CLUBS FACING AXE AS SMOKING BAN BITES

CLUBS FACING AXE AS SMOKING BAN BITES

One in three bingo halls are facing closure because of the smoking ban. 20,000 staff to lose their jobs.

About 600,000 customers have stayed away - a 20 per cent drop in attendance figures - since the July 1 ban in England. Industry experts believe around 200 of the country's 634 bingo clubs will have to shut - on top of 60 closures in the last year.

Government tax rules have also been blamed for the crisis.

The £250million-a-year business has also been hit by changes to gambling laws, which meant it was forced to remove hundreds of £500 jackpot machines.

Industry leaders say bingo is the only part of the gambling sector to be taxed twice - paying both VAT and tax on their profits.

They warned the threatened closures would hit hundreds of communities. Bingo Association's Paul Talboys said: "The fabric of whole neighbourhoods will change."

Bingo was invented in 1929 by New York toy salesman Edwin S Lowe

http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk

Pubs' trade is stubbed out

Pubs' trade is stubbed out
By Matt Wilkinson


PUB landlords across Oxfordshire have blamed the smoking ban for killing off trade.

Half the pubs questioned said they had suffered losses since the ban was introduced six months ago.

Most said they had seen trade drop by 50 per cent - and one last night said he was quitting after 14 years in the trade because his business was losing more than £1,000 each week.

Don Stone, landlord of the Plough Inn, in Stert Street, Abingdon, said: "I am totally fed up with this country and the smoking ban was the last straw.

"I'm pulling out of the pub on April 11 - and I'm leaving to live in Cyprus.

"This smoking ban has killed my trade, my figures are down 40 per cent and I'm losing £1,000 a week. I just can't go on like this.

"Smokers have to go outside to smoke - and yet they can't stand out in the street drinking.

"And where are all these people who said they would use pubs if they were smoke-free? I've not seen anything of them."

His views were echoed in Oxford where Ricky Harrison, manager of the Hollybush Inn in Osney, said: "We've had a sufficient drop in trade - about 50 per cent.

"It's getting much harder to run a pub these days."

We surveyed 32 pubs in Oxford, Abingdon, Bicester, Didcot, Witney, Wantage, Wallingford, Kidlington and Chipping Norton exactly six months after a ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants came into force on July 1.

In all, 16 landlords backed the ban - while 16 disagreed.

Brian Hodges, manager of Ye Olde Pioneer in Bicester's Market Square said trade had dropped by a quarter and his takings were £1,500-a-week down.

He said: "Six months down the line you can see smaller pubs like mine are going to have to close - this ban is just killing off an English tradition."

However, some landlords welcomed the ban and said spending money on smoking areas and providing food had attracted extra business.

Dan Smaje, manager of the Royal Blenheim in St Ebbes, Oxford, said: "It's gone a lot better than I thought and now I actually prefer it.

"We don't have the situation now where people come in, see the smoky atmosphere, turn and walk out."

At least 12 pubs have closed in Oxford over the past two years, according to the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale - one every eight weeks.

http://www.banburycake.net/

Town pubs in danger

Town pubs in danger
Winston Brown

The ban on smoking in pubs is the “beginning of the end” for the local as we know it, according to a spokesman for landlords in Bridgnorth.

Mr Geoff Bodenham, president of the town’s Licensed Victuallers’ Association (LVA) made the dire prediction after revealing a 30 per cent slump in takings for pubs in the area.

“There isn’t one pub that hasn’t been affected by the ban,” he said.“It has considerably altered trade for the worse and many are having to get out.

“I think it is the beginning of the end of the traditional English pub as we know it.”

The revelation comes on the back of a survey by the British Institute of Innkeeping and the Federation of Licensed Victuallers’ Association.

It said that pub sales nationally are down by more than seven per cent since the ban came into effect in July.

The Bridgnorth LVA held its monthly meeting last week when concerns were raised about the seriousness of the situation.

“This summer has been terrible because of the floods which forced the Severn Valley Railway to close, affecting trade terribly,” Mr Bodenham said.

“But it is clear now that this smoking ban has affected the social fabric of pubs.

“I think there is a certain amount of human rights that comes into it.”

The Bridgnorth LVA represents more than 20 pubs in and around the town, including Cleobury Mortimer and Much Wenlock.

Mrs Christine Smith, manager of the Shakespeare pub in West Castle Street, has seen a 20 per cent drop in takings there.

“Trade is down because people are not coming out but they are staying at home to drink and smoke instead,” she said.

‘We all said at first it was because of the railway shutting but now we’ve come to this. There is nothing we can do and we have just got to bear it.

“We are all looking forward to Easter, when the railway reopens, for things to get better.”

Mr Bodenham fears that the smoking ban has not only affected trade but has changed people’s drinking habits generally.

“Old age pensioners will not go outside and smoke,” he said.

“I think it is going to become more apparent that smokers are suffering in silence in pubs so they will go to local supermarkets and buy drink for less money. There will be a lot more smokers who will stay at home.”

Landlords are seriously considering their futures in the pub trade as the situation worsens.

“Three of the longest standing pubs in Bridgnorth are going to either sell on the leases or the freehold,” Mr Bodenham said.

“The drop in trade is not financially sustainable and I think January will be the crunch time when pubs start to count their takings. If nobody speaks up for or against the ban then nothing will get done.”

Mr Bodenham believes that smokers can be accommodated by pubs in a specially created area outside.

“There should be a dedicated area for smokers so that they can congregate and enjoy themselves,” he said.

“It is a difficult and unfortunate situation but the general consensus is that there should be a better way and a more dignified way of treating people who smoke.”
http://www.bridgnorthjournal.com/news/publish/article_18799.php

Working men's clubs mixed on smoke ban

Working men's clubs mixed on smoke ban
View GalleryWorking men's clubs have reported mixed effects since smoking was banned in public places.
Clubs, along with pubs and nightclubs, were one of the places hit by the ban, which became law in July.

Brian Binley, who is the Conservative MP for Northampton South, is speaking to Parliamentary colleagues about the ban in such clubs.

He said: "I believe that people want to be able to have freedom of choice in a private club."

Roy Howe, of Cogenhoe Working Men's Club, said: "We've noticed no effect at all. We've got a nice little area out the back for smokers.

"The ban doesn't seem to have affected trade at all."

Mr Howe said if the law was changed to allow smoking in private members' clubs, "we'd have to put it to the members because they are the ones that are going to suffer if they don't want it".

Steve Cohen, steward at the Conservative Club in Billing Road, said the ban had hit the club's functions.

He said: "We've not especially noticed it because it's mostly the older generation who use the club and there's not many smokers.

"It's affected the functions we have but all in all it's not really affected us. It's what we expected.

"We just have the problems at the weekend when we have a lot of smokers in the functions because we haven't really got anywhere for them.

"I'd welcome an amendment definitely."

But other clubs said the ban had hit their trade.

Rhys Watkins, manager at Moulton Working Men's Club, said: "We have noticed an impact. Business has gone down.

"We haven't got a smoking shelter. We haven't got a licence to drink outdoors, but people shelter in the entrance.

"Not many members like to come down because they can't have a fag at the same time.

"We'd welcome an amendment so people can smoke inside private members' clubs again."

Martin Clark, of Cripps Recreation Social Club, said smoking was banned at the club before July.

He said: "We have seen an effect but we're slightly different because we're in the grounds of the hospital and that meant it was banned way before July.

"It's affected business, we've lost between 10 and 15 per cent in revenue due to the smoking ban."

He said the possibility of allowing smoking inside the club would be "a difficult one" because of the club's location and users.
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk

ADDICTS GIVE UP QUITTING

ADDICTS GIVE UP QUITTING
ABOVE: Quitting cigarettes used to be the most popular pledge for the New Year27th December 2007 By Laura Neil Your Shout
Just one in 50 Brits plan on giving up smoking in the New Year – a sign there may not be many smokers left to quit.

