The Government's long-awaited smoke ban guidelines are out and the trade now knows its proposed description of a legal smoke shelter.
The parameters are simple - if it has a roof then no more than 50% can be closed walls.
The Scottish Executive's website shows examples which resemble wooden bus shelters but here we want to show you what some inventive licensees have already set up to ensure their smoking customers don't feel left out in the cold.
We also want you to send us more pictures to share with licensees up and down the country.
To see our interactive gallery of smoke shelters Click Here but remember to check dimensions before you build to ensure yours qualifies as a legal place to smoke.
If you have already built a smoke shelter take a pic and send it to us at ma.help@william-reed.co.uk
GUIDELINES
Shelter rulesSmoking will be banned in any structure with the roof, ceiling or canvas awning covering the whole or part of the structure regardless of whether they are permanent or temporary, unless they have 50% or more of the wall area open to the elements.
The exact nature of the structures that will be allowed will be down to the planning policies of local councils.
Levels of fineHosts convicted of allowing smoking on their premises will face fines up to £2,500 with customers caught lighting up facing a £50 fine. Failure to display signage in premises will mean a £200 fine reduced to £150 if paid within 15 days. SignageSigns must be flat, rectangular and conform to a minimum A5 size (180mm x 210mm). An official "no smoking" symbol must also be displayed to a minimum size of 75mm in diameter.
There are also guidelines on the form of words to be used.
Take a look at our interactive gallery of smoke shelters by clicking here and start Planning for the ban.
To comment on this or any other story email us by clicking this link
Your CommentsApril via email, 19/07/2006Well guidelines at last, I still feel that no consideration has gone into the poor licensees and how they are going to enforce it and deal with it. I run my pub on my own and know that when the time comes my job will be hell. 100% of my customers smoke so I will probably have none. I also think the impact of people smoking outside is a really bad issue too.
E B Cant via email 25/07/2006"What a fantastic advertisment for young people who will be walking past pubs & seeing people smoking, is that going to convince youngsters that smoking is antisocial, i dont think so, again our so called leaders have created a situation where people will be advertising that it is ok to smoke, why? why? why? did`nt they just bring in smoking rooms, it was what the public wanted, & not an all out ban. thanks again for letting the majority down."
Stephen French via email 25/07/2006"I have an enclosed decked courtyard (four walls but no roof). My intention was to cover about one third of the roof space to give smokers protection in the winter. Is this ok?" Can anyone help Stephen? - Iain
Max and Julie Shankland via email 25/07/2006"Like so many others, my pub does not have an area where I could open 50% of a walled area to create a smoking zone with roof cover. Therefore, this legislation is biased against me and others like me. I remain adament that I will stand by what I have said all along, in that I intend to ignore the ban when it becomes law. I am not encouraged however by the apathy I encounter when i try to encourage others to stand with me and recognise that our strength lies in numbers. We can force the change if we all stand together and ignore the ban completely. Does nobody realise that the authorities simply do not possess the resources to cope with every pub in England and Wales rebelling? Will nobody join me?"
Steve Culverhouse via email 27/06/2006"Unfortunately, this government seems to have it in for our industry and we have little choice but to go along with it in the end. Personally, I think the traditional pub is disappearing fast and the smoking ban will hit certain community pubs really hard especially when the colder weather arrives. The only advice I would offer is that publicans (are we still called that?) are well prepared in advance for the ban. This can be done by gradually training smoking customers to use certain smaller sections of the trading area now and then to provide them with a quality exterior area where they don't feel alienated and outcasts. A rough canvas affair with gas heat lamps probably won't work for long so we might consider investing in something more permanent and comfortable. A good product on the market is to be found on www.smokingcanopy.co.uk and
these canopies are fitted with electric heat lamps which only activate when someone is in the area. Implement these new areas as soon as possible so as to soften the blow when the ban comes in."