Ban on smoking 'has been 99% successful'
MINISTERS hailed the smoking ban as a success today as the first Scotland-wide figures showed that virtually all of the country's hotels, pubs and restaurants have complied with the ruling.
A survey of more than 15,000 establishments across Scotland found a 99.4 per cent compliance rate: only 88 hotels, bars and restaurants were found to have flouted the ban during its first four weeks.
Andy Kerr, the health minister, said he was "delighted" with the way Scots had responded to the ban and that it was clear the "overwhelming majority" had embraced the change.
The Executive also published the results of a survey which showed a third of Scottish smokers felt the ban had helped them cut down on their smoking and three-quarters of Scots considered the ban a success.
The Executive statistics were released at the same time as a survey for Cancer Research UK, which claimed almost one Scot in four was more likely to go to pubs and bars than before the ban was brought in.
Jean King, a spokeswoman for the charity, said that should reassure pub bosses who had feared it would damage their trade.
It is three months to the day since lighting up in enclosed public places was outlawed. Between 26 March, when it was introduced, and 30 April, council enforcement officers inspected 15,540 premises, including pubs, hotels and restaurants, across Scotland.
Some 15,452 of those - 99.4 per cent - were complying with the ban. Just three fixed-penalty notices have been issued to premises for allowing smoking, while a further three were given out to individuals smoking in a non-smoking area.
There was a compliance rate of 99.6 per cent in restaurants, 99.4 per cent in licensed premises and 99.1 per cent in hotels. A total of 73.7 per cent of the premises visited were displaying the necessary no-smoking signs.
Mr Kerr said: "I am delighted ...
This shows that the overwhelming majority of Scots have embraced the ban and the improvements it will bring to the health of our nation."
But Patrick Browne, the chief executive of the Scottish Beer and Pub Association, said it was too early to judge if the smoking ban had been a complete success, although he acknowledged that, so far, the enforcement had been fairly smooth.
• Scotland's doctors have renewed calls for an increase in the legal age to buy cigarettes from 16 to 18 to deter young people from taking up smoking.
The calls came as BMA Scotland published a report on the subject on yesterday's opening day of its annual UK conference in Belfast.
The report said Scotland - where 19 per cent of 15-year-olds smoke - must lead the way in the UK on raising the age limit, and pointed out that the law setting the age at 16 dated back to 1937.