A survey revealed today shows only 2% of British workers will make cutting out cigarettes their New Year’s resolution – the first after the smoking ban was introduced.

Quitting cigarettes used to be the most popular pledge but the poll – by pressure group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) – found it came eighth in the top 10 resolutions.

An ASH spokesman said: “We may be beginning to see that although a quarter of adults smoke, smoking is becoming increasingly concentrated among those not ready to give up – a hardcore group of smokers.”

The top five New Year’s resolutions were: 1) Achieve greater work/life balance 2) Eat more healthily 3) Get fit 4) Travel more 5) Drink less.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/24916/Addicts-give-up-quitting/

Bloomington bars have taken a hit

Bloomington bars have taken a hit

It is a hard fact the world over-smoking ban hurt bars and trade. This wouldn't be so bad if the anti smoking groups told you this up front,before votes were cast and decisions made-business owners who are wet led,could lobby for exemptions,indoor smoking rooms etc.
But the anti's won't tell you it hurts business because they don't care about your business,they are on a smoke free crusade and don't care who gets hurt in the cross fire.

City's smoking ban has been bad for business at many taverns
Wednesday, December 26, 2007

By FITZGERALD M. DOUBET

of The Journal Star

A SPECIAL SERIES
BLOOMINGTON - Bars here say business has not fared well since the introduction of the city's smoking ban at the beginning of the year.

The ban took effect on Jan. 1 for most, but some bars and restaurants that made plans to build outdoor smoking areas were given an extension to July 1 to comply with the ordinance.

Theresa Robison, who has worked at Bonker's Place, 1507 S. Main St., for nine years, said she has never seen business so bad for the bar before they were forced to ban smoking in July.

"A lot less people have been coming in, and we have not gotten any new customers or non-smoking customers," Robinson said.

While Bonker's managers have tried to recoup their losses since the ban took effect in Bloomington, business has remained slow.

"We're having bands and trying to get people to come in, but they just don't come in like they used to, and if they have to go outside to smoke, they leave," Robison said.

Jeff Skinner, owner of Illinois Brewing Company, 102 N. Center St., said he's noticed a big change since the Bloomington ban began. Skinner said he thinks, overall, restaurants are fairing better, but bar attendance is down.

"It has not been good. The smoking ban hurts the mom and pop places," he said. "The big chains want to turn the tables, but the mom and pop places, like myself, want people who are going to sit there and have an extra beer or two. Smokers want to have a cigarette between that."

Skinner said he believes the state smoking ban could help his business when bars outside Bloomington-Normal all become smoke free and that becomes the norm.

"I figure the smoke will clear eventually. There will still be bars five years from now, and hopefully, we'll be one of them," Skinner said.

Barb Clum, manager of The Hanger at the Central Illinois Regional Airport, said she has also seen a loss of business and said there is not much that can be done to improve it.

"There's not much we can do. We are in such an isolated area. We've only got passengers to deal with. We don't have just regular customers stopping in for lunch," Clum said.

Dianne Schottman, assistant manager of Gill Street Sports Bar and Restaurant, 3002 Gill St., Bloomington, said her bar has not been too affected by the city ban. Gill Street Sports Bar installed outdoor heaters and curtains in a patio area to help keep smokers warm.

"It is one of the better places in town where you can go out, have a cigarette and not freeze," Schottman said.

As of Jan. 1, however, the curtains will have to come down because of new state regulations, and bar managers will have to tell customers they will not be allowed to smoke in that area.

"I don't know what we are going to do," Schottman said. "I guess we'll just play it by ear and see what happens."
http://www.pjstar.com/stories/122607/TRI_BF98NNPE.017.php

Flat beer leaves pubs punch-drunk

Flat beer leaves pubs punch-drunk
Sunday, 23rd December 2007
What with the smoking ban, bad weather and a fall in the number of beer drinkers, the great British pub is in crisis, writes Jonathan Sibun

Pub landlords will sit down with a pint this Christmas and wonder what they have done to deserve their sorry lot. On the back of a year plagued with difficulties, many in the pub industry believe the going will get tougher in 2008 and the dominant mood remains anything but positive.

The past year has been something of a perfect storm for the industry.

The introduction of the smoking ban, spiralling raw material, energy and employment costs, terrible summer weather and the continued erosion of the beer market have piled troubles on pubs in the past 12 months. While those threats continue to erode margins, the greatest concern for industry executives is the prospect of a slowdown in consumer spending.

Michael Turner, chairman of the British Beer and Pub Association and London pub group Fullers, spoke for the industry last week when he said the UK's pubs were under "serious and sustained pressure".

"Beer drinking in pubs is now at its lowest level since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Today's pubs are selling 14m fewer pints of beer a day than they were at the peak of the market in 1979," Turner said at the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group's annual Christmas party.

Share prices of Britain's listed pub groups have fallen through the floor in recent months as investors have generally shunned consumer companies in fear of a downturn in the sector. Those share falls have come as a result of warnings from pub companies of a challenging outlook rather than any poor trading figures. When a trading slowdown comes, the pressure on pub bosses will grow.

Landlords were never under any illusion that 2007 would be an easy year after the Government finalised plans to introduce the smoking ban, but they could be forgiven for failing to foresee how bad things would get.

One pub boss who wished to remain anonymous said: "All those times landlords would normally expect money to come through the door it hasn't. The summer trade was washed out because of the weather and the festive period has been hit by the tightening consumer market."

Those in the pub trade remain divided on whether November and December have been quieter this year, but all agree that the real test will be how companies fare in the new year.

Mark Brumby, an analyst with Blue Oar Securities, predicts: "Christmas will be strong, it always is. The consumer will rouse himself to spend but in January, when the alcohol leaves the bloodstream, the hangover kicks in and the credit card bills begin to arrive, reality will set in and sentiment should not be expected to recover in the short term."

A slowdown in the first half of the year is increasingly seen as likely, a worrying forecast for big pub companies such as Mitchells & Butlers, Punch Taverns and Enterprise Inns.

In a research note published earlier this month, Lehman Brothers analysts said a slowdown would hit managed pub groups such as M&B hardest with a 1pc fall in sales feeding through to more than a 7pc reduction in earnings per share (EPS). The bank said Enterprise, which runs tenanted pubs, would see just over a 1pc reduction in EPS from a similar fall in sales.

The pub groups have responded by going on the offensive to protect their market shares.

M&B, which owns about 2,000 pubs, was the first to act. The pub group said last month that the "uncertain" consumer outlook had persuaded management to lower food prices at some of its brands. The company said the plan had already borne fruit with an uptick in sales in October and November.

Two days later, Greene King said it would follow suit and that price was increasingly important in a "challenging" environment. Managed pub competitors could be forced to follow their lead while tenants will be left with little option but to fight to protect their livelihoods.

The conclusion, say industry insiders, is that a period of intense, price-driven competition could be on the cards, which will turn up the heat on publicans still further.

Ted Tuppen, chief executive of Enterprise Inns, has warned of a "price war" in the pub food sector in the wake of a consumer slowdown and a glut of pubs offering food at the "mediocre end".

Tenanted and managed pubs throughout the UK have increased food sales this year in an effort to counter the effects of the smoking ban.

Brumby said: "Many more than ever before are offering food, accommodation, anything in order to replace their diminished beer sales and machine income and they are likely to struggle mightily to survive."

For tenanted pubs the effect could be hundreds of landlords handing back their keys to the big operators, which will raise the pressure further.

