Outdoor smoking ban: How it works in Australia and what it could mean for UK

Mick Bain has been a publican for 15 years and runs two venues in the inner Sydney suburb of Glebe.

He agrees that smokers tend to drink more – “so maybe there was a bit of a loss of revenue there initially. But as more families started coming to us for pub meals, it sort of balanced itself out.”

A pint these days in Sydney might cost upwards of A$12 (£6.20), but a meal would be at least A$20 (£10.30).

So the long-term impact has been positive, he argues. “Having smoke-free outdoor dining tables actually invited more families into our spaces and changed the business… and smokers can still smoke outside in other areas.”

Enforcement of the rules is fairly simple, he says. “We just have to police the regulations. We can’t have ashtrays on dining tables, for example.”

Mr Shannon, the Clubs ACT chief executive, says that it does depend on what the smoking area is like and whether it leaves people feeling cut off from “the social or service aspects of the venue”.

“No one is going to a pub to smoke outside by themselves – as an ex-smoker I can tell you how lonely that can be, when you’ve got to go and smoke by yourself like a pariah.”

And he warns that any major reforms that are “done quickly without education” can “really impact trading”.

But the researcher, Prof Freeman, says businesses shouldn’t be too concerned.

“There’s often fear that when you ban smoking in licensed premises that revenue is going to plummet – but when you look globally at the research at smoking bans on hospitality venue revenue you actually see the opposite,” she says.

The World Health Organisation has come to a similar conclusion, labelling the economic harm argument a “myth” and pointing to data that suggests smoke-free policies have a positive long-term impact on the sector.

Ms Freeman also points out that the vast majority of people don’t smoke – in Australia, 65% of people aged over 14 have never smoked.

Plus: “Most smokers want to quit and I have never met a smoker who is interested in harming people with their second hand smoke,” she adds.

Jack Berman wholeheartedly agrees.

“Every pub’s pretty much got a smoking section,” he says.

“I think it’s good to keep it away from the food because even as a smoker, I can agree no one likes smoke near where they’re eating.”