Pubs want to clear the air, says AIR

A survey of 500 licensees by AIR has revealed that 45% of them would be prepared to invest between £1,000 and £2,000 on a bar ventilation system rather than risk having smoking outlawed in pubs through legislation. A total of 47% of those surveyed would offer to ban smoking at the bar faced with legislation, while only 8% thought a complete ban was the solution. "These findings show that licensees don't buy the reassurances of pressure groups that their takings would improve if smoking were banned ­ and that they are prepared to invest to protect their staff instead," said Oliver Griffiths, spokesperson for the AIR initiative. "We now have thousands of pubs with bar bans and excellent ventilation, and the proportion is rising all of the time. Licensees understand that cleaner air means better business." The Public Places Charter, agreed between the Charter Group of Licensed trade associations and the Department of Health, requires venues to display their smoking policy at customer entrances and hold a matching policy statement inside. Licensees wanting free advice should call AIR on 020 7482 0620 or e-mail enquiries@airinitiative.com.