Consolidation is a word constantly on the lips of those in the pub sector and while 2007 provided plenty of rumour with the likes of M&B, Punch, Greene King and Marston's in the spotlight, there was little real activity. A slowdown will see those rumours escalate and for those companies that remain in good shape, the pickings could be rich.

Tim Clarke, chief executive of M&B, said: "It has been a challenging year and there is polarisation going on. The good pubs are prospering while those that have not moved with the times are losing out."

Clarke has been in the spotlight this year after Robert Tchenguiz, the property tycoon, amassed a 19pc stake in M&B and pushed the pub group to consider options for its real estate portfolio.

A planned £4.5bn property joint venture with Tchenguiz collapsed after the meltdown of the credit markets and losses on the hedging agreements set up by M&B prior to the deal left the company with a £155m post tax hit, wiping out full-year profits. That led to rumours of a possible takeover by Punch amid speculation that Tchenguiz was trying to realise value from his stake.

Whether M&B would have explored options over its future strategy if it had not been pushed by an activist investor remains guesswork. What is certain is that Tchenguiz's actions have raised the spectre of activist investors pushing for change. If pubs groups find themselves weakened by slower trading in the coming months, that threat could grow.

While Christmas cheer is in short supply and the coming months look likely to provide further challenges, the big operators will be looking at the first half of the year to throw up the worst of it.

Greg Feehely, an analyst with Altium Securities, believes that if companies are able to ride out the initial storm, the second half of the year offers more promise.

"For pubs, the 1st of July will be a telling date as it will take them through the anniversary of the smoking ban. The weather should also be better which will mean the comparables get much easier when reporting results," he said.

For pubs groups that answer to the stock markets, the chance to report sales figures against the poor second half this year will come as a relief. Perhaps then it will finally be time for publicans to put their feet up and enjoy that long deserved pint.
http://www.thebusiness.co.uk

France fears arrival of cigarette-smoking ban

France fears arrival of cigarette-smoking ban
By William Langley in Paris

The day of reckoning has arrived for Europe's most incorrigible smokers. On January 1, it will become illegal to light up in bars, restaurants or nightclubs, and as the deadline nears, a palpable sense of panic is taking hold.

Cafe owners warn of mass insurrection, businessmen say productivity could plunge, and psychologists fear the country may not stand the shock. Even the national heritage lobby is upset, arguing that smoke is an emblem of Gallic identity.

The new law bans smoking in all "places of conviviality". If it succeeds, the nation's notoriously smoke-fogged and treacle-ceilinged bars will be transformed into clean air zones. Yet the omens are not good.

Ever since Jean Nicot, King Charles IX's roving ambassador, introduced the weed to his country in 1561, the French have resisted all attempts to wean them off it.

advertisement
Health warnings and tax increases have had little impact, and a 1991 law ordering cafes and restaurants to provide non-smoking areas has been largely ignored.

Despite an annual smoking-related death toll of 65,000, many French continue to see smoking as chic, sophisticated and romantic.

They point out that most of the icons of modern French culture, from Jean-Paul Sartre to Brigitte Bardot, have been smokers, and portray the politicians who want to make them give up as hypocrites.

The law was drafted under former president Jacques Chirac, who, according to a recent unauthorised biography, slept with a packet of Marlboros on his bedside table.

The taste for nicotine remains particularly strong among the young. To French adolescents, particularly those raised amid the bourgeoisie, starting to smoke is as much a rite of passage as declaring yourself to be a Trotskyist or buying a moped.

It is calculated that more than half of 15- to 25-year-olds smoke, the highest proportion in the European Union. Efforts to dissuade them have persistently backfired.

An expensive campaign featuring the football hero Zinedine Zidane collapsed ignominiously a few years ago when "Zizou" was photographed behind his team's dug-out, drawing on a Gauloise.

"Basically, the government has dumped the whole problem on us," says René la Pape, the Paris-based president of the 19,000-strong café-owners' union.

"They want to look as though they are being socially responsible, but they don't understand how a cafe works, or why customers come here. Smoking is a part of French life. We have already lost thousands of traditional cafes. Do we want to kill off the rest?"

This sort of appeal has a strong public resonance. Although polls originally showed a large majority for the ban, support appears to be weakening.

Writers and intellectuals, mindful of what Jean-Claude Blondel, manager of the venerable Left Bank philosophers' hang-out Cafe de Flore, calls "the shared history of smoking and ideas", are also voicing concern.

"A world is collapsing," mourned the novelist Philippe Delerm in Le Monde. "Once it was as though intellectual life, invective and seduction could only exist in a cloud of smoke. Those were the days. Smoking may kill, but life kills, too, in just as insidious a way."

"Look at the old photographs," adds Blondel. "Sartre, de Beauvoir, Colette, Camus, they all smoked." So they did, although at a recent exhibition dedicated to Sartre, the philosopher's trademark cigarette was airbrushed out as a condition of state funding.

To diehard smokers, such underhand tactics are typical of the government's desperation. They point out that the strength and size of France's favourite cigarettes have been steadily but surreptitiously weakened over the years, and that the ones now sold are but hollow echoes of their former selves.

In the 1950s, full-strength Gauloises as manufactured by the state monopoly SEITA, mostly from Paraguayan, Syrian and Turkish tobacco, packed 35mg of tar in each cigarette.

Not surprisingly, there are few people left alive to say what they tasted like, although the blackened of old Paris bars offer some idea of what they might have done to the lungs. The modern versions of the cigarettes have as little as 1mg of tar.

The battle lines are now drawn. The government insists the ban will be enforced, and has an army of civil and police inspectors to make random checks and issue fines.

The health minister, Roselyne Bachelot, has declared: "It is the right time to implement this measure. Britain has done it, Italy has done it. It is happening everywhere in the US. We can't go on being out of step."

Yet many see signs that the government of President Nicolas Sarkozy - a closet Cuban cigar aficionado - may already be backtracking.

Mrs Bachelot recently softened the proposed rules to allow smoking beneath enclosed awnings on cafe and restaurant terraces. The result has been a rush to buy gas and paraffin heaters, amid confident forecasts of legal paralysis over the definitions of "enclosed" and "awning".

Another loophole is expected to allow owners of larger brasseries to build "sealed rooms" within their main premises. "We're developing a kind of deluxe VIP, club-like concept with sofas and air conditioning," says Thierry Chevrin, spokesman for Eichenglaud, one of the companies pioneering the idea. "It's going to be really popular and a fantastic opportunity for us."

Shortly before he inhaled for the last time, Serge Gainsbourg, the celebrated Parisian bohemian and human health warning, claimed that God was a smoker.

The theory is about to be put to the test. In the meantime, the ban's backers may consider it a triumph if the smog clears enough for them to see who is smoking and who isn't.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Smoker ban hits legal hurdle

Smoker ban hits legal hurdle
Article from: Sunday Mail (SA)

December 22, 2007 11:28pm

A LIBERAL MP's controversial plan to ban smoking in the City of Adelaide for two days a year would be unenforceable unless Parliament granted parking inspectors sweeping police-like powers.
Adelaide Lord Mayor Michael Harbison was sympathetic to the concept but noted council officers have no powers to demand names and addresses of rogue smokers in order to issue fines.

The smoking ban plan triggered a storm of reaction from the public amid warnings of further erosion of freedoms.

Liberal MP David Ridgway plans to introduce a Private Members Bill banning smoking in public in the city for two days, to coincide with World No Tobacco Day and the Christmas Pageant.

If it passes into law, people smoking on streets, footpaths or parks in the city on those days would face fines of up to $200.

Mr Ridgway said the move would come with support for smokers to help them kick the habit for the day.

Revelation of the plan in the Sunday Mail last week unleashed a flood of reaction with people ringing talkback radio and logging more than 150 comments on the Adelaidenow website.

