 Greene King-managed pubs will be smoke-free at the bar |
A pub chain is to ban smoking at the bar and behind it in all of its managed pubs after announcing record profits. Suffolk-based Greene King Pub Company revealed profits of �94m - up 14% - and said it was stopping smoking at the bar and in the "back of house" at its pubs.
The ban will eventually cover all of its 850 directly managed food-led pubs.
The ban covers Old English Inns which have accommodation, Hungry Horse pubs and managed hostelries across the whole of East Anglia and southern England.
It would be in force by the end of the year.
The changes come amid calls for a nationwide ban on smoking in public places which the company, part of the Bury St Edmunds-based Greene King brewing giant, has said was "almost inevitable".
In a statement it said its managed pubs division, where two thirds of its �732.6m turnover was generated, had seen profits grow by 13%.
The group had also revamped its menus away from traditional pub fare by introducing more healthy and tasty options, such as smoked haddock fishcakes and porcini mushroom risotto.
One-Minute World News 
News services
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
