Australia: Pubs are forced to extend beer gardens after smoke ban

A controversial new smoking ban has forced 80 per cent of hotels throughout West Australia to either build a new beer garden or upgrade an existing one to avoid a devastating fall in profits, says the Australian Hotels Association (AHA), The West Australian posted October 02.

The AHA, which is doing a survey on the financial impact of the new law that makes it illegal to smoke in pubs, hotels and clubs, has found owners have invested up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in outdoor smoking areas to try to keep their smoking customers.

“A very high proportion of customers smoke and hoteliers have had to cater for their needs — 90 per cent have already reported a downturn in business but we’re hopeful that will improve,” AHA chief executive Bradley Woods said.

The manager of Boulder’s Albion Shamrock Hotel, Mike Vestey, said the owner had no choice but to spend more than AU$40,000 on a new beer garden as a big proportion of customers were single male smokers who were resorting to takeaway alcohol.

Darryl Rowe, manager of the Peninsula Tavern in Maylands, has spent AU$20,000 on an outdoor smoking area as 85 per cent of his customers smoke. He said the ban had already resulted in the loss of long-standing customers.

“They’re going to be selling tickets for standing room only in the summer because so many of us smoke,” Mike Tomlinson, a smoker of 40 years said.

But the Australian Council of Smoking and Health’s executive director Stephen Hall said had anecdotal evidence that the smoking ban was encouraging smokers to cut down or quit.

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