Punch Taverns is organising a series of free smoking seminars across England and Wales for its leased and tenanted pub estate.

The 45 minute sessions will take place during the pubco’s autumn Road Shows, which start in Bristol on 11 October and go on to visit London, Derby, Bolton, Leeds, Newcastle and Birmingham.

The theme will be ‘No Action, No Option’ with attendees learning more about potential smoking solutions and lessons learned from existing smoking bans in Ireland and Scotland.

There will also be tips and advice on improving retail standards in pubs, saving money by reducing wastage and making money by staging effective promotions and broadening your product range.

Punch’s director of marketing Geoff Brown said: “We are urging all our retailers to attend their nearest Road Show and use the seminar as a starting point for formulating a smoking ban action plan.

“We carried out a similar initiative in 2005 in preparation for the Scottish smoking ban during an event held at Murrayfield, which was well attended and received by our retailers.

“This year we intend to screen extracts from a DVD, which includes first hand accounts from landlords in Ireland and Punch retailers in Scotland who have already been through this process.

“Their advice is simple – be prepared and don’t wait for the change in law to start making changes to your business.

“This is also an opportunity to remind retailers about potential customers who don’t smoke, which is estimated to be 73 per cent of the population.  We will be asking what might be stopping them visiting pubs now and how can pubs improve in order to attract them back post ban.”

Punch will be showcasing its various smoking solutions during the seminars.  These include making physical changes to pubs through the installation of canopies, awnings and smoking gardens, plus improving products and services such as food and speciality coffees.

Geoff said: “The beauty of linking the seminars with our Road Shows is that if a retailer likes a particular idea and thinks it is right for their business the actual supplier will be in the same room ready to provide more in depth information.”

Ends

For further information please contact Nick Trueman or Jo Mathers at Seal Communications on 0121 200 0780