ANTI-smoking campaigners say licensees need to accept that the ban is here to stay. Guernsey Adolescent Smoke-free Project chairman Alun Williams said he was concerned that the real reason for it – which was to improve the health of the island, especially its youngsters – had been lost in the anecdotal evidence of bar sales reported by a few licensees.

‘We have heard the complaints of some pub owners about poor takings as a direct result of the ban and we note that it is those same pub owners who always opposed the ban who are most vocal now.

‘The reality is that smoking bans will shortly be in place in both our neighbours – England and, to a lesser extent, France – and we must now all move forward and adapt to the new reality of smoking being unacceptable in public.’

He emphasised that the legislation had been brought in by the States to protect people’s health.

‘In this, we have taken on board the best available international knowledge about the effects of second-hand smoke and followed the lead of countries like Ireland, Scotland and Norway where the health of the bar workers has measurably improved and predictions of economic disaster have been shown to be unfounded in the long term.’

Gasp manager Di Lawrence said she was looking forward to the impact that the ban would have on schools when it restarted its work next week.

‘We are really excited as we will be working with young people who are living in an island which has taken such a bold move to show that smoking is not a normal activity,’ she said.

‘But we are worried that people are misusing statistics and that this will lead to confusion in the classroom.’

She said that some figures relayed by opponents of the ban had been misrepresented.

‘The key point about Ireland is that one year after the legislation came in, the Central Statistics Office figures reported a 5.3% decline in bar trade.

‘This was in line with the 4% decline in the previous three years and contrary to the claims of some bar trade representatives that trade had declined between 15% and 25%.’

She added that other factors such as changing demographics and increased off-sales had contributed to the decline of traditional pubs.