Some Welsh pubs prepared to flout ban
Some Welsh pubs will continue to allow smoking after the ban starts on April 2.
According to Wales on Sunday some licensees will ignore the ban - especially after hours.
Maybe when the doors are shut and no-one else is allowed in, people will be allowed to smokeA Carmarthenshire licensee.
One Flintshire licensee told the paper: "If we have a lock-in then the property becomes a private house and we can smoke once we close the doors."
Another in Carmarthenshire said: "Maybe when the doors are shut and no-one else is allowed in, people will be allowed to smoke.
"But in business hours everyone will toe the line."
And another in Chepstow said: "It will be hard to police some hard-to-get-to areas, so it would not be so hard for them to get away with it."
Simon Clark, director of pro-smoking lobby group Forest, said: "I don't think it will happen in the short term, but as things settle down it could well be that some businesses turn a blind eye.
"We know that this has been the case in places like New York. Clearly they are not going to say that publicly.
"We believe there are pubs in Ireland which do allow it after a certain time when they know that the health and safety people have gone home.
"But I can't condone anyone breaking the law."
Licensees risk fines of £2,500 every time they ignore the restrictions.
Smokers themselves will only need to stump up £50 if they're caught.
