Policing the ban

Canterbury Council hit the head- lines last month when news broke it had employed a 'smoke freedom officer', to ensure public premises were prepared for the smoking ban.

Despite the controversy, Canterbury officer Crystal Stean is one of the many extra staff draughted in by councils across the country.

Dedicated officers are the first point of contact for anything smoking-related and, more importantly, they are here to provide help and advice to businesses in the area. Stean's typical duties involve visiting several premises a day, fielding enquiries or complaints, updating a database of premises, and checking applications for smoking shelters. The position is particularly important in Canterbury, which has around 750 licensed premises, 280 of which are pubs.

Our first stop is Herne Bay, but on the way we pass the Welsh Harp, which is struggling because it has no outside area, the Smugglers Inn, which has triggered noise complaints, and the Ship, whose smoking customers will suffer freezing sea breezes come winter. It is clear Stean has her work cut out.

Shepherd Neame pub the Bun Penny shoulders a row of run-down takeaways and amusement arcades on Herne Bay¹s sea front. Beaming licensee John Young has just received his no-smoking signs after widespread delays, and Stean fills out an evaluation form to confirm his compliance.

She asks how business is going. ³It¹s going really well,² he says. ³We are one of the only pubs in the area with a large outdoor space, so we are benefiting. I¹ve got a shelter but I think it looks horrible, and I want people to stay inside drinking!²

Slow down​

However, it is a different story at the nearby Anglers Association, which has a huge beer garden but no customers. "Business has certainly slowed down, smokers are staying at home," says barman Martin Darby.

"Four months is the time it takes usually for people to return," Stean reassures him. "They are not going anywhere else, everyone's in the same position."

Stean gives Darby her card in case there are any problems, and explains that enforcement works three ways: he needs an extra sign at the bar or risks a £200 fine; he needs to take reasonable steps to stop people smoking; and he needs to tell people to put their cigarettes out if they light up.

At the nearby Divers Arms, Stean goes through the same routine, and explains to Neil Smith that Hookah pipes are banned due to carbon monoxide. Smith is unhappy with his new outdoor area and says smokers are just using the street, but Stean reassures him that things will get easier.

We walk further into town, past small independent shops and bakeries, to reach the Queen Victoria. The pavement is narrow and someone has complained to the Highways Agency that they couldn¹t get a buggy past its tables and chairs. Stean advises licensee Gerry Jones to apply for a permit but the rest of the pub is compliant, save for the lack of signage for the beer garden.

Lack of signage is also a problem at nearby pub the Fathoms. The licensees are putting the finishing touches to a refurbishment, but the pub needs a designated smoking sign on the door to its guest rooms.

Before heading into Canterbury we drop off a butt bin to hairdressers Scissorhands, as the council runs a scheme where people can buy them at discounted prices.

Back in the car, Stean says she plans to visit bingo clubs. Some Scottish ones have seen takings go down £2,000 a week because people are going outside for a fag and not gambling between games, she says.

I ask Stean how she decides which of the 750 premises to visit. "I talk to the licensing team; I tend to find out that way," she says. "Then I might have a chat to the health & safety team, because there might be an issue with somewhere. The advice to pubs is do food, get a shelter, and adapt. That's the research that's come out of Scotland."

Stean says Canterbury's White Hart is a model example of somewhere that has followed this advice. It looks like an old man's pub, but is full of thirty-somethings and has a huge smoking area.

Down the road, style bar the Loft is also making a go of the ban, with the final lick of varnish drying on its new outdoor area at the back of the premises. "I built this so no-one¹s allowed to go out of the front doors, because I know it¹d be a nuisance," says Angela Long, who is worried about noise.

Noise pollution in Canterbury will be compounded when the university students return. Sound from people sitting at table and chairs outside, particularly at the City Arms and Casey's on narrow Butchery Lane, is already proving problematic.

Noise complaints​

Meanwhile, residents above Bar 11 have complained about smoke and sound from the outside area. Bar manager Tyrone Alexander is worried about smokers causing disorder if he lets them on the streets, while Stean warns the residents could put in a review on his licence.

Away from the main streets, shelters prove to be an ongoing concern. Charles Smythe, licensee at the City Bar, is disgruntled he cannot have a four meter umbrella because his pub is a listed building while the Cross Keys is faring better with an awning they used for the Tour De France set to become a temporary structure.

Stean says the council has been told to take a softly-softly approach to the ban, which her visits bear out, but it will take action against persistent offenders. Later this week, she will accompany licensing officers around Canterbury¹s pubs and clubs when they least expect it ­ 7pm to 3am on a Friday night.

With the ban still bedding in and smoking continuing to be the issue of the day it seems like a smoke freedom officer's work is never done