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Participation in darts, a game traditionally played in smoky pubs, has been in decline for years. Latest figures from TGI, however, reveal that today the majority of players do not smoke. In light of this, the smoking ban may be just what is needed to revive this failing sport. Over the past twenty years, the number of adults playing darts has fallen by almost 20%. Reasons for this may include the steady decline of regular pub-going and increased awareness of the dangers of first- and second-hand smoke. Twenty years ago, 54% of people who played darts were smokers – well above the national average. Since then the number of smokers nationwide has fallen by 25% and the number of smokers playing darts has declined by 40%. Today non-smokers make up 60% of the 3.5 million darts players in Britain. James Smythe, head of BMRB Sport: 'Darts playing will certainly have suffered from the reinvention of many pubs from smoky dens into trendy theme bars. But the smoking ban could stem the decline or even reverse it, as pubs with dartboards will become more welcoming for non-smokers' Following the introduction of a similar smoking ban in Ireland in 2004, the number of people playing darts rose by 12%, probably due to the 130,000+ non-smokers who visited pubs to enjoy smoke-free food or drink. A similar effect in Britain would mean an extra 400,000 people playing darts next year. Editors’ notes
The BMRB Sport data is from the GB TGI survey. The GB TGI survey is based on a sample size of c.25,000 interviews across GB per annum. The questionnaire is placed with selected respondents at the end of BMRB’s Omnibus survey. BMRB is one of the largest market research agencies in the UK and is a key operating company within the KMR Group. For more, visit www.bmrb.co.uk. KMR is a division of the Millward Brown Group, part of Kantar, the information, insight and consultancy arm of WPP. For more, visit www.kmr-group.com For more information:
Russell Budden
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