Masterton Services Club president Ron Graham reckons his club may have stolen a march in its efforts to retain members after the ban on smoking in bars comes into force at midnight on December 10.
The Chapel Street club has had built a semi-enclosed smokers'veranda.
The area is close enough to the bar to offer the club's smokers the convenience of patrons in the non-smokers area and still conforms to the new smokefree law legal requirements, Mr Graham said.
Mr Graham, who has spent some time researching and planning for the new law, reckons the club could be a triple winner from the renovations.
He's hoping the facility will help act as insurance against the club losing members who smoke and will act as a drawcard for potential new members from other clubs and pubs that won't have smoker's facilities in place when the new law takes effect.
Mr Graham, who gave up smoking 15 years ago, said the smokefree law could also have the effect of attracting new members to join who would have been averse to drinking in a smoky environment in the past.
The changes have cost the club about $30,000 to $35,000.
Research had indicated where smokefree law had been introduced overseas patronage had immediately fallen by as much as 30 per cent.
Mr Graham says he is pleased Parliament didn't follow through on initial proposals to make the services clubs exempt from the new law.
"We need to ensure our staff doesn't suffer from passive smoking," he said.
One advantage that clubs had in dealing with the new law however was the sanction they had over recalcitrant smokers. Clubs, unlike public hotels, could suspend a person's membership.
Another challenge clubs and hotels would face in the future was catering with proposed new rules about slot machines, he said.
Picture: Bar steward Alan Taplin, club president Ron Graham (a non-smoker) and club patron John Cheetham enjoy the outside smokers' veranda.
Club prepares for new smoking laws
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