Smoking ban has led to cafe closures

The number of cafes going broke in a year has gone up by 40% since the introduction of the general smoking ban in July 2011, according to NSZ, the organisation that represents the self-employed. Last year at around this time, on the first anniversary of the ban, the number of bankruptcies had risen 27%. “Of course there are a number of other factors at work, but the ban remains the principal reason for the exponential growth in the number of business failures, as well as the fall in the number of new cafes opening up,” an NSZ spokesperson said. “Given that eight out of ten customers of the more popular cafes are smokers, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.” The NSZ is now calling for “urgent” government measures to reduce salary costs for cafes, and for VAT on food and drink served to be cut to 6%.