These covered a wide cross section of opinions, from smokers angry at the ban to non-smokers annoyed at yet more legislation governing behaviour in public.

Under the plan, Adelaide City Council officials would be responsible for handing out fines to rogue smokers, with the cash to go to the Cancer Council. However, Mr Harbison said council officers have no power to demand names and addresses of offenders.

"It is an interesting proposal and certainly on Pageant Day I think it would even have support of smokers with so many children in the city," he said. "However, we have no mechanism to make people give names and addresses like the police have.

"Our people can deal with property or vehicle issues because you can trace ownership, but if a smoker doesn't want to give their name and address to a council officer there is nothing we can do. We would need special powers that now only rest with the police."

The world-first plan for a smoke-free city has support from health groups but Council for Civil Liberties chair Mr George Mancini warned the move was the "thin end of the wedge".

"There is a civil liberties argument in respect of the right of people to use a lawful product in an outdoor, public area," he said.

Minister for the City of Adelaide Jane Lomax-Smith refused to discuss the plan while Health Minister John Hill's office passed inquiries to Substance Abuse Minister Gail Gago, who was unavailable.

Her spokesman, Mr Richard Lower, released a statement saying the move would confuse the public.
http://www.news.com.au/

Full House... not since the smoking ban

Full House... not since the smoking ban
DWINDLING attendances at bingo and cinema nights - partly caused by the ban on smoking - have put the long-term future of the Hippodrome, March, in doubt.

"We provide it at a loss for something for March, and it is not being supported," said Mark Dexter, manager of the Dartford Road cinema and bingo club.

"It has been around for such a long time in March and needs supporting, otherwise we could lose it."

Mr Dexter said numbers were about 100 down because of the nationwide smoking ban introduced in July.

About 100 clubs across the country are thought to be at risk and many of the major operators have cut costs but have still seen profits decline.

In March, however, it is not only bingo that is suffering. Film attendances are down too and Mr Dexter wonders why people are not using the cinema, which is open every Monday and Tuesday night.

"We are lucky if we get 10 people in on any one night," he said. "It seems that, since the start of the year, there has been a gradual decline in numbers and we don't know why.

"We had our first good week for a long time two weeks ago- but a good week for us is getting about 30 people in.

Bingo, held weekly from Wednesday to Sunday, still attracts about 60 or 70 people every night, but Mr Dexter said: "I would say, since the ban came into force, we have lost about 100 customers.

"We have had a gradual decline in numbers at bingo because of the smoking ban, but that should not have affected the cinema because it was a no smoking area anyway."

Despite falling numbers, staff are still determined to spread festive cheer among bingo club members at a Christmas party tomorrow evening.
http://www.cambstimes.co.uk/

Petition drives reversal on bar smoking ban

Petition drives reversal on bar smoking ban
By JEFF GEARINO
Southwest Wyoming bureau
Thursday, December 20, 2007 2:16 AM MST

GREEN RIVER -- Local bar owners said they had lost as much as half of their business since a citywide ban on smoking in buildings used by the public went into effect Dec. 13.

They also said they had gathered more than the required number of signatures on a petition to put the issue before voters.

As a result, the City Council reversed itself Tuesday night and exempted bars, lounges and private clubs from the smoking ordinance.

Councilman Dan Beckermann cast the key vote in the 4-3 decision.

"A successful petition will put it on a special election ballot in March, and we don't fair (sic) well on special elections," Beckermann wrote in an e-mail to city officials.

Beckermann had voted in favor of including bars in the ban on Dec. 4. An exemption for bars had been part of the ordinance approved on second reading, but it was removed on third and final reading.

Pulling the bar exemption didn't sit well with members of the city's liquor dealers association. The 17-member group quickly began circulating a petition calling on the council to amend the ordinance and put the bar exemption back in.

Under Wyoming law, voters may ask the council to repeal or amend an ordinance if 10 percent or more of the registered voters sign a petition. If the council chose not to amend or repeal the ordinance after the petition is submitted and verified, the petition would then be presented to voters in a municipal election.

City Administrator Barry Cook said the council voted 4-3 Tuesday night in favor of Beckermann's motion to bring the ordinance "back on the table for reconsideration." Councilman Tom McCullough then made a motion to put the exemption back in, which also passed 4-3.

Cook said the council voted down a second amendment that would have exempted bingo parlors from the smoking ordinance. The council did approve a third amendment that says bars and clubs will not be exempt from the ordinance when they are operating an event that includes children under the age of 18.

Cook said the revised smoking ordinance would go into effect Dec. 27.

He said the section on non-smoking events will go into effect March 1. That will allow "bars to do any kind of renovation on facilities -- if they have to put up walls, doors or windows -- so there's no smoke that goes into another non-smoking area."

Green River joined Cheyenne, Laramie, Evanston and Rock Springs in enacting smoking bans in public buildings, but only the Green River and Rock Springs ordinances now include exemptions for bars and clubs.
http://www.casperstartribune.net

football fans are revolting

'Will Young CD' threat to smokers

ELLIOT FURNISS
WHEN he wanted to reinforce the smoking ban message to football supporters, stadium announcer Peter Sleigh opted for an unusual way of doing it.

All those attending Colchester United matches at Layer Road have been warned breaking the ban could result in a bizarre punishment - including being forced to listen to Will Young CDs, being locked in the toilet, or even facing electrocution.

Now his latest tongue-in-cheek warning - to dangle anyone caught smoking from the floodlights until the next home U's match - has been named “stadium announcement of the week” by a football website.

The man with the mic at Layer Road issued the witty warning at half-time during Saturday's home match with East Anglian rivals Norwich - which the U's drew 1-1.

Mr Sleigh, 45, who works as an independent financial advisor in the town, has been the club announcer for the past decade and said he decided to insert some comedy into his no-smoking alerts after some fans chose to ignore them.

He said: “Nobody was taking any notice at all so I thought I'd inject a bit of humour. They're just things I end up saying off the cuff, although sometimes I do get in trouble.

“Now, when I start to announce 'this is a non smoking stadium' I can hear the crowd go quiet to listen to what I have to say.”

He said he was well aware of his health and safety responsibilities, but felt that as a community club, it was important that the fans could relate to him.

He added: “I love it. Sometimes people will recognise my voice and tap me on the shoulder and say 'are you the guy from Layer Road?' which is all part of the fun.”

Mr Sleigh, a former DJ at many of the town's nightspots, is now looking forward to taking up announcing duties at the club's new Community Stadium, which is set to replace the out-dated current ground at the start of next season.

Jon Burns, chairman of the Colchester United Supporters' Trust, said Mr Sleigh's remarks had “really struck a chord” with the fans since the smoking ban was brought in and has provided some light relief in what is proving to be a tough season for the U's.

He said: “He's always been a good stadium announcer, in my opinion. Since the ban he has become quite humorous. He certainly livens-up half times.”

Matt Hudson, media manager at Colchester United, said Mr Sleigh was an important part of the furniture at Layer Road and a big part of the “Colchester United experience”.

He said: “Peter has certainly captured the fans' attention with his half time comments and raised a smile or two along the way.”
http://www.eadt.co.uk/

Council considers change to city's smoking ordinance

Council considers change to city's smoking ordinance

By Chris Norwood
12-19-2007

TALLADEGA — The City Council essentially held an open forum Monday night to discuss possible revisions to a ban on smoking in nearly all public buildings in the city passed by the previous administration. No action was taken during the meeting, however.

Owners of several restaurants and bars in the city complained their smoking customers were moving on to other establishments outside the city limits, where the ban cannot be enforced, and asked for the ban to be made optional for such businesses. Council President Dr. Horace Patterson appointed Councilmen Donnie Mille and Eddie Tucker to study the issue and report back Monday night.

