According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), hospitality companies failing to adequately prepare for the smoking ban risk long-term financial hardship and could even be forced to close some of their operations.

David Trunkfield, UK director of PwC, said that just preparing to meet legal commitments will not be enough and that companies should evaluate the long-term effects of the ban on their business.

“The big issue is how smokers might alter their behaviour after the ban and the knock-on effect that might have on revenues and profit,” he said.

According to Trunkfield, businesses need to assess the smoking prevalence amongst their customers in order to build a clear picture of the scale of the operational changes they might need to undertake.

Trunkfield said: “The experience of existing smoking bans in other countries shows that some industries have seen revenues drop dramatically and have taken several years to recover to pre-ban levels.

“In fact, some individual businesses may never recover and may face closure.”

The warning comes just days after gaming group Rank announced it is to close nine of its Mecca Bingo clubs in England and Wales as it prepares to limit the effects of the smoking ban.

Meanwhile, pub operator Scottish and Newcastle has predicted that the ban will result in a 5 per cent decline in the British pub market during the course of 2007.