Brighton fears loss of trade from local smoking ban
09 March 2005 by James Garner
Brighton could lose tourism trade if Brighton and Hove City Council's plans to ban smoking in public places go ahead, a survey has warned.
Businesses surveyed believed that a ban in Brighton would result in it losing visitors to other cities, such as Paris and Prague.
The survey, which was conducted by Brighton's Primary Care Trust, found that 60% of 129 businesses were "concerned about loss of revenue and customers" that would follow a local ban on smoking.
Nearly all businesses would prefer a national blanket ban and businesses predicted the council would meet a "high level of resistance from the sector" if it went ahead alone.
