Why more bars and cafes in Copenhagen don’t go smoke-free voluntarily is beyond me. Look at the numbers. 75% of your potential customers are non-smokers. And based on anecdotal evidence, people are fed up with passive smoke.

Or look at a business case. Ølbaren in Elmegade went smoke-free one night a week, then expanded to two, and finally went all smoke-free all the time. Reading the forums and newsletters you can tell that they were concerned, but apparently it worked out financially okay for them.

I don’t know if they actually experienced an increase in business, but it seems likely that would happen, as there’s currently such a shortage of smoke-free places that it makes it a special attraction.

Come April 1st there will be a mostly complete smoke ban, anyway, so why not pre-empt this and make it part of your brand and create a little extra customer loyalty by being an early mover? It seems like a business opportunity just sitting there. Perhaps there’s a disproportionate share of smokers amongst bar-owners?