Research and consultation reports

Please find below a number of publications concerning smoking issues.

• Northern Ireland tobacco action plan
• Evaluation of smoke free bars and restaurants in Norway one year after introduction of legislation
• Workplace smoking policies in Scotland
• International review of the health and economic impact of the regulation of smoking in public places
• Smoking in public places � a consultation on reducing exposure to second-hand smoke
• The Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH): Second-hand smoke � review of evidence since 1998
• Clearing the Air: Debating smoke-free policies in psychiatric units
• Adult non-smokers� exposure to tobacco smoke
• Childhood exposure to tobacco smoke (CHETS) in Northern Ireland

Smoke-free legislation and business

Many business owners, especially in the hospitality industry, have expressed concerns about the impact smoke-free legislation will have on their business. They feel that smokers will stay away if they are not allowed to smoke indoors.

However the evidence from countries that have introduced smoke-free legislation suggests that the impact on revenue is minimal.

In the Republic of Ireland, for example, where enclosed workplaces became smoke-free by law on 29 March 2004, a report from the Irish Central Statistics Office revealed that in November 2004 (seven months after the ban was introduced) bar sales were down just 2.8% compared with the previous year. The decrease in the year before was 7.1%.¹

In Norway, the number of pubs, bars and restaurants that went bankrupt declined in the seven month period after the smoking ban was implemented in 2004. In 2003, 386 businesses in the sector went bankrupt and in 2004, this declined to 372.²

References

1 Retail sales index. Dublin, Central Statistics Office Ireland, 2004.

2 Fewer businesses bust after smoking ban. Aftenposten. 31 January 2005. http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article959680.ece . 12 December 2006.