Smokeless English Pubs Smelling Like A Rose
Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:29 pm
LONDON, England (Reuters) --
Once the air has cleared after the English smoking ban next week, what will your local pub smell of? How about crisp cotton, apples or roses?
Those are just some of the "ambient scents" being offered by Ambius, a unit of services group Rentokil, to help cover up smells such as stale beer and old buildings -- not to mention less hygienically conscious drinkers -- that were previously masked by clouds of cigarette smoke.
"Most people think with all this smoke going away everything is going to be fine and dandy," Jeff Mariola, managing director of Ambius, told Reuters. "The reality is, when you remove the odor, you are left with what you couldn't smell ... it's going to hit everyone right in the face."
England is due to go smoke-free on July 1, following Wales, which outlawed the habit in enclosed public places in April, and Scotland, which banned it last year. Many other countries have banned smoking indoors or have plans to do so.
The chief executive of Oceana and Liquid nightclubs owner Luminar, Stephen Thomas, said one problem of the smoking ban was that people would now smell their fellow sweaty clubbers.
Thomas said the firm had decided to pump in smells such as rose petal through the air conditioning systems.
"We are using rose at the moment but we think we can find something better and we are testing other ones to see which works best," he told reporters at the time of the group's results in May.
Ambius sees a big opportunity to market their products to pubs and Mariola said he was in talks with one major chain in the UK.
The group sells its scents to hotels and casinos in the United States, where the fragrances are part of branding.
"When you walk through the casino, whether it is in the rest room, the poker room or the hallway of the hotel you will recognize, very subtly as smell is the most powerful of the senses, that crisp apple scent," Mariano said.
Ambius has also ordered a second batch of its 'Replensis Planters' -- a large plant pot that has an integrated ash tray -- as local councils gear up to fine smokers around 75 pounds ($150) if they discard their cigarette butts on the floor.
"We've got a number of units out and we're selling a lot of them to pubs and hotels that have an outdoor smoking area," Mariola said.
Pub chains such as Scottish & Newcastle and JD Weatherspoon have been busy constructing outdoor areas for smokers and sprucing up the interiors and say the ban has attracted new customers as well as boosting food sales.
"We had a big bang before we went no smoking with new carpet and repainting. We have an outside hut with heaters for smokers. It hasn't really affected our drinks trade as a lot of the smokers are happy with the hut," an assistant manager at the Huntsman & Hounds pub on the outskirts of London, which went smoke-free over two years ago, told Reuters.
"We are cleaned every morning so we don't put any air fresheners out. Everyone comments on our cleanness, we are a lot fresher," she added.
Once the air has cleared after the English smoking ban next week, what will your local pub smell of? How about crisp cotton, apples or roses?
Those are just some of the "ambient scents" being offered by Ambius, a unit of services group Rentokil, to help cover up smells such as stale beer and old buildings -- not to mention less hygienically conscious drinkers -- that were previously masked by clouds of cigarette smoke.
"Most people think with all this smoke going away everything is going to be fine and dandy," Jeff Mariola, managing director of Ambius, told Reuters. "The reality is, when you remove the odor, you are left with what you couldn't smell ... it's going to hit everyone right in the face."
England is due to go smoke-free on July 1, following Wales, which outlawed the habit in enclosed public places in April, and Scotland, which banned it last year. Many other countries have banned smoking indoors or have plans to do so.
The chief executive of Oceana and Liquid nightclubs owner Luminar, Stephen Thomas, said one problem of the smoking ban was that people would now smell their fellow sweaty clubbers.
Thomas said the firm had decided to pump in smells such as rose petal through the air conditioning systems.
"We are using rose at the moment but we think we can find something better and we are testing other ones to see which works best," he told reporters at the time of the group's results in May.
Ambius sees a big opportunity to market their products to pubs and Mariola said he was in talks with one major chain in the UK.
The group sells its scents to hotels and casinos in the United States, where the fragrances are part of branding.
"When you walk through the casino, whether it is in the rest room, the poker room or the hallway of the hotel you will recognize, very subtly as smell is the most powerful of the senses, that crisp apple scent," Mariano said.
Ambius has also ordered a second batch of its 'Replensis Planters' -- a large plant pot that has an integrated ash tray -- as local councils gear up to fine smokers around 75 pounds ($150) if they discard their cigarette butts on the floor.
"We've got a number of units out and we're selling a lot of them to pubs and hotels that have an outdoor smoking area," Mariola said.
Pub chains such as Scottish & Newcastle and JD Weatherspoon have been busy constructing outdoor areas for smokers and sprucing up the interiors and say the ban has attracted new customers as well as boosting food sales.
"We had a big bang before we went no smoking with new carpet and repainting. We have an outside hut with heaters for smokers. It hasn't really affected our drinks trade as a lot of the smokers are happy with the hut," an assistant manager at the Huntsman & Hounds pub on the outskirts of London, which went smoke-free over two years ago, told Reuters.
"We are cleaned every morning so we don't put any air fresheners out. Everyone comments on our cleanness, we are a lot fresher," she added.
