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With her pub struggling to survive, landlady Kerry Fenton needed a way to bring in business - fast.
So when one of her regulars claimed he had found a 'legal loophole' to get round the smoking ban, she decided to act on his advice.
Just five days later, customer numbers have quadrupled as word has spread about the 'smoking research centre' in the Cutting Edge pub in Barnsley.
James Martin, 40, studied the fine print of The Smoke-Free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations 2007 to come up with a solution to his local pub's problems in the non-smoking era.
He worked out that a 'smoking research centre' could be introduced if the building has a separate room and no through bar. Customers would be allowed to smoke in the room after filling in a research questionnaire about their smoking habits.
Miss Fenton, 36, gave the smoking room the go ahead and is delighted with the results.
She said: 'Before our research centre opened we were lucky to get 10 people in at a weekend and we were struggling to survive.
'It's certainly given business a shot in the arm and it's all in the name of research, legal and above board. On Friday we had 29, on Saturday 31 and on Sunday 46 customers in the tap room.'
Now her secret is out, however, the authorities are likely to move to close the loophole and end the pub's evasion of the ban.
Miss Fenton, a non-smoker herself, asks smokers to put 50p in a charity box for a donation to cancer research.
The questionnaires ask customers if their smoking habits have changed since the introduction of the new law and details of their age and how many cigarettes they smoke.
She said: 'I am collecting all the questionnaires and keeping them safely. I hope they can be used by academics in universities and colleges who are interested in studying the effects of this law.
'I am a non-smoker but I believe in the freedom of the individual. There is no good reason why people should not be allowed to smoke.'
Mr Martin, a printer, said: 'I wanted to have a pub to smoke in before they all closed down. I studied details of the act closely, we drew up the questionnaires and it's taken off in a big way.
'I have already had enquiries from other pubs about introducing research centres and I'm expecting many more to join in.'
Yesterday news of the 'loophole' caused confusion in Whitehall with the Home Office and Department of Health referring enquiries to each other.
But local authorities are likely to show more interest.
Punch Taverns, which owns the pub, said it did 'not endorse this activity' and the licensee 'will be advised against' continuing with it.
The local council, which is responsible for enforcing the ban on smoking in public places, is also looking into the matter.
Simon Frow, Barnsley Council's head of Regulatory Services, said: 'The Cutting Edge is quite clearly not a research or test facility and as such is not exempt under the legislation quoted as an attempted "get out" clause.
'Therefore, the law requiring it to be smokefree applies and we will be enforcing it.'
The maximum penalty for permitting smoking on smokefree premises is a £2,500
Landlady transforms pub into 'smoking research centre' in legal loophole so customers can smoke | Mail Online
So when one of her regulars claimed he had found a 'legal loophole' to get round the smoking ban, she decided to act on his advice.
Just five days later, customer numbers have quadrupled as word has spread about the 'smoking research centre' in the Cutting Edge pub in Barnsley.
James Martin, 40, studied the fine print of The Smoke-Free (Exemptions and Vehicles) Regulations 2007 to come up with a solution to his local pub's problems in the non-smoking era.
He worked out that a 'smoking research centre' could be introduced if the building has a separate room and no through bar. Customers would be allowed to smoke in the room after filling in a research questionnaire about their smoking habits.
Miss Fenton, 36, gave the smoking room the go ahead and is delighted with the results.
She said: 'Before our research centre opened we were lucky to get 10 people in at a weekend and we were struggling to survive.
'It's certainly given business a shot in the arm and it's all in the name of research, legal and above board. On Friday we had 29, on Saturday 31 and on Sunday 46 customers in the tap room.'
Now her secret is out, however, the authorities are likely to move to close the loophole and end the pub's evasion of the ban.
Miss Fenton, a non-smoker herself, asks smokers to put 50p in a charity box for a donation to cancer research.
The questionnaires ask customers if their smoking habits have changed since the introduction of the new law and details of their age and how many cigarettes they smoke.
She said: 'I am collecting all the questionnaires and keeping them safely. I hope they can be used by academics in universities and colleges who are interested in studying the effects of this law.
'I am a non-smoker but I believe in the freedom of the individual. There is no good reason why people should not be allowed to smoke.'
Mr Martin, a printer, said: 'I wanted to have a pub to smoke in before they all closed down. I studied details of the act closely, we drew up the questionnaires and it's taken off in a big way.
'I have already had enquiries from other pubs about introducing research centres and I'm expecting many more to join in.'
Yesterday news of the 'loophole' caused confusion in Whitehall with the Home Office and Department of Health referring enquiries to each other.
But local authorities are likely to show more interest.
Punch Taverns, which owns the pub, said it did 'not endorse this activity' and the licensee 'will be advised against' continuing with it.
The local council, which is responsible for enforcing the ban on smoking in public places, is also looking into the matter.
Simon Frow, Barnsley Council's head of Regulatory Services, said: 'The Cutting Edge is quite clearly not a research or test facility and as such is not exempt under the legislation quoted as an attempted "get out" clause.
'Therefore, the law requiring it to be smokefree applies and we will be enforcing it.'
The maximum penalty for permitting smoking on smokefree premises is a £2,500
Landlady transforms pub into 'smoking research centre' in legal loophole so customers can smoke | Mail Online