“I was willing to compromise, even though I felt it was wrong, but I was willing to try and make everybody happy. But Miller just says let the businesses decide for themselves. I would be willing to restrict it to bars after 10 or 11 p.m.,” Tucker said.

At least one of the business owners present said she is not open that late.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to change the ordinance,” Tucker said. “It’s like you only want to let people decide for themselves, and I think we shouldn’t let them do that. Besides, research says that second hand smoke is worse for people with asthma and emphysema. …”

”I don’t smoke myself, but I am a business owner,” Miller said. “We’re a small town. We don’t have any chain restaurants here, the sit-down restaurants we do have are locally owned. Taking away part of someone’s business hurts. Nobody’s cutting our costs for power or business licenses or health department licenses. No one gets dragged into a bar here. No one passes through Talladega to get something to eat. People here go to specific restaurants. At Fincher’s and Stampede, no smoking signs are already up, and their patrons know that. I don’t have a sit-down restaurant anymore, but if I did, I’d have one up, too. But all we’re doing is sending business to the restaurants in the county and hurting the ones in the city.”

Tucker said making the ban optional would essentially gut the ordinance. Miller said his proposal would apply only to sit-down restaurants.

Councilman Dr. Jimmy Davis said he was also staunchly opposed to smoking but agreed with Miller’s position. Councilman Dr. Lance Grissett said he was still undecided, since he had had close family members to die of lung cancer.

“But I’m still wrestling with that, with what’s best for the city,” he said.

The floor was then opened to the public. The majority spoke in favor of Miller’s proposal.

“I’m a non-smoker, but the ban hurts business, so I say turn it back over to the owners,” one resident said.

Yet another speaker favoring the repeal said it would affect only about five local establishments, leaving at least 40 other places in town for non-smokers to patronize.

“We’ll separate ourselves as we have for years,” he said. “And if you want to ban smoking, why don’t you stop collecting a tax on it, too,” he said.

Another said she had previously worked as a bar tender, but since the smoking ban, bar traffic had dwindled to virtually nothing. “If you don’t want people to smoke, tell the grocery and convenience store owners to quit selling cigarettes,” she said.

Someone characterizing himself as an ex-smoker said, “I chose to quit, the city didn’t tell me to. I guess next you’ll be telling me I have to go on a diet. If 21 percent of people smoke, then give them the chance to make up their mind to quit, too. This foolishness is just silly.”

Another audience member, who said she was not prepared to speak publicly but felt compelled to, said, “I am an advocate for non-smoking, but I say listen to the business owners. It’s my choice not to smoke, and it’s my choice not to visit businesses that allow smoking, as is my right. Everybody goes to Wal-Mart, everybody goes to the courthouse, everyone comes here to City Hall, and you shouldn’t be allowed to smoke in those places. I don’t have to go to a bar.”

The last speaker on behalf of the change said she was 76 years old, raised on a tobacco farm and worked in bars all her life, and was currently in better physical condition than most of her other family members.

Only two speakers came out in favor of the status quo. The first, representing FIRST Family Services, did not speak but did present the council with a fact sheet and letters from sixth-graders.

The second, a social worker with the county health department, said, “Government always tells us what to do. Smoke endangers people. I have asthma, and have had attacks triggered by cigarettes. I just buried an uncle with larynx cancer. And what about the kids? They have no choice. There is no safe amount of second hand smoke.”
http://www.dailyhome.com/news/2007/dh-talladega-1219-cnorwood-7l18v4227.htm

Numbers stubbed out

Numbers stubbed out
Sue Carroll 19/12/2007
Daily Mirror

Almost six months into the smoking ban in England, licensees say pub sales have slumped by 7.3 per cent, with working men's clubs being hit the hardest.

What happened to those millions of non-smokers who the ban-it brigade assured us would pour into pubs as soon as the noxious fumes of tobacco were removed?

Are they still sipping their sparkling water at home?
http://tinyurl.com/32bk9w

PROFITS GO UP IN SMOKE

PROFITS GO UP IN SMOKE
18 December 2007

A Landlord has seen his profits fall by more than one third since last orders were called on smoking in public places.

The owners of the Magna Charta - Andy and Ann Hudson - say they are counting the cost of what they call the "Nanny State" and say the smoking ban is the latest in a line of troubles for the British landlord.

The boss at the New Holland pub, Mr Hudson, said: "Since the smoking ban, my profits have gone from roughly £4,000 a week to £1,400.


"It is decimating the business. I have got friends in the pub trade who are renting and they are simply handing their keys back in and losing their £20,000 deposit. It is devastating.

"I think it is too much like a nanny state.

"I think they should have left it to individual landlords to speak to customers and choose what they want to do.

"In the pub trade papers they are saying that there are about 2,000 pubs which might have to close over the next 18 months. The trade papers also say that breweries' profits are down by as much as 75 per cent.

"With supermarkets selling lager cans for 22 pence each it is the road to ruin. I have had to get rid of my staff. I previously had four bar staff and a cleaner.

"I had cover every day for the bar. Now I have one member of bar staff who works two days a week. I do have a chef now though. I have also had to go back to doing some lorry driving as well.

"It is not easy at all now for pub landlords."

For this reason the Hudsons are starting new ventures at the Magna Charta.

After they fitted a new kitchen the couple are now offering a pub grub menu with all the favourites, including mixed grill, rump and fillet steak and home made steak and ale pie. They serve food every weekday from noon to 2.30pm and 6pm to 9pm.

On Sundays they will be serving food from noon to 4pm.

"Everything is home made," said Mr Hudson.

"The vegetables are fresh, the chips are fresh and the large Yorkshire puddings are fresh.

"You can't beat some good, traditional pub grub with your favourite tipple."

The pub also has live entertainment every Saturday, as well as quiz and bingo nights every Friday.
http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/

Clubs hit hard by smoking ban

Clubs hit hard by smoking ban
By Joe Willis

THE region's pubs and clubs are suffering under the smoking ban, research reveals.

Sales have slumped by more than seven per cent since the law was changed in July.

Traditional workingmen's clubs and pubs, which rely on drink sales instead of food, have fared the worst.
Stephen Smith, steward at Newton Aycliffe Workingmen's Club, said: "It's hitting the industry hard."

"There are usually more standing outside than there are inside. And if they're outside smoking, they're not going to be drinking."

Carmel Gaffney, of Bishop Auckland Social Club, said: "I think sales have dropped, but not as much as people thought they might."

She said that the recent freezing weather was having an impact, with smokers staying at home in the warm, rather that going out for a drink and having to smoke outside.

More than half of the 2,700 licensees questioned in the national survey said smokers were making fewer visits to their pubs.

Nearly 73 per cent said customers who smoked were spending less time inside the pubs, according to the poll for the BII (formerly British Institute of Innkeeping) and the Federation of Licensed Victuallers' Associations (FLVA).

However, a quarter of respondents said more non-smokers were visiting their pubs.

The BII said many food-orientated pubs had prospered following the smoking ban.

Richard Slade, BII North-East chairman, said businesses that had got themselves ready for the ban should not have seen any drop in turnover.

But the success stories have been outweighed by pubs which relied on drink sales.

FLVA chief executive Tony Payne said 89 per cent of survey respondents wanted rate relief for licensees who had lost business as a result of the smoking ban.

"Traditional workingmen's pubs have been hit hard, especially those with no room to accommodate smokers outside," he said.

"We accept the ban as a public health measure, but it has come at a heavy cost for our pubs and the Government should recognise this and compensate us."

Seven in ten pubs now have covered outdoor facilities where customers can smoke, the survey found.

