LICENSING officers will be checking air quality in Dorchester pubs after the ban on smoking in public buildings comes into effect.

Ryan Bransome, senior licensing officer at West Dorset District Council, told Pubwatch members that his team would be gathering evidence to check that the ban was effective.

He told members: "In Scotland and Ireland where it's already in place, they found they didn't have enough statistical evidence to see if the new regulations were successful.

"So we will be visiting pubs to do air quality sampling in licensed premises and will go back about a month later to see if the air has improved."

He said they would carry out monitoring to build up a picture of air quality in several licensed premises. He also wanted to see the impact on staff with swab tests.

Licensing officers will visit pubs and clubs before the law takes effect on July 1 and again about a month afterwards.

Mr Bransome reminded members that they were obliged to put up no-smoking notices in their premises. But they did not have to provide alternative smoking areas such as shelters nor provide ashtrays.

And he said club and pub managements would not have to mount watch over areas such as archways that would not qualify as smoking shelters.

He said: "As long as you have taken reasonable steps and ask people to move on then that is all that you can be expected to do. You should put no smoking signs up in places like archways but you don't have to be out there all the time."

He said the council was looking at other issues expected to arise with the new smoking regulations such as increased litter and noise.

He said: "We have to take a common sense attitude towards it. We all have to work together on this and if we all use common sense it will be fine."