PUBS and clubs have been forced to take drastic action to curb an unexpected consequence of the smoking ban in public places — the poor personal hygiene of some of their customers.

While the eradication of carbon monoxide fumes has been a godsend to non-smokers, in many cases they have been replaced by the overpowering stench of body odour (BO).

The cramped and humid atmosphere of many nightclubs means that by the early hours even the most heavily applied deodorant can start to fade.

Many club owners have been forced to adopt smell control techniques previously used by supermarkets to attract customers. Fragrance machines, which in food stores are used to pump out the sumptuous smell of freshly baked bread, apple pie or even fish and chips, have been adapted to replace the suffocating stench of BO in nightclubs with the fragrant odours of freshly washed linen and vanilla.

Other techniques have included adding fragrance oils to liquid pumped through smoke machines. “It was evident immediately after the ban that you could smell people,” said Carlo Chitti, owner of Campus nightclub in Glasgow. “We started putting essence in the smoke fluid. Now there is a smell of strawberry in the air.”

The Glasgow-based Flashlite Technical Services said sales of vials for the smoke machines had rocketed and that it was now supplying more than 40 clubs and pubs.

“Bad odour is an issue that nobody looked at in advance of the ban, but since then it’s been commented on a lot. I’ve been in one or two places that have made me a bit queasy,” said Andy O’Neill, the company’s spokesman.

“The places refurbished recently are not too bad. But if the place has been trading a while it can get a bit whiffy.”

At the Garage nightclub in Glasgow, a favourite among university students, staff are using essential oils to mask the bodily smells of customers.

Cabaret Voltaire, an Edinburgh nightclub, has tripled its air-conditioning capacity and is using organic fragrances to mask the smell of BO. Clubbers at the venue will soon dance to the smell of euphoria, one of several essences that cost up to £30 per fluid ounce.

“We weren’t keen on plug-in air fresheners. These products are organic. We want to add them to our smoke machine and oil burners,” said Kay Bennett, the day manager at Cabaret Voltaire.

“If you walk into a club with a few hundred people dancing, you notice a smell. It’s a combination of BO, bodily functions, alcohol and sweat. With the new fragrances we will ensure that the club smells fresh.”

In some venues BO has become so noticeable that the management has been forced to ask smelly individuals to leave.

“Some venues are having to turn people away because of bad smell and poor hygiene.

It can be quite embarrassing. You didn’t notice it so much before the ban but soon after it became an issue,” said Michael McHugh, Strathclyde president of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association.

“There is a problem with people whose hygiene isn’t up to scratch. Often you see a gap forming at the bar because people move away from someone who smells. They are too polite to say anything but talk about it among themselves afterwards.”

Donald MacLeod, owner of the Garage nightclub, said bad BO would not be tolerated in his venue. “If someone’s hygiene is a problem they would get turned away. It’s not happened in our venue yet. But let’s face it, a lot of people have a BO problem.”

He added that the most effective fragrance to mask the stench of BO and stale alcohol has yet to be tried: “I personally think there should be nicotine smells added to the smoke machine — that’s the best mask of bad smell there is.”

Scotland could be on the cusp of a fragrance revolution, according to Simon Harrop, managing director of The Aroma Co, which provides aromatic solutions for product and company marketing. With the smoke gone, he believes that venues are realising the importance of fragrances.

“If a place smells bad, customers won’t come through the door. No matter how good a place looks, people will not like it,” said Harrop. “Companies are starting to wake up to that fact. Many hotels have a brand smell that permeates the premises. Clubs and pubs may follow suit soon. The smoking ban could start a revolution.”

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