Publicans and restaurant owners have nothing to fear about smoking bans, says ASH.

Responding to a new opinion poll survey [1] which showsoverwhelming public support for smoking bans in all public places, including restaurantsand bars, ASH Director Clive Bates said: "This shows that smoking bans will notadversely affect business. Evidence from the USA [2] where smoking bans are common, showsthat owners of bars and restaurants will not lose out - on the contrary, they are likelyto gain new custom from people who, in the past, have been put off going to smoky pubs andclubs."

The new survey confirms previous research showing that people feel verystrongly about the right to breathe clean air in public places and the workplace. CliveBates commented: "Smoking affects us all. Most public places are also places wherepeople work and it is therefore not surprising that the majority of people want smokingbanned in indoor environments."

ASH is now calling on the Health and Safety Executive to review itsguidelines on smoking at work and for tobacco smoke to be included in the list ofsubstances hazardous to health [3]. In addition, ASH is urging the Government to makeexplicit, in its forthcoming White Paper on tobacco, the presumption of clean air in allindoor public places. Clive Bates said: "The Government must now strengthen itsresolve to treat passive smoking as a serious public health matter. With widespread publicsupport to regulate smoking, it has nothing to lose and everything to gain in terms ofimprovements to the nation’s health."

Notes to editors

[1] The Guardian/ICM opinion poll found that 73% of respondents approved of smokingbans in the workplace; 64% in restaurants and bars; 80% on transport; and 54% in allpublic places.

[2] Glantz SA and Smith RA. American Journal of Public Health, 4 Nov. 1997. The studyexamined bars in California with smoking bans and compared them to those without bans. Noadverse impact was recorded as a result of the smoking bans.

[3] The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations include a list ofsubstances that are established as being hazardous to health. Currently these do notinclude tobacco smoke and ASH is calling for tobacco smoke to be listed.

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