As the Smoke Clears...
This week marked one year since the smoking ban was introduced to enclosed public places in the UK. Whatever your feelings regarding the rights and wrongs of this legislation in terms of civil liberties, it must be said that the electrical industry has done rather well out of it and, as a result, made the UK a nicer place to spend time al fresco. But are we addressing the potential problems that could arise as we move outside?
Even to smokers it seems like recalling a previous life when remembering how everyone was able to smoke away freely in pubs, restaurants and even at their desks. But the writing was on the wall well before the UK ban when reports came through of how quickly and quietly the Irish had toed the line and that even remote pubs in the middle of Galway were refusing to allow indoor smoking. If the Irish could give up smoking in pubs, anyone could.
Figures released earlier this week suggest that as many as 40,000 premature deaths will have been avoided by the ban, and obviously that is fantastic news. On the down side, many great pubs have closed, struggling to cope with a 40% drop in takings. These have tended to be establishments without a garden or other area where people can smoke outside. But the lucky ones with useable space have transformed their often tired and sparse gardens into comfortable and elegant areas that could even be described as ‘continental’.
Electrical wholesalers have reported surges in sales of outdoor lighting and heating as well as indoor ventilation. Anyone who has frequented a pub since the ban will have noticed that cigarettes, although reviled by many, effectively masked many other odours that can now only be removed by a fairly hefty ventilation system. Now that the interiors are smoke free and more pubs are providing food to soften their drop in profits, it's noticeable that many old boozers which previously existed in a dark haze of smoke are installing uplighters and spots to show off their newly nicotine-free architecture and create a more food-friendly atmosphere.
The improved conditions for outdoor drinking at pubs and restaurants will also inevitably result in people wanting similar equipment at their homes. Ever since shows such as Ground Force invited homeowners to attempt something slightly more inventive than a pond and a few shrubs and create ‘outdoor living rooms’, the potential has been there for people to extend their lighting and heating systems beyond the back door. So again, wholesalers and manufacturers have had the opportunity to heavily promote their ranges of weatherproof sockets, RCDs, enclosures, lights and AV systems for both domestic and commercial installations.
The home improvement TV shows have always been pretty poor at encouraging people to use professionals and outdoor wiring is a potentially very dangerous area for the keen DIYer to get involved with. So this could be an ideal opportunity and subject matter for raising awareness about using fully qualified tradesmen rather than attempting to botch it yourself or getting the cheapest person you can find.
With energy consumption an ever-present concern it is important to consider that all this additional equipment can easily rack up the fuel bills and transform a carbon footprint from a size 10 to a 12. Therefore controls and sensors should be used to automate the equipment to ensure that it is only switched on when it is needed. I still think the public have been slow to adopt these products, either thinking they are expensive or prone to malfunction, so perhaps more can be done to educate people that PIRs have become much more sophisticated over the past few years and can significantly reduce energy consumption.
An in depth look at how the smoking ban has helped sales and a run down of the type of products available will appear in August's EPA.
Enjoy the newsletter,
Richard Scott
Editor
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