Community pubs can survive ban says CAMRA

February 22, 2007: Some 6.2 million people — 17% of all adults in England and Wales — who visit pubs regularly are likely to go more often after the smoking ban comes into force, according to a survey for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Of that group, 97% are non-smokers.

Further key findings include:

l 840,000 people who currently never go to a pub said they will after the smoking ban. Added to the figure for people who currently visit regularly, that is a total of 7,040,000 people who will visit pubs more often.

l 93% of real ale drinkers said they would be more likely to visit pubs more often, or that their visiting habits would not be changed by the ban.

l 68% of regular smokers say it will not change their pub visiting habits at all.

l 69% of all adults said it would not affect their visits to pubs at all; only 3% said they would not visit pubs at all as a result of the ban.

Smokers, it seems, are typically lager drinkers (43% of lager drinkers say they smoke).

CAMRA chief executive Mike Benner said: “This survey shows that nonsmokers will be attracted to pubs after the ban comes into force, and many of them would like to find a real ale waiting for them when they get there.

“The smoking ban will be a difficult transition for licensees, but it is encouraging that only 3% of people surveyed by CAMRA said they would not visit pubs at all as a result of the ban.

"The key will be to ensure that other factors, such as quality of real ale, food, atmosphere and welcome, are all superb. If this is the case then the traditional community pub will have a bright and healthy future.”

The survey was carried out by CAMRA to mark Community Pubs Week, which began last Saturday and runs until this Saturday. Community Pubs Week supersedes National Pubs Week, which ran successfully for four years until 2006. Due to evidence that community pubs are under particularly severe threat, CAMRA refocused its efforts to protect them specifically.