One fifth of UK customers more likely to visit pubs following smoking ban
One-fifth of customers visit pubs more frequently as a result of the 2007 smoking ban, according to a new survey of nearly 5,000 people.
Customer intelligence company Market Force Information surveyed 4,817 UK customers to see how they felt about socialising in pubs.
It found that five years on from the introduction of the smoking ban, 22.4% of respondents said they visited a pub more frequently. Of those 22.4%, 92% were non-smokers.
Meanwhile, 70% of parents are more likely to take their children to the pub with them than they were before.
Only 10.3% of those surveyed said that they were less likely to visit a pub following the ban.
Spot the problem (apart from the cheeeldren of course)?
This is a survey of current pub customers, including of course those smokers who have accepted the ban – not those who’d like to be in their local and who (quite reasonably) are not prepared to pay top whack and then be turfed outside by way of thanks.
Tim Ogle, Europe chief executive at Market Force, said:
“Publicans have been hit by the economic downturn so it’s encouraging to see that despite the negative reaction to the smoking ban five years ago, it has had a positive impact on the sector.
Would that be a positive economic impact then Tim?
Publicans do need to remain mindful of the positioning of their smoking areas as our research revealed that 37.4% of potential customers actively avoid pubs with crowds of people smoking near the entrance. That equates to a lot of lost business and the industry needs to be sensitive to these concerns and ensure they continue to deliver an inclusive and welcoming service to all customers.
Ok if the pub has a beer garden or off road outside area – which many don’t or, sadly, DIDN’T….
And ’potential’ presumably means 37.4% of current customers of ‘nice’ pubs. Not potential customers of all pubs. It does make a difference you know….
From a health perspective, the smoking ban has been good news, Market Force’s research identified that two out of three smokers confirmed they had attempted to give up smoking and half of those have been successful.
Are these are those very same smokers who still use pubs? Again, the article doesn’t really make that crystal clear, and the casual observer could be forgiven that this refers to, well, all smokers. Probably not, because this would have translated into around 700,000 successful attempts per year since 2007. Nearly twice the made up official figure.
In your dreams ASH.