JDW's Tim Martin clarifies smoking stance

Tim Martin has spoken out over his comments on a smoking ban, claiming they were "misinterpreted".

The non-executive chairman of JD Wetherspoon came under fire last month for his views on the smoking ban.

He has now tried to clarify his views using thePublican.com to post an article he wrote for his company in-house magazine, Wetherspoon News.

Mr Martin said: "The controversy over my comments on a smoking ban have been misinterpreted, to an extent, and I enclose below the article I wrote in Wetherspoon News.

"Please note the final paragraph especially. Apart from writing the article I haven't spoken to a single journalist on the subject (although others at Wetherspoon have done so)."

Article by Tim Martin in Wetherspoon News, Spring 2004 edition:​

In a nutshell, I believe a ban is inevitable, and if it's not a blanket ban, we'll find local authorities trying to introduce bans on a piece-meal basis borough by borough, which will cause chaos for the trade. Irish publicans have done better than New York's where drinkers have shifted to New Jersey where you can smoke.

Also, as the numbers of smokers declines year by year, at some point it's economically better to ban smoking. I personally reckon that the point has nearly been reached."When the facts change, I change my mind," said one famous economist. As a former die-hard opponent of a government smoking ban in pubs and public places, I think that the world is moving on.

As I understand it, the medical arguments about passive smoking are weak and debatable. However, since the early 1970s, the number of smokers has declined from about 55% of adults to about 27%. At what percentage is a ban inevitable: 20%, 10%, 5%?

Wetherspoon appeals to many non-smokers because of our pioneering combination of advanced ventilation systems andspacious non-smoking areas.

Even so, the three-quarters (and rising) of the population which does not smoke is becoming increasingly vociferous and often does not like to smell or breathe others' smoke. A straw poll of our head-office staff (please check this with your own friends and relations) revealed that a worrying number would not use pubs or restaurants at busy times, apart from our pubs, because they or their partners and families dislike the smell of smoke.

As the first pub company to introduce non-smoking areas (everyone said we were nuts), some argue that we should be the first to support a government nationwide ban on smoking in public places.

The experience of California, where smoking was banned several years ago, indicates that pubs and restaurants canthrive, after a couple of very lean years, following a smoking ban.

Our investigations indicate that many Californian smokers are now in favour of the ban, as it reduces the amount which they smoke and improves the atmosphere in restaurants and bars. However, it would be commercial suicide for a pub company to prohibit smoking in the absence of a nationwide ban by the government. Going it alone, in our opinion, is not a viable option in the pub world.

For myself, I have read today that 60-a-day restauranteur Richard Shepherd, owner of London's famous Langans Brasserie, has given up the fags after 50 years, having last year threatened violent revolution if the government were to enforce the ban in his restaurant.

For me, this is the last piece of evidence: Shepherd is an important barometer of nicotine levels in the national bloodstream.

Ban ciggies, Prime Minister, but just give us a couple of years' notice and avoid, above all, the chaos of local authorities enforcing local bans, meaning that smokers might migrate from one town or borough to another to light up in public.

That's only my opinion, though, so let the editor of Wetherspoon News know your views on the subject, and we will publish as many of them as possible in the next edition."

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