The Stage

Welsh theatres may be forced to ban smoking

Published Tuesday 16 March 2004 at 11:55

National Assembly culture minister Alun Pugh is putting pressure on the Arts Council of Wales to force every theatre in the region to ban smoking on the premises.

In his annual remit letter, which sets the aims of the council for the coming year, Pugh said in the next 12 months he expected the funding body “to demonstrate progress in securing smoke-free policies in all venues”. Next year’s letter will “link fully to achieving this aim”.

Said Pugh: “The Assembly Government wants to see a major reduction in the estimated 7,000 people killed in Wales every year as the result of exposure to tobacco smoke.”

The culture minister is a fervent anti-smoker and an enthusiast for extending the assembly’s legislative control. Currently only Westminster has the power to ban smoking in public places but by demanding the arts council insists on such a ban he has managed to circumvent the authority’s shortfallings.

But the move has already caused concern in the Welsh artistic community. Arts council chief executive Peter Tyndall has warned that outside facilities will have to be provided for smokers and Phil Clark, artistic director and chief executive of Sherman, in Cardiff, believes that the money for this might have to come from the pot that funds artistic provision.

Clark added: “We have been working towards this for five years. Most days, there is no smoking anywhere on the premises, on others, it is restricted to one part of the bar. But if we are to ban it completely, we will have to spend a fair amount of time training our staff in persuading our customers. After all, we want our patrons to have a good night out.”

Pugh has said that financial incentives will be available for safeguards but has argued that no ventilation system exists able to clear smoke totally.