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ASH Daily News for 07 November 2007

Wetherspoons like-for-like sales fall by 1 per cent while food sales flourish

Although food sales are flourishing since the introduction of the smoking ban, beer sales are struggling. JD Wetherspoon, the pub operator, reported its first quarterly decline in like-for-like sales for more than a year as the smoking ban in England started to bite.

The company, which has 680 pubs, dismissed suggestions of a slowdown in consumer spending as “largely peripheral” to trading, arguing that the smoking ban, which came into effect in July, was the only material factor in the first-quarter decline.

Like-for-like sales fell by 1 per cent in the 13 weeks to October 28, compared with increases of 9.2 per cent, 5.4 per cent, 3.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent in the four quarters of its last financial year.

A double-digit increase in food sales only partly offset an estimated 6 per cent drop in bar sales.

John Hutson, chief executive, admitted that many rivals were achieving an operating margin of 15 per cent, but pointed out that few were able to match the average gross sales of almost £31,000 a week achieved by Wetherspoons pubs.

“I’m not unduly worried,” he said.

Mr Hutson was also confident that the impact of the English smoking ban would diminish as it did in its Scottish pubs, which reported a 5.1 per cent increase in sales in the first full financial year after the ban.

“It started to turn around six months after the ban and Scotland continues to perform well,” he said.

But other analysts shared Mr Hutson’s confidence that the ban would benefit the trade in the long term. Nigel Parson, at Evolution Securities, said: “Short term, the move to a smokefree world is proving to be disruptive. But once smokers get bored of sitting at home alone, then trading should recover.”

The credit crunch also had an impact on Wetherspoons, as the average interest rate on its debt rose from 6.75 per cent to about 7.3 per cent.

Source: The Times Online, 07 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/33glpl

Ireland: Group seeks €2 hike for cigarettes

Anti tobacco group ASH Ireland has called for a €2 increase on a packet of cigarettes in the budget.

The group says the call is supported by the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Heart Foundation.

In a pre-budget submission to Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, ASH said it was also seeking €10 million from the Government to support quitting therapies for individuals who wish to quit smoking.

ASH Chairman Prof Luke Clancy said the price of cigarettes was "well established as the most effective means of encouraging smokers to quit and discouraging young people from experimenting with tobacco."

"Price increase in tobacco is essentially a health issue, as it impacts on smoking prevalence, and in doing so contributes to a much healthier society with less dependence on our healthcare systems," he added.

Source: The Irish Times, 06 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/yvygow

Department of Health proud of compliance rates

According to the health minister Dawn Primarolo, the government is "proud" of the businesses who have smoothly implemented the ban on smoking in public places.

Statistics released by the Department of Health showed that of the 275,000 businesses inspected between July 1st and the end of September, 98 per cent were found to be compliant with the new law and 84 per cent were displaying the correct signage.

Commenting on smoking ban compliance, Ms Primarolo said: "People of all ages are reaping the benefits of healthier, less smoky work and social environments, which in turn are seen as an incentive for many to get out and socialise more.

"I'm especially proud to hear that nine out of ten businesses say that implementation went well and that the majority of people, smokers included, are supportive of the new legislation.

"The evidence is clear, secondhand smoke is a killer and removing it from enclosed public and work environments marks the single biggest improvement in public health for a generation," she added.

Source: In the news, 07 November 2007  
Link: http://tinyurl.com/357sug

Israel: Lowest smoking rate ever

The percentage of Israelis who smoke has reached its lowest ever figure, and a new law is expected to bolster enforcement of the no smoking legislation and reduce the smoking rate even more.

According to a survey conducted for the Health Ministry, 23.3 per cent of the adult population continue to smoke, compared to 25.5% a year ago, and half of the rate three or four decades ago. It was revealed by Amos Hausner, chairman of the Israel Council for the Prevention of Smoking.

Hausner drafted the new law that was presented as a private member's bill by Likud MK Gilad Erdan. The law, which was passed unanimously three months ago and takes effect on Wednesday, makes the owners of all workplaces and public places liable for all smoking violations that occur on their premises, in addition to significantly raising fines for both owners and smokers.

Hausner estimates that this is likely to save at least 5,000 lives, as every second user of tobacco is expected to die from smoking.

Hausner, a veteran lawyer who has been fighting smoking for decades, is looking forward to the effective implementation of the new law, which is due to impose heavy fines for violations.

"A Tel Aviv court said that the enforcement of the law by the owner is always in his hands, and if he is determined nobody will dare to smoke in any public place, including workplaces," he says.

The smoking rooms that still exist in some Israeli workplaces and public places, including the Knesset, are long gone in the US and Europe, Hausner says.

The new law is supported by at least 70% of the public, including 52% of smokers, according to a new survey by the the Israel Association for Civil Enforcement. It also found from a representative sample of adults that a third of non-smokers are determined to complain and demand compensation from owners who do not enforce no-smoking laws. In addition, 98% of smokers said they knew they harmed the health of those nearby. One in 10 smokers said they intended to quit as a result of the new law.

Source: The Jerusalem Post, 07 November 2007
Link: http://tinyurl.com/2q7x8e