Pubs in a Buzz about the Smoking Ban
WaspBane, the company manufacturing and supplying the WaspBane wasp trap, were invited to present their seminar "The Buzz about the Smoking Ban" during the recently held "Pub Business" trade show held at the NEC.
London, UK (PRWEB) May 24, 2007
WaspBane, the company manufacturing and supplying the WaspBane wasp trap, were invited to present their seminar "The Buzz about the Smoking Ban" during the recently held "Pub Business" trade show held at the NEC.
As evidenced by the large number of companies exhibiting at the show providing "smoking solutions," the principle theme running through the show centred on the pub industry's efforts to respond to the forthcoming smoking ban due to be imposed in the UK on 1st July 2007.
Karl Czinege, commercial manager for the Marston's Pub Company, confirmed that in preparation for the smoking ban the group had invested millions of pounds into creating hundreds of new Al Fresco areas to entice a wider non-smoking clientele and to provide an outdoor environment conducive to its existing smoking clientele.
What is clear is that the smoking ban has elevated the significance of the traditional beer garden within the pub business mix. In a bid to counter the threat of losing smoking patrons to the smoking ban, the beer garden is being re-invented at considerable cost into a new and more alluring Al Fresco environment which simultaneously offers wider appeal to a broader clientele than just the smoking fraternity.
A perennial problem facing Al Fresco environments is the threat of nuisance wasps and this threat seems to have been comprehensively overlooked by the pub industry. In a market survey conducted by WaspBane, 92% of the general public (all social categories) stated that they had or would avoid outdoor activities if they were plagued by wasps. Whilst attending the Pub Business trade show, WaspBane polled 198 pub landlords and managers. When simply asked "are you interested in a wasp trap?" 96% of responders answered "no". The responders were invited to watch a brief video showing a woman and child contending with wasps in a typical Al Fresco environment. 99% of the responders identified with the problem and 97% of responders confirmed that they personally would not tolerate such conditions and would leave. When asked if they recognised the threat to the pub industry's "smoking solutions" strategy, 97% of the responders confirmed that nuisance wasps threatened to derail the industry's attempts to capitalise on the use of outdoor areas and threatened the large investments that had been made.
"The results of our research are quite a revelation," stated Mr Karol Pazik, managing director and co-inventor of WaspBane. "What it shows is that the pub industry really is not prepared for the wasp threat. Prior to the smoking ban, if there were wasps then patrons would simply move indoors so the problem didn't really register with the industry. Now, with the smoking ban due to be enforced from 1st July, those patrons, who are likely to be smokers, will have little option. They will either have to quit smoking or go somewhere else and that is likely to be the supermarket for cheaper drink and the conservatory at home!"
Hansard reported to Parliament that in 2004, 8 people died and 949 people were hospitalized as a result of stings. Current medical literature suggests that the number of people dying from wasp stings could be much higher but that victims are being misdiagnosed as casualties of heart attacks and strokes. Medical literature also suggests that for every person hospitalized there are a further 250 to 300 people which seek medical attention as a result of being stung. In 2004 this would equate to an astonishing 1/3 million people. The wasp problem is real and in terms of public health should not be under stated.
"When you take into account the extent of public aversion to wasps, it is surprising that the pub industry is doing so little to protect its investment into outdoor facilities. If I were an investor I'd be worried." Mr Pazik elaborated "We've studied the "beer garden" as part of our market research. During the wasp season a large number of beer gardens go empty so the challenge to the pub industry is there. The pub industry may elect to ignore the wasp problem but it's a bit like asking members of the public to ignore rats and cockroaches in the kitchen!"
In a major drive to educate the pub industry about the nuisance wasp problem, WaspBane participated in the Pub Business "managing for profit" seminars not only highlighting the threat to the pub industry but also highlighting the threat posed by low efficiency wasp traps. A key strategy in protecting sensitive areas is the need to successfully eradicate scouting wasps before they have a chance to feed and return to their nest to recruit more wasps into the area to be protected. Low efficiency wasp traps do not kill all of the wasps that they catch and so they can actually increase the numbers of wasps persisting in the area. It is essential therefore that where wasp traps are used that they are high efficiency traps which kill all of the wasps that they do catch.
"We have tested WaspBane in a host of public leisure facilities including some of the largest theme parks, zoos and outdoor catering establishments in the UK." Mr Pazik stated, "Compared on a like for like basis with other leading traps, WaspBane has reduced sting rates in visitors consistently by over 90% compared to those traps so we are extremely pleased!"
Attributed to the Enterprise Cradle Ltd.
For more information or a free DVD contact info@waspbane. com or visit www. waspbane. com.
About WaspBane
The WaspBane wasp trap is a major breakthrough in controlling the summer wasp (yellowjacket) pest.
The WaspBane wasp trap is the result of more than 6 years of design and experimentation. The apparently simple design hides a host of features each exploiting particular aspects of wasp behaviour which makes WaspBane probably the most efficient wasp trap available on the market today. Given that wasps are a dangerous insect, the design of WaspBane has been built entirely around user safety so much so that WaspBane is also probably the safest wasp trap on the market to date.
# # #
