Trade declines since smoking ban
Peninsula clubs have experienced a downturn in trade since the July 2 smoking ban was introduced in all NSW licensed venues, according to operators.
All indoor areas of hotels, clubs and nightclubs that are open to the general public must now be completely smoke-free.
Woy Woy Leagues Club assistant secretary-manager Ms Judy Gribble said that trade was down since July 2 and "the effect was felt from all clubs".
"We knew the change was coming and we have been affected like everyone else," Ms Gribble said.
"We have found our newly-renovated outdoor area has helped in catering to our smoking patrons' needs.
"You've got to look at the ban in a positive way, especially the health benefits."
Club Umina marketing coordinator Ms Kasey Poulton said that, although the first few weeks of the ban have been "a little bit quieter", the club is slowly starting to go back to normal trading.
"[The ban] is not as bad as everyone expected it to be," Ms Poulton said.
"We have been getting a lot of positive feedback from smokers and non-smokers who are happy with the way we have catered to everyone's needs.
"Since the 2004 announcement of the ban, the club has built an outdoor terrace area for smokers.
"The club has also put in place an eight minute reserve on all poker machines to allow patrons a smoking and toilet break."
Many of the clubs and hotels on the Peninsula offer gaming patrons a similar reserve service.
Everglades Country Club assistant secretary-manager Mr Mark Langdon said along with the smoking ban, the "cold winter chill" didn't help with trade over the past month.
"Winter is one of our slowest times of the year, in terms of trading," Mr Langdon said.
"It is still early times and we are taking a positive approach to it all.
"We have built two new outdoor smoking areas for patrons and continue to improve the club for all patrons and their needs.
According to a 2005 survey by NSW Health, 57.3 per cent of respondents said that no smoking in indoor areas would make no difference to their patronage, 35.3 per cent said they would be likely to frequent licensed premises more often, while 7.5 per cent indicated they would frequent licensed premises less often.
Clare Graham, 2 Aug 2007