Booze, fags and food
May 2005
Introduction
In November 2004 the Government launched its long-awaited white paper on public health for England. As part of the measures to improve public health, proposals to restrict smoking in enclosed public places were introduced. By the end of 2008 most enclosed public places and workplaces will be smokefree. However, pubs and bars that do not serve prepared food will still be able to allow smoking. This was defined as food prepared on the premises, so would exclude those serving snacks such as crisps and nuts. The then Secretary of State for Health, John Reid, went on to claim that 10 to 30% of pubs would fit into this category. No regional breakdown was provided.
At the beginning of 2005 the BMA began some research to find out the likely number of pubs in England that would fall into the category still able to allow smoking when the proposed legislation comes into force.
The BMA contacted a sample of metropolitan, city and London borough councils in England and estimate figures were provided by the local authority in 29 areas. The data was difficult to collect with many councils saying it would be impossible for them to provide the information requested.
Respondents were asked the following questions:
- How many public houses are there within your area?
- How many of these public houses prepare or cater food on their premises?
Of the ten councils with the highest proportion of non-food pubs, 9 are towns or cities situated in the north of England or the Midlands
Leeds had the highest estimate of non-food pubs in its council area (88%) while Bromley had the lowest (5%)
13 of the 29 respondents estimated that the proportion of non-food pubs in their area exceeded the Government’s 10-30% estimate – 10 of these councils were located in the North or the Midlands
15 of the 29 respondents estimated the proportion of non-food pubs in their area fell within the Government’s 10-30% estimate – 13 of these were in the South of England
1 authority (London Borough of Bromley) estimated that the proportion of non-food pubs in their area fell below the Government’s 10-30% estimate
Breakdown of results
| Council | Number of pubs | Number of pubs not serving food |
| Leeds City Council | 606 | 532 (88 %) |
| Stoke City Council | 266 | 136 (51%) |
| London Borough of Lambeth | 195 | 95 (49%) |
| Chesterfield Borough Council | 160 | 76 (48%) |
| Sunderland City Council | 230 | 99 (43%) |
| Bradford Metropolitan District Council | 434 | 182 (42%) |
| Macclesfield Borough Council | 213 | 89 (42%) |
| Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council | 295 | 122 (41%) |
| Mansfield District Council | 88 | 33 (38%) |
| Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council | 379 | 136 (36%) |
| Brighton and Hove City Council | 324 | 113 (35%) |
| Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council | 307 | 104 (34%) |
| Dover District Council | 163 | 52 (32%) |
| Sheffield City Council | 505 | 147 (29%) |
| Luton Borough Council | 70 | 20 (29%) |
| City of York Council | 192 | 52 (27%) |
| Plymouth City Council | 201 | 52 (26%) |
| Bristol City Council | 414 | 106 (26%) |
| Bedford City Council | 144 | 36 (25%) |
| Wandsworth Borough Council | 156 | 37 (24%) |
| Southampton City Council | 189 | 40 (21%) |
| Nottingham City Council | 333 | 71 (21%) |
| Ipswich City Council | 87 | 18 (21%) |
| Gloucester City Council | 77 | 15 (19 %) |
| Torbay Council | 187 | 31 (17%) |
| Barnet Council | 132 | 20 (15%) |
| Worcester City Council | 137 | 17 (12%) |
| Guildford Borough Council | 102 | 10 (10%) |
| London Borough of Bromley | 140 | (5%)* |
* London Borough of Bromley has indicated that 95% of public houses prepare or cater food on their premises.