Smoking ban 'boosts health of bar staff'

04/04/2008 13:23:36

The ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces has proved to be beneficial for the health of people working in pubs and bars in Wales, according to reports.

Under the law, businesses such as pubs, bars and restaurants must be smoke-free and have a duty to prevent people from lighting up while inside.

Bikram Pattniak, a barman at the Steam Bar in Cardiff, told the South Wales Echo that the ban had helped him cut down on the amount he smokes and had made a difference to his health and that of his colleagues.

"People are starting to realise about the health implications. People get motivation to give up because of all the other people giving up around them."

"Before the ban, people working there were getting colds quite regularly. I used to get them all the time," he said.

Daniel Clayton, a spokesman for Action on Smoking and Health Wales, said that the rules benefit pub workers, such as those employed in pub manager roles, as well as the public.

"The air quality in pubs and clubs has increased massively since the ban.

"This means that not only customers are breathing cleaner air but also bar staff and other workers are not breathing in deadly toxic second-hand smoke."

Pub and bar jobs in Wales

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