On the radio with Jeremy Vine

The story about the pub garden smoking ban rumbles on.

This afternoon (12.30) I was interviewed by Jeremy Vine on Radio 2. Also on the programme was John Garrod, the pub landlord who has banned smoking in the garden of the Hope Inn in Hythe in Kent.

I repeated what I said on BBC Radio Kent on Monday.

The Hope Inn is a private business so Garrod is entitled to impose whatever policy on smoking he likes, but publicans who ban smoking outside risk driving away a substantial number of customers who smoke, and in the winter months they may be glad of their custom when no-one else wants to sit outside.

I added that there is no evidence that smoking outside is a danger to anyone else’s health, so this is NOT a public health issue, and even Garrod has been quoted saying “It’s purely a hospitality measure”.

Speaking to Jeremy Vine he doubled down on this, saying, "I'm in the hospitality business", his argument being that he has to put the interests of the majority (who don't smoke) first.

However, under questioning from Vine (who took up my point that most non-smokers are tolerant of people smoking outside), Garrod admitted he had received very few complaints prior to introducing the ban.

He also admitted he has already lost several customers as a result of the ban, but that didn't seem to bother him because he thinks the policy will attract many more new customers.

It may, it may not, but do you remember how we were told that the indoor smoking ban would attract new customers who had never set foot in a pub or, if they had, were driven away by all that smoke?

And what happened? Tens of thousands of pubs closed in the aftermath of the ban, and the historical decline in the number of pub goers continued as before.

Today, many of the establishments that survived could still close, hence the outcry from the hospitality industry when it was reported that Starmer's Government might ban smoking in beer gardens.

My issue is this. I'm all for choice therefore I have no problem with smoking and no-smoking pubs (although we should have a choice of smoking inside as well as out).

But I guarantee that within a few years publicans who have unilaterally banned smoking in their own beer gardens will be calling for a level playing field so their rivals down the road can't enjoy a commercial advantage.

Anyway, the item finished with me saying:

"If publicans start banning smoking outside because some people don’t like the smell of tobacco smoke, what next? Should we also ban outdoor barbecues because the smell of meat might trigger non-meat eaters? It’s getting a bit ridiculous."

You can listen here, starting at 33:26.

I'm sandwiched between Tears for Fears and Robert Palmer, which is not something I expected to say when I woke up this morning.

PS. I'm still blocked by Jeremy Vine on X (formerly Twitter). He blocked me a few years ago when I made a mildly critical observation in response to one of his many cycling tweets.

To be fair, I would have probably muted him sooner or later because his war on drivers was driving me mad!

I'll say this, though. In my experience (he's interviewed me several times over the years) he's a fair and impartial presenter who gives his guests plenty of time to speak.

No complaints from me on that score.

Comments

[lfb_uk]

Nope sorry Vine is a Khunt, end of, he's an absolute arse, sanctimonious ass who fails to recognise that his left wing ideology has no bearing at all on the normal man in the street, who just thinks, the blokes a waste of space!

[Pat Nurse]

It was nice to know his prejudice wasn't on show during the discussion because he has made his feelings clear on Twitter in the past that he despises smoking and hates it when people smoke outside cafes and bars. He definitely sneers at people who smoke.

They contacted me about being part of that discussion but for the above reasons, I decided not to. I thought I might be thrown into a snake pit.