7:56pm Sunday 27th January 2008
By Chris Kearney
Pub landlords across the county are blaming the smoking ban for killing off their winter trade.
A drop in takings over the festive season has left some businesses facing an uncertain future. And with smokers apparently unwilling to step outside for a cigarette, it appears many are staying at home.
Graham Cass, landlord of The Somerset pub in Marston Road, Marston, Oxford, said there had been a noticeable fall in trade since November.
He said: "A lot of pubs have stories to tell about how business has been down since the ban came in.
"Christmas was bad for businesses as people didn't want to have to go outside to smoke, so more people socialised at home."
And Linda Vinall, licensee at The White Hart in St Andrew's Road in Headington, Oxford, also said she had also seen profits dip .
She said: "There have definitely been fewer people coming in over the winter than there has been in previous years.
"It's part of the British culture to go to the pub and have a cigarette and a pint. People don't want to have to stand outside when it's cold and wet."
Sylvia Hesford, manager of The Sprat in Hagbourne Road, Didcot, said her pub had been badly affected since the July 1 ban.
She said: "About 95 per cent of my customers are smokers and trade is down by about one third every week. It really is quite serious for us.
"We did not notice it at first because it was summer and everyone was outside, but now it is getting colder, people do not come out as much and we do not serve food.
"I am hoping it is going to pick up in the summer and hopefully the ban will not make much of a difference. I think the summer is going to be our busiest time of year now, when it was always Christmas."
Mrs Hesford said a loyal band of regular drinkers and smokers once kept her business afloat, but the ban has kept them from the bar. She said: "Even some of my truly loyal regulars do not come down as much now because they cannot smoke."
No-one has been fined for lighting up in an Oxfordshire pub since the ban came into force.
Local councils, who are charged with enforcing the ban, have revealed they are yet to issue a fine to a smoker or licensed premises for flouting the ban.
Oxford City Council have sent six warning letters to premises where smoking is alleged to have taken place and issued 108 letters about incorrect signage. In South Oxfordshire, only one pub in Didcot had been issued with a warning. The Wheatsheaf in Wantage Road was contacted last month.
Anyone caught lighting up in an enclosed public space can face a fine of up to £50.
A landlord of a pub can be liable for a £2,000 fine for failing to display a No Smoking sign and could be landed with an even higher fine of £2,500 if they allow drinkers to smoke on the premises.
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