Survey says more will go to pubs after smoking ban

The workplace smoking ban is likely to have a positive effect on the hospitality sector, according to research published yesterday.

Also yesterday, Iarnród Éireann said it would save at least €200,000 a year in cleaning bills because of the ban.

From Monday next, March 29th, smoking will be forbidden in almost all workplaces with exceptions being made for a small number of institutions such as prisons and psychiatric institutions.

A TNS mrbi survey conducted in January found that 28 per cent of people were more likely to visit a pub to drink after the ban came in, compared with 12 per cent who said they would visit less often.

The survey was commissioned by the Office of Tobacco Control, a statutory body which advises the Minister for Health on ways to reduce the incidence of smoking.

The survey found almost 60 per cent of smokers said they would visit bars for a drink as often, or more often, after the ban came in.

This was more positive than market research findings last year when 13 per cent of adults said they would visit a pub more often to drink, compared with 12 per cent who would visit less often.

"There's no indication whatsoever that there will be fewer visitors to pubs and bars," said Mr Damian Loscher of TNS mrbi.

In fact, the indications were that the hospitality sector would attract more business, he said.

The survey found that more people would eat in pubs once the smoking ban came in. Some 20 per cent of adults said they would visit a pub more often to eat, compared with 7 per cent who said they would visit less.

Some 35 per cent of those surveyed said they had either left a pub or chose not to go into a pub or restaurant because of the smoky atmosphere. The research is part of a report Smoke-free Policies: Market Research and Literature Review on Economic Effects on the Hospitality Sector, commissioned by the Office of Tobacco Control.

In the report, the economists Mr Moore McDowell and Mr Joe Durkan of UCD reviewed a number of international and Irish studies and found the ban was unlikely to have an adverse economic effect.

Mr Durkan said he and Mr McDowell had serious reservations about the quality of some of the international research "but it all points in the same direction". There was no serious evidence that the smoking ban would have a negative impact on overall sales in the hospitality sector.

"The evidence suggesting that there will be strong negative impact is weak to non-existent," said Mr McDowell.

However, the impact of the ban was unlikely to be the same across all establishments and the indications were that Border counties may suffer more.

Mr McDowell said pubs that provided an open-air smoking area while acting within the law would have an opportunity to charge more.

Iarnród Éireann welcomed the ban yesterday and said it spent more than €200,000 a year on cleaning and repairing damage to trains and stations due to smoking and the litter caused by cigarettes.