The Independent On Sunday

The public smoking ban (already in Scotland and due to reach England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007) can't come soon enough for RICHARD EHRLICH. 'This column was one of the first of its type to talk seriously about the idea of banning smoking in bars', he reminds readers. This said, he does 'have a certain sympathy for people in the bar industry who fear their livelihoods will be threatened'. Jonathan Downey, owner of London bars such as The Player and Milk & Honey, tells Ehrlich he thinks some places will definitely be in trouble: 'We won't suffer because of our clientele. But good locals or basic bars - some of these places will go to the wall.'