The Northern Echo
http://tinyurl.com/2lawue

County to ban smoking in public housing units

County to ban smoking in public housing units
This is from the UK,THERE will be call for this to happen here soon,please sign our petition
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/smokinglicenses/


By Sanjay Bhatt
Jackie Brooks has smoked for a half-century and figures she consumes a pack a day inside her Auburn apartment.

The 74-year-old doesn't want to quit and says she has a right to smoke in her own home.

Not anymore. The King County Housing Authority is banning smoking in all units at Plaza 17, the 70-unit apartment complex where Brooks has lived for 14 years.

Following a national trend, the housing authority's board voted Monday for a pilot program that bans smoking entirely in three apartment buildings, 222 units in all. Smoking already is banned in common areas in its housing projects because secondhand smoke is a known cancer-causing toxin. The authority owns and manages some 2,700 units of public housing.

"We're trying to create more options for residents," said authority spokeswoman Rhonda Rosenberg. "We're starting small. When people are used to something for a long time, we don't want to pull the rug out from everybody all at once."

In addition to the Plaza 17 in Auburn, the authority banned smoking at its 70-unit Northridge 1 in Shoreline and its 82-unit Nia Apartments at Greenbridge project under construction in White Center. The ban starts next month.

As they've gotten used to smoke-free bars, restaurants and other public places, some nonsmokers in Washington have asked landlords for relief from secondhand smoke in their apartment buildings. To get a better handle on the scope of the trend, the state Department of Health surveyed landlords across the state last spring to find out which have banned smoking in their rental units and what they've experienced in practice.

"We're getting our share of people asking, 'What are my rights? What can I do about this?' " said Tim Church, a spokesman for the Department of Health. Once the survey results are available, "we plan on sharing that information with health departments as well as owners and groups that manage apartment complexes," he said.

There's a strong national movement to ban smoking entirely, even in privately owned apartments and condominiums, buoyed by the U.S. Surgeon General's report last year that ventilation cannot eliminate the health risks to nonsmokers.

In October, the Minnesota Department of Health and the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project of Michigan hosted a national meeting on initiatives in various states and Canadian provinces to promote such smoke-free housing as the norm.

The Seattle Housing Authority opened its first and only smoke-free property in 2003, the Tri-Court, an 86-unit development in North Seattle. The city isn't planning to expand the smoke-free policy to other buildings for now, according to a spokeswoman.

For those living in King County public housing, a survey last year suggested that residents overwhelmingly favored the idea of banning smoking in apartment units. The authority says it is getting more and more requests from people with asthma or other health issues for smoke-free accommodations.


Residents in the federally subsidized housing must have a household income at or below 80 percent of the area median income — making the limit $41,700 for one person as of last spring. Many of the residents are single parents with children, seniors or persons with disabilities.

Brooks, the smoker at Plaza 17, called the authority's decision rotten and said she intends to move out.

"I've lived here 14 years, and the way I figure it, I have a right to smoke in my own apartment," she said. "If they're going to do this, they ought to do it to the newcomers coming in."

Alice Bruce, 71, Brooks' neighbor across the hall for a dozen years, has heart problems and is glad the authority is banning smoking in her building. She believes years of exposure to secondhand smoke from family members contributed to her cardiac arrest more than a decade ago, and she's still concerned about secondhand smoke.

"I'll be sorry to see her go," Bruce said of her neighbor. "I think the world of Jackie. I still do. I just don't agree with her smoking because of the experiences I had with my own family and smoking."
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004079576_smoking18m.html

Pub sales down 7.3 per cent since smoking ban

Pub sales down 7.3 per cent since smoking ban
17 December, 2007

By James Wilmore

Poll of BII and FLVA members reveals negative effect on trading with gaming income hit hardest

Overall sales in English and Welsh pubs are down 7.3 per cent since the introduction of the smoking ban, a survey has revealed.

The hardest hit area was income from gaming machines, down 9.3 per cent, according to the poll conducted among members of the BII and the Federation of Licensed Victuallers’ Associations (FLVA).

This was followed by drink sales, down 7.4 per cent. Sales of food fared better, but were still marginally down (0.6 per cent) on the period before the ban was introduced.

Nearly three quarters of the 2,708 licensees who responded had also seen smokers spending less time at their pub.

And 58 per cent reported smokers were visiting less frequently since the ban.

Just over a quarter said there were more non-smokers visiting. The survey did not mention the impact of the poor summer weather.

John McNamara, BII chief executive, said: “We made a massive effort to advise our members how to innovate to beat the ban and many pubs that sell a lot of food, and have invested, have prospered.

"Sadly these have been outweighed by the far greater number of more traditional pubs who rely more on drink and smokers – especially those that could not afford to invest, or did not have the space to develop outdoor areas.


“Our message to the public is to get down and visit your local. Our pubs have better facilities than ever before.”

Seventy per cent of respondents to the poll said they now had covered outdoor facilities.

However, Tony Payne, chief executive of the FLVA called for the government to give rate relief to the pubs that have been hardest hit.

“Traditional working men’s pubs have been hit hard, especially those with no room to accommodate smokers outside,” he said.

“We accept the ban as a public health measure, but it has come at a heavy cost for our pubs and the government should recognise this and compensate us. Eight-nine per cent of the people who responded said that there should be rate relief for licensees that have lost business.

“This is a case of ‘collateral damage’ where we have been caught in the crossfire of the smoking issue.

“Whilst the trade may well recover eventually this will be the end for many traditional locals and the tradition that goes with them.”

The questionnaire was sent out in the week commencing October 22, with 2,708 responses received by December 7.
http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&storycode=58081&c=1

Life, smoking go on after ban

Life, smoking go on after ban

By BILL RODGERS Tribune Chronicle
With near-freezing weather and flurries Friday, it was a lousy night to be a Trumbull County smoker out on the town.

Unless they were in Pennsylvania or a place that wasn’t complying with Ohio’s indoor smoking ban.

About a year after voters passed the ban and about seven months after fines could be issued, five county businesses have been fined $100 each for violations under the law, according to the Trumbull County Board of Health.

Standing outside the Cabaret Lounge on North River Road, Tim Biedenbach smoked with some of his friends, one of whom dropped a cigarette from his numb fingers. It wasn’t the cold or that five fines had been issued in a half-year of enforcement that bothered Biedenbach.

‘‘It’s just the hassle of it all. I think if it’s past 9 o’clock and if you’re over 21, it shouldn’t matter,’’ he said.

Biedenbach said he didn’t know anyone who quit smoking just because of the ban, when one of his friends told him he did.

‘‘He wasn’t a smoker-smoker,’’ Biedenbach argued.

Closer to the border with Pennsylvania in Orangeville, Fisherman’s Cove Bar and Grill owned by Kirk Cusick still had a full lot despite Cusick’s prediction a year ago that the ban would drive him out of business. Ohio’s no-smoking sign was taped to the front door, right at eye level as customers walked in.

He said business was slow since the ban, but it’s helped that the Cove is part restaurant.

‘‘Now that it’s colder, I’m sure we’ll hurt that way. But we’ll ride it out,’’ he said.

But less than a mile down the road in Pennsylvania, the only sign on EZ’s Orangeville Tavern states that patrons have to be 21 to drink. Customers lining the bar smoked, another lit a pipe.

‘‘We’ve gotten a lot of new faces,’’ said owner Sharon Zreliak about the months after the ban.

Though she’s profiting now, Zreliak would be afraid if Pennsylvania was next for a ban.

‘‘I hope not. If it does happen it should be up to the business owners. I think it would hurt us, I really do,’’ she said.

Dino Haidaris, co-owner of the Sunrise Inn restaurant in Warren would disagree, though he acknowledges it could be different because his business is primarily a restaurant.

‘‘The lifespan of my employees has probably doubled,’’ Haidaris said. ‘‘It’s been great, we’ve picked up a lot of customers.’’

