As the government has announced it will stick by its original plan to only ban smoking in pubs which serve food, The Publican answers the questions the proposals throw up.
Where would a ban be applied?
The proposed legislation covers England, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland putting smoking strategies in place separately.
In England:
- All pubs and bars serving food will be smoke-free
- Other pubs and bars will be able to choose whether to allow smoking
- Smoking at the bar will be prohibited everywhere.
- Membership clubs, including working men's clubs and sports clubs, will be exempt.
What is prepared food?
The DoH proposes two possible approaches to legislation:
- Its preferred option is to have a list of pre-prepared snack foods smoking pubs could sell, clearly defined by regulations. This list would be "varied from time to time, in consultation with the hospitality industry"
- The alternative would be to have a broad definition of foods that are permitted, such as "fruit, vegetables and other ambient shelf-stable products" - a definition which would take in crisps and other bagged snacks.
- The legislation would not allow pubs to "be non-smoking and serve food at lunchtime but be smoking and serve no food in the evening", nor to "have a non-smoking food room as part of a smoking licensed premises".
Smoking at the bar
It is proposed that smoking at the bar will be prohibited in all pubs and bars, including those which continue to allow smoking.
The DoH suggests legislation could define bar areas, but it also says it will consider whether the trade could "continue to promote this policy without legislation".
Other issues
The DoH asks for specific responses to a number of questions including:
- Will the proposals encourage binge-drinking in pubs which stop serving food?
- Will smoking pubs end up being concentrated in poorer communities?
- Will rural pubs be disproportionately affected?
Offences & penalties
There will be three types of offence, enforced by local authorities:
- Not displaying the prescribed no-smoking notice in a smoke-free premises - maximum fine £200
- Failing to act to prevent smoking in a smoke-free premises - maximum fine £200
- Knowingly smoking in a smoke-free premises - fixed penalty £50 fine.
Timetable
By the end of 2007, all other enclosed public places will be smoke-free, while the arrangements for licensed premises must be in place by the end of 2008.
The full consultation document can be downloaded from http://www.dh.gov.uk.
Contact details to submit responses - which need to be in by September 5 - are in the document.