Cold air - and clean air - cuts pub takings

Teresa Scally, from the Lake House Hotel in Rotorua, says the ban on smoking has been bad for her business, halving its turnover. Picture / Amos Chapple

Winter has compounded problems for pubs already suffering under the smoking ban, the Hospitality Association says.

Association chief executive Bruce Robertson said both rural and suburban pubs had already suffered a decline in patrons after the ban was introduced.

He said winter was making the situation worse because smokers did not want to stand outside.

"People aren't inclined when there's a howling southerly or it's pouring with rain."

Many were staying at home or were drinking in garage "pubs" on private properties where they could smoke.

"It's like going back to the days of 6 o'clock closing," said Teresa Scally, who runs the Lake House Hotel in Rotorua.

Her hotel, which includes a public and a private bar and a backpackers, had had a 50 per cent drop in monthly turnover, or $10,000, since the ban was introduced in December.

Advocates of the ban had said pubs would not lose any business.

"They promised us the non-smokers would flock to our bars, but they're not here," she said.

Mark Payne, manager of the Masonic Hotel in Dannevirke, said his turnover had fallen from $15,000 a week to $5000.

Since the cold weather began many in the town now bought crates and stayed at home.

"Winter's pretty miserable here."

Mr Payne said all of Dannevirke's five licensed premises were hurting under the ban, but some had other forms of income to fall back on, such as poker machines.

He had applied for pokies when he took over management of the hotel two years ago but was turned down on the grounds there were already enough machines in the town.

He is supplementing his full-time work behind the bar with another 40 hours as a forklift driver at the local freezing works.

The association did not know of any pubs that had been forced to close because of financial pressures resulting from the ban.

But it said that was because premises tended to change hands rather than shut down.

Mr Robertson said if people in small towns wanted to ensure the survival of their local pub, they needed to get out and support it, no matter what the weather.