Welsh smoking report

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05 April 2007

WELSH SMOKING BAN off to smooth start

UPFRONT, NEWS, MAY 2007, COMMENTS

First impressions of the smoking ban in Wales were largely positive, according to industry research consultancy CGA. In the weeks following implementation on 2 April, CGA researchers interviewed operators of a number of Cardiff and Swansea venues, most of whom recorded a notable uplift in trade - although many attributed the increased footfall to the unseasonably warm weather rather than as a direct result of the ban.

Of the 24 Cardiff venue operators interviewed, most had created outdoor areas in which to accommodate smokers. Some had adopted specific mechanics to assist in the management of people flow through the front door, such as Walkabout, which gives smokers a disposable ashtray on departure that they return to the door staff for free re-entry. Others, such as Zinc, have implemented a warning system whereby anyone caught smoking in the venue is given a stamp on the hand. If they are caught smoking again, they face a ban from the venue. Brains brewery outlets helped convey the health benefits of the ban by placing business cards on tables, with information on the requirements of the ban on one side and phone numbers for further ban information and for smoking cessation advice on the reverse. One operator has even considered the creation of a non smoking outside area, feeling that it could come into its own in the summer if beer gardens are full of smokers, when customers are used to smoke-free spaces to socialise.

According to CGA Researcher Dan Eagles, council support as well as operational proactivity has helped ensure a smooth transition to the new regime:

“Cardiff City Council seem to have gone to a lot of effort to ensure that the city’s venues were adequately prepared for the ban,” he says. “In addition, on the morning of its implementation, the majority of the venues surveyed were visited by council enforcement officers to ensure that signage was in place, both in respect of door signage and table top displays. The council also provided t-shirts to operators featuring information in Welsh and English informing customers about the ban.”

To tackle one of the unpleasant by-products of the ban, litter, several venues in Cardiff had been provided with ‘Stubbi’ pouches, into which managers and door staff can confiscate cigarettes for safe and hassle free disposal.

New, wall mounted ashtrays had been positioned outside of clubs, pubs and restaurants in both Cardiff and Swansea, featuring information about litter fines relating to cigarettes. According to Dan, however, “these ashtrays didn’t seem to make a massive impact in smokers, with an abundance of cigarette butts in shopping areas and major road intersections.”

Whilst a major concern of operators was compliance, during the first week of the ban no one was caught smoking in on trade venues in Cardiff, with only one public smoking fine imposed in the city, in the train station.

From: May 2007 Issue

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