Public gives continued backing to smoking ban

Date: 29th July 2009

A poll conducted by the government has signalled strong public support for the smoking ban.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that three in four people agreed that smoking should not be allowed in pubs - and 93 per cent were in favour of the ban in restaurants.

Indoor shopping centres were seen as suitable for the ban by 91 per cent, while the workplace in general gained 85 per cent support.

Elsewhere in the ONS survey, one in two smokers said that they wanted to kick the habit in the next year.

Considerable resistance was mounted by the hospitality industry when the smoking ban was originally enforced across the UK in 2006-07.

Pub chain JD Wetherspoon warned that profits could be hit by the laws, with customers staying away due to their not being able to smoke on the premises.

The BBC also reported disquiet among bingo hall owners, around 50 per cent of whose clientele are thought to smoke.

Most memorably, pub landlord Bob Beech attempted to become the official UK embassy of uninhabited Caribbean island Redonda.

The owner of the Wellington Arms in Southampton wanted to claim the "embassy perk" of allowing people on the premises - in this case, his pub's customers - to smoke.

"We intend to go ahead with the full benefits of an embassy," he told the broadcaster.