Hosts are urged to ban smoking on national No Smoking Day,
14 March, to see what lessons can be learned and have some fun.
TONY HALSTEAD offers advice on welcoming a new era for pubs
Banning smoking for one day is a great way to give customers a positive glimpse of what pub life will be like when the ban kicks in.
The MA has teamed up with the organisers of national No Smoking Day to promote the event on 14 March as an ideal time for a "dry run" smoke ban in advance of the national stub-out, which starts on 2 April in Wales and 1 July in England.
Licensees are encouraged to stage a range of special events and promotional activities to attract customers into pubs on a quiet midweek trading day.
The MA has compiled some suggestions to help you make the event go with a bang:
1. Clinics
An in-house Stop Smoking Clinic held in your pub could be a great way to make your customers aware of the forthcoming smoking ban.
Regional National Health Service clinic teams are available across the UK to stage events to suit individual operators' needs.
No Smoking Day campaign organiser Vishnee Sauntoo said the NHS is always willing to lend pubs direct support.
"We would urge any licensee who wants to get involved to contact their regional Stop Smoking Clinic, which will be delighted to help.
"If licensees identify substantial numbers of customers who want to stop smoking, this event could be just the ticket," she said.
"The clinics are immensely interactive and encourage direct participation from their audience by using lung monitors and other equipment," Sauntoo added.
Pubs can log on to www.gosmokefree.co.uk for details of their nearest regional service. Information is also available on 0800 1690169.
2. Quizzes
Pubs are being urged to launch special quiz nights next month to promote National No Smoking Day.
Quizzes are seen as the ideal vehicle to highlight smoking issues and prepare more customers for the ban.
The No Smoking Day campaign group has devised a simple 10-question themed quiz for use by licensees, available on their website: www.nosmokingday.org.uk.
The quiz can be a special one-off event or its questions integrated into regular pub quizzes taking place across the country each week.
3. Families
Pubs are set to reap major benefits from the family dining-out market when the summer smoking ban arrives, so an event aimed at kids and parents could be an ideal way to attract new customers.
Smoke-free pub interiors will offer attractive spaces for families, and licensees need to be prepared to capitalise on extra trading potential when the ban kicks in.
But it's not just good food that will secure hosts extra income from growing numbers of young customers.
Children will also love being entertained with a range of amusement packages to hold their attention between courses.
Kidzsmart, one of the pub industry's biggest table entertainment providers, said the right package is essential to help licensees corner an extra share of the market.
A special family meal- deal could also form part of a licensee's package of entertainment to mark No Smoking Day.
"Parents want children to be entertained and licensees want parents to be relaxed enough to remain at the table for a dessert or an extra drink," said Kidzsmart spokeswoman, Michelle Gunnery.
"The most cost-effective way of keeping children entertained at the table is with paper-based activities, such as place mats and activity books and packs.
"Add branding into that equation and you are also building a loyal future customer," she added.
4. Beer festivals
A mini beer festival is an innovative way to attract extra customers into pubs on No Smoking Day.
The prospect of cask beer being served up to drinkers in a smoke-free atmosphere could open up new horizons in terms of taste and aroma, said beer writer Roger Protz.
"Over the years, licensees and brewers have told me that tobacco smoke and nicotine has had a negative effect on the aroma of real ale.
"The chance to savour cask beer in a smoke-free environment could provide drinkers with a glimpse of what they can expect when the ban actually takes effect."
The Good Beer Guide editor added: "I think drinkers will notice a big difference in terms of the aroma that comes from their beer.
"It is inevitable that cigarette smoke infiltrates the head on real ale and detracts from the great aromas that so many beers offer."
Protz says he will be promoting cask ale under the slogan "Enjoy Your Beer" when the ban begins.
Apart from beer festivals, licensees may also choose to stage wine-tasting events on No Smoking Day, when the same benefits of a smoke-free atmosphere can be enjoyed.
A purer pub environment is likely to provide the same benefits for wine drinkers as for cask ale enthusiasts.
5. Food
Pubs serving little or no food could use No Smoking Day as a perfect opportunity to get into grub. Experience from Scotland and Ireland has found that food sales tend to increase following the introduction of smoking bans, so the Get into Food section of this week's MA offers a host of tips and examples to help pubs develop simple menus.
l See pages 41 and 42.
6. Something sweet
Providing a special range of confectionery at the bar, as well as a decent range of sweet desserts, could prove a hit with smokers eager to take their mind off cigarettes.
One effect of the ban, apart from a general increase in food trade, has been a boost to the number of desserts sold from the pub menu.
Bill Stopford, licensee of the Bonny Inn, Clayton-le-Dale, near Blackburn, said dessert sales have surged since smoking was banned at the pub 12 months ago.
"More people are ordering puddings and more are also asking for coffee after their meals," he said.
"Lighting up a cigarette after a meal comes naturally to smokers.
"As they seem to want to do something with their hands, our diners nowadays have substituted a sweet or dessert in place of the cigarette they used to enjoy!"