Smoking should be banned in restaurants and hotels but not in pubs, say people working in the industry.
A Caterer.com survey of more than 1,700 users found more than seven out of ten in favour of a ban in UK restaurants and nearly three out of ten against.
But the vote on a ban in hotels was much closer, with only 53% in favour and 47% against.
 |
|
| Kick the habit from hotels and restaurants |
|
Asked whether a ban should apply to pubs and bars, six out of ten said "no" and only four out of ten said "yes".
The question is particularly topical, as the Irish Government recently announced a ban on smoking in public places including pubs, hotels and restaurants, insofar as they are a place of work.
The Welsh Assembly is also seeking powers to introduce a ban in the principality.
In the Caterer.com survey, only one in ten said they preferred to work in a smoking environment, while more than eight out of ten preferred a non-smoking environment. The rest had no preference.
The respondents also preferred non-smoking environments when they themselves were customers in hotels and restaurants: two thirds preferred a non-smoking hotel environment and three quarters a non-smoking restaurant environment.
When it came to drinking in pubs, 47% favoured a non-smoking environment, 32% a smoking environment and 21% had no preference.
Asked if they felt a smoking ban would affect the profitability of their business, 41% of people working in hotels thought it would have a negative effect, as did 43% of those in restaurants and 67% of those in pubs.
But about one third of those in hotels and restaurants and a fifth of those in pubs thought a ban would have a positive effect.
The average anticipated negative effect was 27%, while the average anticipated positive effect was 22%.
Nearly a third of those surveyed were smokers.
People completing the e-mail questionnaire included proprietors, general managers, waiters and chefs.
The results:
Should smoking be banned in...?
|
Hotels |
Pubs & Bars |
Restaurants |
| Yes |
53% |
39% |
72% |
| No |
47% |
61% |
28% |
What type of environment would you prefer to work in?
|
Hotels |
Pubs & Bars |
Restaurants |
| Smoking |
10% |
16% |
11% |
| Non-smoking |
82% |
64% |
79% |
| No preference |
8% |
20% |
9% |
What type of environment do you prefer when you are the customer?
|
Hotels |
Pubs & Bars |
Restaurants |
| Smoking |
21% |
32% |
16% |
| Non-smoking |
64% |
47% |
76% |
| No preference |
15% |
21% |
8% |