BINGO and snooker clubs will go to the wall if workingmen's clubs are exempt from a smoking ban, MPs were told yesterday.
Trade group Business in Sport and Leisure (BISL) warned of an exodus of smokers from privately-owned clubs unless the habit is outlawed in all public places.
MPs are being given a free vote on whether to exempt members-only clubs - including workingmen's clubs - from the ban to be introduced by the Health Bill.
But visitors to bingo and snooker clubs would be forced to stub out because, like pubs, they are privately owned. Casinos would not be exempt either.
At Westminster yesterday, the BISL warned of considerable damage if smokers could instead play bingo or snooker at a local members-only club.
Chief executive Brigid Simmonds said: "MPs need to understand that customers will go somewhere else where they can smoke - and 60 per cent of bingo players smoke."
According to BISL, there are 680 bingo clubs in Britain, boasting nearly 84m visitors each year. There are also 1,200 snooker clubs.
The warning came as health campaigners and the hospitality industry formed an unprecedented alliance to ensure a level playing field on the smoking issue.
The British Beer and Pub Association, the Bingo Association, the British Casino Association and the Association of British Bookmakers have all reluctantly swung behind a ban everywhere.
The campaign reflects a growing confidence that MPs will vote to ban smoking in all pubs early next month, with the real fight now over members-only clubs.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt supports exemptions for clubs, fearing a ban would otherwise have to be extended to prisons and care homes.
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