NEYLAND Yacht Club may be the county's first totally non-smoking venue.

Members voted overwhelmingly in favour of a smoking ban recently.

Smoking was initially restricted to the bar area of the clubhouse after an unserviceable extractor fan was removed during a £26,000 refurbishment earlier in the year.

This concentrated smokers, and their smoke, into a small area of the building. Other bar users found this unpleasant and proposed the complete ban.

Commodore Dick Wooding said it is still too early to judge the effect of the decision. Only a small percentage of the club's 600 members smoke, but Mr Wooding said it would be a 'bit of a blow' if they took their custom elsewhere.

Club secretary Gwyn Phillips believes the decision may work in the club's favour by attracting more non-smokers.

He said: "As a sports club, we should be setting a good example, especially to our 70-odd juniors."

Member and former commodore Fred Fisher said response had been positive over the Easter period.

"People like to be in a place where there is no smell of smoke," he said.

But other Pembrokeshire clubs are in no hurry to follow Neyland's lead.

A spokesman from Newport Boat Club said the committee had not discussed the issue.

Haverfordwest Golf Club is currently reviewing its smoking policy, but a previous trial ban at the bar was not particularly successful.

Club steward Mark Phillips felt legislation was the only way to make it work, as premises enforcing individual bans were more likely to suffer loss of business.

However, according to Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, the National Assembly will be granted powers to introduce a smoking ban similar to that in Ireland.