Focus: It was designed to help save lives, but Scotland's smoking ban has cost livelihoods, publicans said yesterday.

It was designed to help save lives, but Scotland's smoking ban has cost livelihoods, publicans said yesterday. Research by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) found a third of bars had been forced to lay off staff in the year since the ban was introduced.

Precise figures are not available, but the association claims the redundancy level because of dwindling customer numbers is "significant" and estimates the overall reduction to be well into the thousands.

Of those questioned, 34% had to cut staff, with only 3% taking on extra employees since the ban was introduced. Drink sales are down 11%, and food sales have fallen by 3%. Some 56% of publicans complained of fewer visits by regulars, while 30% have seen fewer new customers.

The publicans are so concerned about trade continuing to fall that they are considering putting forward a test case to try to win business rates relief for SLTA members to take into account their reduced earnings.

Pub owners also claim that Scottish local authorities are dragging their feet when it comes to processing planning applications to allow covered areas to be set up outside pubs to accommodate smokers. They also want the Scottish Executive to promote actively the tourist values of "a traditional Scottish pub" and point to Ireland, where the smoking ban is in place, and where pubs are actively promoted as tourist destinations.

But despite the gloomy picture painted by the SLTA and other parts of the leisure industry, like bingo halls, there have been some drinks and food outlets that have been bucking the trend.

Restaurants, gastro-pubs and some traditional hostelries have reported increased customer numbers and profits since the smoking ban was introduced as people enjoyed eating and drinking in a smoke-free atmosphere.

Paul Waterson, SLTA chief executive, said the ban had had a polarising effect, with a few benefiting while the majority suffered. After the original "novelty effect" wore off from the smoking ban, business had got worse for publicans over the winter months, he claimed.

"The Scottish licensed trade suffered collateral damage in a war between the Scottish Executive and the tobacco industry," said Mr Waterson. "Our businesses were hit although we were innocent bystanders.

"We were never properly and fairly consulted on the ban, and our warnings were ignored. Now we have to live with the consequence of losing loyal workers and pubs being under threat."

However, Health Minister Andy Kerr claimed the survey of 530 of the SLTA's 1500 members did not paint a full picture within the industry, and said there was no evidence that the reduction in staff numbers had anything to do with the ban.

He said the tobacco industry had admitted that sales were down between 2% and 3%, with research suggesting there had been an increase of up to 40% in the number of people contacting stop-smoking services in the three months before the ban.

"The smoking ban was introduced to save lives by reducing exposure to second-hand smoke," said Mr Kerr. "We have put a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme in place to monitor the health, economic, and cultural impact of the ban.

"I have not met a single person who wants to turn the clock back - indeed, feedback to me has been quite the opposite. International evidence suggests the ban will be good for the economy. In Ireland, for example, bar retail value sales are now up on pre-ban levels and some pub companies have even reported a rise in sales since the ban."

However, Mr Waterson, claimed as many as four out of 10 pubs were for sale in Scotland as landlords sought to get out of the industry.

He also criticised the minister for failing to give precise figures on the number of people who had quit since the ban was introduced.

Acknowledging that most people supported the ban in general, he claimed many had a different opinion when it came to pubs: "We have no doubt that some are saying the atmosphere is good in pubs, smoke has disappeared, but we could have achieved all of that without a total ban.

"We were all for restrictions, we made that perfectly clear, but the executive wanted to push ahead with a total ban and we don't necessarily think they had to do that. The vast majority of people were quite happy to see the ban brought into restaurants and other areas, but not completely in pubs, and I think that's still the case."

But in England, the smoking ban in pubs and in public places which will be introduced on July 1 appears to have great support.

Backing for the new law stands at 74%, according to a Department of Health survey which also found that 65% of people said it would make no difference to how often they went to the pub, while 15% said they would go more often. Even Germany, traditionally one of Europe's most nicotine-friendly countries, has been moving tentatively toward curbs of its own.

The federal government last month approved a plan to ban smoking on public transport and in federal buildings, although it did make exceptions for special separate smoking rooms.