One of Haidaris’ happy customers is ex-smoker Linda Yost of Warren.

‘‘I’m happy I can sit here and breathe. I quit a long time ago. I don’t have to breathe other people’s smoke,’’ Yost said.

Neither does bartender Jack Fess, who after working bars and nightclubs since the 1980s, was starting to show signs of being a long-term smoker even though he never smoked.

‘‘This is the best thing that’s ever happened,’’ Fess said.

When asked about the five fines in Trumbull County, Haidaris speculated that could mean bars are complying or that people simply weren’t reporting violations to the state, which is how the ban’s enforcement moves forward.

They weren’t reporting at the Top Hat in Brookfield. The owner of the bar, who spray painted a warning on his front door a year ago that patrons should expect smoke if they go inside the bar, declined to give his name but suggested what the state could do with its smoking ban.

He said he wasn’t one of the five that was fined.

Nick Eicher, who was working the bar at the Top Hat, believed choosing to smoke or not to smoke; to go into a business that allows smoking, or not to go into a business that allows smoking should remain a matter of personal choice.

‘‘Everyone who has smoked in a bar will tell you the same. This is hurting us,’’ Eicher said.
http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=25998

Smokers set to take a stand against ban on Hogmanay

Smokers set to take a stand against ban on Hogmanay
By Kris Gilmartin

PUBS, clubs and bingo halls up and down the UK are set to risk hefty fines by flouting the smoking ban on the busiest night of the year.
A growing number are poised to allow smokers the chance to light up indoors for the first time since March 2006 — on Hogmanay.
December 31 has been earmarked as the date for the first National Smoking Day with some publicans and smokers already showing support.
Licensed premises have been urged to display posters and stickers backing National Smoking Day. The date has been selected as a time when police resources will be stretched to the limit.
Difficult
It will also be difficult for council environmental officers to enforce the smoking ban and dish out fixed penalty notices, with many likely to be off-duty.
One of the campaign’s supporters, willing to risk a £2500 fine, is Martin Carroll (46) (right), owner of Vogue Bingo Hall in Lanark.
“The campaign isn’t about anything other than choice,” he said. “We live in a democratic country and we used to have a thing called the freedom to choose, which seems to have been eradicated from society.
Down 57 per cent
“I run a bingo club and when the ban came in 80 per cent of my customers smoked. I knew what the future held for me, but 19 months after the ban my business is down 57 per cent.
“It’s been devastating — we’re holding on by a thread.”
Mr Carroll plans to divide his club 50/50 into smoking and non-smoking areas. He says the majority of smokers want to fight the legislation but feel their pleas will fall on deaf ears.
“They don’t believe the politicians will listen. I know I’m risking a penalty, but I’m willing to do that.
“And if I do get fined then I’ll refuse to pay it, purely on principle. If we don’t make a stand now there’ll be nothing left to fight for.”
The campaign, which was launched four weeks ago, has been gaining support on websites like MySpace and Facebook.
James Wilson (27) (left), from London, the man behind the movement, said, “I went to Blackpool for the court case of Hamish Howitt, the first publican taken to court for breaking the ban, and was inspired to do something.
Non-smoker
“I’m a non-smoker and I was positive about the ban when it was introduced but knowing a lot of smokers it got me thinking that they’ve been treated very badly.
“If any other minority was treated as badly there would be an uproar.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Licensed Trade Association said they didn’t support the campaign.
“The SLTA would never urge anyone to break any law, it’s just not our business to do that.
“We know that in England there have been a few people working outside the law and they’ve been taken to task on it and we don’t condone that in any way.”
Two pubs in Aberdeen have also voiced their support for the campaign, but a spokesman for Aberdeen City Council insisted enforcement officers would be on the streets come Hogmanay.
“Since the smoking ban came into force in Scotland it has been very well adhered to in Aberdeen.
“Our enforcement officers will be aware of this campaign and will be bearing that in mind.
“Ultimately it’s a matter of law —we have a responsibility to try to enforce that law.”
http://www.sundaypost.com/news3.htm

Gala Coral says 100 bingo clubs at risk

Gala Coral says 100 bingo clubs at risk
By Roger Blitz, Leisure Industries Correspondent

Gala Coral grew full-year pre-tax profits by 10.6 per cent, but warned the smoking ban and the removal of lucrative gaming machines had impacted on growth.

The privately-held betting and gaming group said it was cautious about wider market conditions going into 2008 and would press the UK government for the abolition of VAT on bingo products.

Market turmoil hits sale of Tote - Sep-24Gala Coral lays out plan for £5.5bn IPO - May-05Gala Coral pulls off banker double - May-05U-turn means Tote will now be sold at market value - May-05The loss of so-called Section 21 gaming machines and steep rises in casino duty introduced in this year’s Budget have hit bingo and casino operators.

Neil Goulden, chief executive, said though there were some 100 bingo clubs whose survival was at stake across the UK but he did not envisage any Gala Bingo clubs closing.

But he added: “If market conditions worsen, we would have to look at it again.”

Rank announced this week it was scrapping its dividend and cutting back on capital projects, aimed at keeping within its banking covenants.

Owned by Candover, Cinven and Permira, Gala Coral this morning issued its annual report and accounts for the year, saying it was the first major private equity business to comply with recommendations of the Walker committee on transparency.

Turnover for the year to September 29 was £1.3bn, up by £83.2m on 2006, while earnings before income tax, depreciation and amortisation was up £7.2m to £401.8m. Pre-tax profits were up £29.8m to £309.9m.

Ebitda for bingo, where the group has 43 per cent of the market, declined 10.7 per cent to £136.7m, while the Coral business, now comprising 1,550 outlets, was up 21 per cent on the back of 60 new shop purchases and 28 openings.

Gala Casinos ebitda rose 10.7 per cent to £33.2m, although casino duty increases in the Budget cost £2.5m.

Mr Goulden said 2006 had been a “challenging” year.

The group said it would have 360 betting offices in Italy by Easter, and that trading from its international division had seen “above expectation yields”. It has also bought a bingo club in Italy and is on track to open a bingo club in China.

Matthew Roberts, finance director, said the online bingo operation produced £20m of ebitda in 2007. Mr Goulden said the group intended a stronger marketing push of the online product in its bingo clubs.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2db329ec-aa26-11dc-a779-0000779fd2ac.html

French bars fear smoking ban

French bars fear smoking ban

France's shisha bars, a central feature of immigrant life, have joined forces with traditional French cafes selling tobacco in a fight for survival in the face of a new anti-smoking law.

Unless the government relents, the smoking ban will spell the end of these exotic tea rooms, where customers puff apple or honey-scented tobacco from waterpipes, or shishas.

In the Touareg cafe, lying among hostess bars and theatres near the Pigalle area of northern Paris, a sweet-smelling haze fills the dimly lit space as the soft murmur of conversation blurs into an Arabic pop song playing in the background.

Customers recline on low couches, chatting, sipping sweet mint tea and taking occasional puffs from shishas on the tables in front of them.

"We're counting the days," said proprietor Hakim Lechkhab, as the January 1 deadline looms for the ban come into force.

Similar restrictions have been introduced in other countries, including England which imposed a ban earlier this year.

In France, the threat of the ban has forged an alliance between shisha room operators and owners of traditional French "bar tabacs" against the government, which takes 64 per cent of the price of a packet of cigarettes in tax.

Shisha bar proprietors joined thousands of cafe owners or "buralistes" in a demonstration against the ban on November 21 and say they are determined to fight it for as long as possible.

Shishas, also known as hookahs or narguiles, were originally brought over by immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East.

Tea rooms offering them are firmly established in France, accounting for an estimated 800 of about 46,000 cafes, bars and brasseries in the country, according to industry body UMIH.

