BUPA, the private health company, has abandoned plans for a conference in Dublin because of the Irish ban on smoking in public places.

It has now decided that the annual event will go ahead on British soil, where staff will not be forced to leave the building for a cigarette.

Almost half the nurses, doctors and administrators who work for BUPA, which has spent millions on anti-smoking promotions which dominate its literature, are smokers.

BUPA, whose advertising slogan refers to “your amazing body”, was in talks with the four-star Burlington Hotel in Dublin about staging its annual conference for up to 700 delegates.

But the company told the hotel that the nationwide smoking ban, the first in the world, was a key factor in not coming to Ireland because 41 per cent of its staff smoked.

The conference, which would have lasted several days, included a gala banquet and drinks reception, and would have meant virtually the entire 550-bedroom hotel being taken over for the occasion. It was worth an estimated £250,000 to the hotel.

A spokesman for the Burlington Hotel said: “The hotel is very keen to attract quality business but we cannot comment on the specifics of any discussions with potential clients.” BUPA, which has three million customers, last night confirmed that it had not only rejected the Burlington but Ireland as a whole.

A spokeswoman said: “We are holding our conference in the United Kingdom. We looked briefly at Dublin and other possible venues.

“We decided on the United Kingdom because of convenience, less complicated travel arrangements, and lower costs.” Challenged about whether the smoking ban was an important factor, the spokeswoman said: “I’ll get back to you on that.” Three hours later the spokeswoman said: “During our visit to the Burlington, the smoking ban was mentioned.”

The Irish Hotels Federation said that the smoking ban, which came into effect in March, was putting business at risk. John Power, the federation chief executive, said: “It is a risk factor. For the southern European market it is definitely an issue. I know a German car-dealer conference looked at coming to Ireland but decided against it because of the smoking ban.”

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