pubs retain the ability to adapt and overcome challenges in order to both survive and thrive.”

Resilience is also something many pubs continue to prove, Cutter echoed.

He added: “Many pubs continue to prove there resilience - the smoke free legislation was ‘short term pain’ but, with 18 years of hindsight, genuinely think pubs are now better for it.”

Looking back, Thorley said the ban was the right thing to do.

“Pubs are cleaner, healthier and much more friendly to all users - so in the end, it changed pubs for the better,” he said.

“It was a tumultuous time and a massive change, which I whole-heartedly support.”

Gershon also agreed the ban was a positive. He added: “JDW was always in support of the smoking ban and we believe it has been good for the industry.”

More recently, while there were reports the smoking ban was set to be extended to include outside areas such as beer gardens in 2024, which sparked concerns from the sector, these rumoured plans were axed just a couple of months later.

Furthermore, in April this year, a town pub banned smoking after operator John Garrod noticed cigarette smoke in his pub’s garden was impacting the dining experience for customers.