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Smoking Ban will hit hard

Pubs and bars are being warned to expect a 30% decline in sales when the smoking ban is introduced in 2007, if experience in New York is any indication

Pubs and bars are being warned to expect a 30% decline in sales when the smoking ban is introduced in 2007, if experience in New York is any indication.

The industry in the Big Apple experienced extremely tough retailing conditions in the immediate months and years after the ban was introduced, with many going out of business. Nearly three years on, however, and those who have survived the initial hardship say things are looking up.

In the UK, media reports indicate an industry-wide consensus that in the initial two years after the ban is introduced business will be hard-going and those premises that do not serve food will find it hard to survive.

Producers will also be affected by an expected move to off-trade sales, where margins are lower, as people switch to smoking and drinking at home.

db  March 2006

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