Once mainly patronised by nostalgic older immigrants, shisha bars are increasingly popular among younger people who want an alternative to bars that serve alcohol.

"There's an atmosphere that you don't get at home," said Adnene Daabak, sharing a pipe with a friend as a video of a football match played in the background.

"It's a social thing, you come with your friends, it's clean, there's no trouble like in some other places. And not everyone can have friends round to their own homes."

The bars range from chic lounges with thumping disco music in trendy districts such as Bastille, to more casual places like the Touareg, or simple siderooms in modest kebab shops.

Although they are often classified as "salons de the" (tea rooms) and most also serve small snacks, few believe shisha bars could survive by selling tea and cakes alone.

"You can come here without smoking, that's not really the point," said Daabak's friend, Lucas Hurnaum. "Often you have groups of four or five and some of them won't smoke. But even the ones who don't smoke wouldn't come if you couldn't do it."

"It's a bit paradoxical but they wouldn't just come to drink tea," he said.

Medical experts say shishas, which use a burning piece of charcoal to toast scented tobacco and then bubble the smoke through water, can have a more concentrated and harmful effect than other forms of smoking.

According to the World Health Organisation, a one-hour session with a waterpipe involves inhaling 100-200 times the volume of smoke from a single cigarette and poses a serious hazard to users and others exposed to the smoke.

Even supporters acknowledge its dangers but say that as long as tobacco remains legal, there is no sense in applying a law aimed at cutting its harmful effects in bars and restaurants to establishments that exist solely for smoking.

"The people who work in shisha bars all come from this (shisha) world," said Badri Helou, head of the UPN, a newly created association set up to represent an industry it says employs about 4,000 people in France.

"They all know about shisha and if they close shisha bars down, they'll be on the street," he said.

A group of members of parliament has proposed an amendment to the law to allow smoking in cafes that sell tobacco, a change that would cover the "bar tabacs" and shisha bars.

With the January 1 deadline fast approaching, the chances of a reprieve appear to be declining.

"The decision has been made. There will be no exception to the total ban on smoking, apart from on terraces," a Health Ministry spokeswoman said.

Badri Helou evokes the image of the guillotine to convey the depth of his feeling: "You can't ask us to cut our own heads off," he said.

"We need an amendment so we can continue to exist. We're ready to make huge efforts, but like this, it's just an execution."

Reuters

Hospitals get £90,000 'smoking police'

Hospitals get £90,000 'smoking police'

A HEALTH board is spending £90,000 on a team of "smoking police" to stop people lighting up in hospital grounds.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has recruited a squad of eight full-time staff who will approach anyone smoking on NHS premises and ask them to put out their cigarettes.

Clad in high-visibility green jackets, the so-called "enforcers" will also hand out information on quitting smoking.

The scheme - believed to be the first of its type in Scotland - is an expansion of a pilot project at Glasgow Royal Infirmary, which began in March.

Officials said the anti-smoking staff had been trained in conflict management and would always work in pairs when patrolling hospital grounds.
http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=663&id=1941362007

Study: Smoking ban hurts sales

Study: Smoking ban hurts sales
Federal Reserve report cites 5 percent decline.

The report was conducted by Michael Pakko, a research officer and economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He examined monthly sales-tax revenues for bars and restaurants from January 2001 to July 2007 to see if the smoking ban had an impact.

In his report, Pakko said he found a 5 percent downturn in dining-tax revenue associated with the smoking ban, independent of other variables such as seasonality, an overall downturn in retails sales and an unusually harsh winter. In his study, Pakko said, he looked at patterns associated with each of these factors’ influence on sales-tax receipts and was able to isolate the smoking ban as the cause of the decrease in dining sales.

In addition to analyzing sales-tax receipts, Pakko studied Columbia newspaper articles about the ban as well as reports on the subject from other areas of the country.

Pakko said the 5 percent decrease is an average; some business might be unaffected by the smoking ban while others might have suffered greater losses. "Anecdotal reports from specific business owners suggesting losses in the range of 30 percent do not seem unreasonable," Pakko said in his report.

Pakko added, however, that his findings are preliminary with only seven months of data since the implementation. He said it’s possible the decrease in bar and restaurant business is associated with some factor not considered in his analysis. Pakko cited an example of a study he did of Maryville, where dining revenues increased substantially after a smoking ban; he found the boom was caused by an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar opening in the town.

"I don’t want to go too far with these findings considering the data is from such a limited period of time," Pakko said. "But I tried to be very careful in trying to account for factors that might have been the cause for the downturn other than the smoking ban."

Citing the ill-effects of second-hand smoke, the Columbia City Council more than a year ago voted 4-3 to ban smoking in most public places. Bar and restaurant owners who thought a ban would hurt their businesses fought the proposal and wanted the issue put to a citywide vote.

Tiger Club owner Betty Hamilton and Joel Thiel, co-owner of Otto’s Corner Bar & Grill, filed a petition in November to repeal the smoking ban, but the effort failed because of too few signatures. Last month, Hamilton and Thiel said they would go before the city council to ask that it put the smoking ban on the April ballot.

Hamilton said she was glad someone studied the issue but was unsure what the next step is for those who want to see the smoking ban put on a future ballot. "I don’t know what we’re going to do right now," she said. "Joel and I have some things in the works, but I can’t talk about them right now."

Mayor Darwin Hindman said he acknowledges the report comes from a reputable source, but he doesn’t think it conforms with other studies he has seen on the issue.

Hindman said the report does not change the fact that smoking adversely affects health. That cost, he said, is not included in the report. "To me, the important thing is we’re charged as a government with the health and welfare of the community," Hindman said. "And where you have a conduct that is known without any question to cause harm to other people, including patrons and employees, that trumps the economic factor."
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Dec/20071212News011.asp

Bingo in free fall

Rank scraps final dividend
Wed 12 Dec 2007

Name Price %
Rank Group 99.75p -7.21%
LONDON (SHARECAST) - Rank has scrapped its final dividend, saying the effects of the smoking ban, recent restrictive changes to gaming regulations and a weakening in consumer confidence have resulted in an uncertain outlook for 2008.

“The short-term trading outlook for Rank remains challenging,” said the group.

“Consequently, the board has taken a number of actions which it considers appropriate in view of these challenging circumstances, including the decision not to pay a final dividend for 2007,” it added.

Rank said it intends to resume dividend payments once trading conditions and the market outlook have improved.

Like-for-like revenue increased by 1% for the 49 weeks to 9 December on total revenue down 2%. Operating profit for the year is expected to be 'broadly in line' with expectations.

The group said trading figures reflect a stabilisation in revenue from Mecca Bingo and Grosvenor Casinos since the time of its last market update in October.

Mecca Bingo like-for-like revenue fell 4%, with admissions down 7% and spend per head up 3%, but in the 14 weeks from 1 September, like-for-like revenue declined by 18% with admissions down 15% and spend per head 3% lower.

Rank was recently boosted by Malaysian casino-owner Genting's acquisition of a 9.38% stake and the accumulation, through contracts for difference, of a 9.3% stake by West Midlands property developer Richardsons Capital.
http://www.sharecast.com/cgi-bin/sharecast/story.cgi?story_id=1798837

Smoke rebel West faces court

Smoke rebel West faces court

Smoke ban rebel Dave West faces magistrates today on charges of flouting the smoking ban.

Owner of HeyJo club West (pictured), reportedly worth £100m, and designated premises supervisor (DPS) Mark Fraher have both been charged by Westminster council with failing to display no smoking signs and failing to advise customers to stop smoking.

HeyJo hit the headlines post 1 July when it announced it had recruited the services of Cherie Blair to fight the smoking ban in the European Court of Human Rights.<