Outdoor smoking ban: “The danger is people would choose not to go to the pub” - CAMRA
Labour's Commons leader Lucy Powell has insisted that the proposed measures 'aren't an attack on the hospitality industry' and that they plan to consult with businesses that could be affected.
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00:00If the government is considering this as a measure, we would want them to do a fully
00:05evidenced consultation with the industry to understand, yes, exactly how it might impact
00:10footfall. There is every potential it will reduce it, which obviously would be devastating
00:15for a sector that is still recovering from lockdown and some of the other issues that
00:19they've experienced over the last few years. And so we'd want any kind of consideration
00:23to be taken to support the industry. And if it is going to have a negative impact to actually
00:28not go ahead with measures that would do that.
00:31Similar bans already exist abroad in places like Australia. Smoking has plummeted over
00:36the past 25 years as a result of similar policies.
00:39We don't have Australian weather, so we can't benefit from the outdoor space that they have
00:43there. And I'm sure they use that in a much different way to British pub gardens, which
00:47whilst brilliant, are rainy, much like today has been already for a September morning.
00:53So yeah, I think what we would have to do is to take lessons learned from others, but
00:56also not apply those blanket. As I said, if one thing works in one country, we can't
01:01necessarily say it will work here.
01:03The Great British pub is a tradition well known across the world and is an experience
01:07sought out by visitors to the UK and locals alike. But would a ban affect the atmosphere
01:13and social dynamic of pubs here in the UK?
01:16If we saw a blanket or a quite draconian smoking ban outdoors, that would have a huge impact
01:21in what people choose to do, the friendship groups that they have and what people choose
01:25to do for entertainment or evening. If you're a mixed group and several of you are smokers
01:31and some of you aren't, at the moment you go down the pub, you can sit in the garden
01:34together and that's great. And the smokers don't have to leave or anything. You can continue
01:39to socialise together.
01:40If we saw things like a smoking ban for outdoors come out, the big danger is, yes, people would
01:45choose to just not go to the pub because they can't partake in something that they want
01:49to. And the real danger is they choose to then drink at home. It would have a huge impact
01:54on pubs if people started to, in large numbers, choose not to go to the pub anymore.