The First Minister was speaking after it was revealed that more than 27,000 people and organisations in Scotland had responded to the Executive-sponsored consultation on a ban — 20 times more respondents than any other consultation undertaken by ministers at Holyrood.

While the introduction of a ban in 2006 now seems inevitable, Mr McConnell and his ministerial colleagues know they are facing opposition from pub and restaurant owners who have issued dire warnings about the effect on jobs.

The First Minister’s scepticism at the feasibility of a ban has disappeared following his trip last week to Ireland, during which he saw how a smoking ban there, introduced in March, was working.

Indeed, his resolve to introduce a similar ban in Scotland appears to be hardening — an impression underlined by his remarks yesterday in an interview for Radio Clyde News.

Asked about the ban’s impact on jobs, Mr McConnell replied: “There will be issues that if we do ban smoking in all pubs and restaurants in Scotland, people might drink less. But alcohol is also a problem in Scotland . . . so people drinking less is not necessarily a bad thing. I am determined to take action on smoking and we will make the right decision for the long term . . . When we have made that decision, we will be aware of the impact but sometimes that impact, although portrayed badly, might not be a bad thing.”

Publicans and restaurant owners, aware of the potential economic impact on their businesses, are gearing up to campaign for the status quo, whereby they are free to accommodate non-smokers in “no smoking” areas. They say a complete ban is not the answer to halting the take-up of smoking among young people or to encouraging more people to quit.

A spokesman said last night: “All it will achieve is the closure of probably hundreds of Scotland’s pubs and will put thousands of hospitality workers into unemployment.”

Meanwhile, experts told a conference in Edinburgh on smoking in public places that a ban could save Scotland’s economy £300 million. The figures came from Executive-commissioned research carried out by Anne Ludbrook, senior research fellow at the University of Aberdeen’s health economics research unit, and did not include savings to the health service.

The biggest part of this figure was a net saving of £283 million in productivity gains from the cigarette breaks that would no longer be possible in workplaces. There was also an estimated saving of £5 million in fire damage, and £9 million in redecoration costs, she said.

The Scottish Tories said that the consultation had lost all meaning because ministers had made up their minds already. David Davidson, health spokesman, said: “Does the First Minister seriously expect anyone to believe that if the consultation rejects a ban, he too will shelve his proposals? The reality is that a ban on smoking is not required. The voluntary approach is working perfectly well.”

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