10 YEARS OF THE SMOKING BAN
Today is the tenth anniversary of the smoking ban – but has it really had the desired impact on health? Sam Yarwood clears the air...
IT WAS a new law which led to one of the biggest social changes our country had seen in recent years.
When the smoking ban was brought into force in England 10 years ago, it meant you could no longer nip into your local for a pint and a cigarette, or light up on the bus on your way home from work.
The law put an end to something that was a part of every day life – the lingering smell of smoke on clothes and in your hair after leaving the pub.
There were many expectations and promises when the legislation was introduced, including a dramatic drop in the number of smokers, a decline in lung cancer and other smoking-related deaths, and overall a healthier, cleaner, and better quality of life.
SO, HAS IT WORKED?
Some of these things became reality. In the first year of the ban more than 52,000 people in Greater Manchester packed in the fags, and a decade later the number of smokers in the region has dropped more than six per cent to less than a fifth of the population.
Despite this, cigarettes are still very much a part of our culture, and startling figures reveal that each day the equivalent of a classroom full of children start smoking. That’s one child an hour. According to Public Health England, there are still more than 4,500 smoking-related deaths in Greater Manchester every year, and the percentage of smokers here is higher than the England average. The majority of smokers are male, and in routine or manual occupations, or unemployed.
Cases of lung cancer have increased in parts of the region – Tameside (23pc), Manchester (17pc) and Oldham (31pc) – whereas they’ve remained the same in other boroughs.
On the other hand, heart disease and strokes – also smokingrelated – have dropped considerably in the north west and the UK now has one of the lowest smoking rates in Europe.
But it’s not just the impact the ban has had on our health, it’s the way attitudes towards smoking have changed and the effect it’s had on the pub trade.
Prior to 2007, smoking indoors was normal in society, but not any more.
A survey by Cancer Research UK reveals that more than 80pc of people would oppose or strongly oppose reversing the ban, with two-thirds saying one of the biggest differences it has made to them is not going home stinking of cigarettes after a night out.
THE ACADEMIC
Dr Katie Milestone, a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Manchester Metropolitan University, says there has been a huge shift against smoking culturally.
She said: “It has completely transformed night-time activity in pub culture and club culture.
“Pubs today are a lot more leaning towards food and attracting families – before the ban it was very much about adults going to drink and smoke for pleasure.
“When the ban was first introduced, one of the biggest things people noticed in pubs and clubs was the smell of sweat, illegal drugs and urine from the toilets, which until then had been masked by the smoke.
“That smoky haze had been part of the atmosphere, and in a way it added to the excitement of going out.
“People are still smoking, and although numbers have dropped there’s still a very social element to the habit.
“Smokers do feel more like outsiders now, because they are physically having to move outside to smoke, but in a way this has opened up new opportunities for social interaction with groups of people they may not usually speak to.
“However, the attitude towards smoking reflects the government’s. In some places it is frowned upon, such as in children’s playgrounds or outside shops, even outside the university here. You see more people tutting, disapproving, they are deemed to be inappropriate spaces even though they have the right to be there.”
THE HEALTH CHIEF
Duncan Selbie, chief executive of Public Health England, agrees that the habit is no longer socially acceptable, and says even smokers are choosing to light up outside their own homes to protect their families from second-hand smoke.
He added: “The smoke-free legacy has had a phenomenally positive impact on societal attitudes to smoking. Smokers have seized the opportunity by quitting in unprecedented numbers and, of those still smoking, half have chosen to smoke outside of their own homes to protect their families from second-hand smoke.
“The smoke-free legislation was undoubtedly the single most important public health reform in generations.”
THE SMOKING CAMPAIGNERS
Forest – Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco – which campaigned against the introduction of the law, disagree with Public Health England.
They argue there is little evidence the introduction of the leg-
THERE ARE STILL MORE THAN 4,500 SMOKING-RELATED DEATHS EACH YEAR IN GREATER MANCHESTER
islation has resulted in any significant health benefits, and say all it has achieved is the demise of thousands of pubs and businesses.
Simon Clark, director of Forest, said: “There’s very little evidence that the health of the nation has benefitted significantly from the smoking ban.
“Instead thousands of pubs have closed and choice has been sacrificed on the altar of tobacco control.
“Allowing separate well-ventilated smoking rooms or relaxing the unnecessarily strict regulations on outdoor smoking areas would reignite freedom of choice and give publicans greater control over their business.
“Proposals to extend the smoking ban to outdoor areas including beer gardens will be fiercely resisted. Smoking is a legitimate activity and pubs must be allowed to accommodate adults who choose to smoke.”
Cancer Research UK (CRUK) admits that the impact of the ban has not yet been seen in lung cancer rates but says this is due to a ‘lag time between exposure to a risk factor and developing a disease’ from it.
Alison Barbuti, CRUK’s north west spokeswoman, added: “The change over time in numbers of people being diagnosed with lung cancer does not factor in changes in the population over time, and so the ageing population in Great Britain might also affect changes over time in lung cancer diagnoses.
“For this reason we tend to look at age-standardised rates over time, as they account for population changes.” According to a new report by Forest, there are now 1,788 fewer pubs in the north west compared to 2006 – a decline of 21.6pc, with pubs in poorer urban areas suffering the most.
THE BEER INDUSTRY
Both CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and the British Beer and Pub Association agree that the smoking ban did hit the pub trade hard, but say it was a combination of factors – including weak planning laws and increases in beer tax and business rates that created a ‘perfect storm’ for landlords.
Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, said: “The smoking ban undoubtedly hit many pubs hard, as was predicted. However, it also coincided with a major recession and huge rises in the tax on beer, which rose by 42pc from 2008-13, under the beer duty ‘escalator.’ It was a perfect storm for many pubs, and very difficult to separate out all of the various factors.
“Traditional, ‘wet-led’ pubs that relied heavily on drinks sales, and perhaps didn’t have the site size to create an attractive outside smoking area, or the opportunity to create a successful food-led business, were the worst affected, but of course, many food-led businesses have adapted successfully. There are now a range of new and very successful wet-led businesses, helped not least by the wide choice and different styles of beer which are available.”
THE LANDLORDS
Rachael Delaney and her husband Simon own the Firbank Pub and Kitchen in Wythenshawe and have seen the impact the smokefree legislation has had on their business.
Rachael believes it was one of the best things to happen.
“Yes, at first it was a shock for the smokers and, yes, we did lose customers who wanted to drink and smoke,” she said.
“It’s nice now that you can come into a clean pub with friends and family without going home smelling of smoke.
“It made us think of other things to do to try to get people out of the habit of staying in, like serving food or having a lovely beer garden for those who smoke to use.
“One of the biggest problems wasn’t the smoking ban, it was social media.
“However, this is also one of the best tools to advertise your pub and drive business.”
Explaining why social media was at first a problem, she added: “There was no longer a need to go out socialising and meeting friends at the pub to have a chat about what they have done this week, because you already know about their lives on Facebook.”