Labour's smoking ban killed the British pub

[d000hg]

How do blind people know when to stop wiping their bum?

The same as everyone else I assume.

[OwlHoot]

Of course they drink - they just do it differently. The thing is that they drink at sombodies house. They can go to the supermarket and get a large quantity of cheap booze and then get pissed before they head out - my daughter and her mates don't actually go out until about 11/12 at night. They skip the locals and go straight to the places that are open until 4/6 am. The point I was trying to make earlier was that it was this packed on Friday/Saturday that meant that the local pub could make a profit. This chunk of their trade has now gone and we are seing what we have now.

WHS, and as I said earlier, many young clubbers these days are content to avoid much or any alcohol and buy an E for a tenner and the buzz from that lasts all night (and without a hangover)

[Dactylion]

Stop trying to be such a tedious contentious bitch.

I think that is very unfair!!

I don't think she is really trying.

[darmstadt]

Pubs were dying before the ban. Other countries don't allow smoking in pubs and haven't seen their pubs all die.

You can in Germany (*), not all of it but in certain states. They keep changing the law but for example where I live you can smoke in pubs although most pubs that serve food will either not allow it or have separate room (some pubs built glass enclosures so you could go and have a smoke.) Where I work you can't although interestingly enough you can smoke at a hairdressers! In the states where you can't smoke, trade has gone down and landlords aren't too happy. A court case was started today in Düsseldorf where one of the breweries is taking the state to court over the interpretation of the law although if they do win it won't mean pubs will still be allowed to let you smoke. When the law was changed originally, many pubs, and you'll still see this in some states, became smokers clubs and you had to become a member and over 18 although the membership laws were pretty lax. In some cases you had to pay a €1 joining fee, in other cases you just had to smoke!














(* remember this is a country where there are still cigarette machines on street corners and a packet only costs around €5)

[darmstadt]

Inneresting article by Peter Oborne in the Telegraph.

I don't smoke myself but I don't see why smoking couldn't be allowed to continue in separate well ventilated rooms. Ostensibly the ban was to safeguard people who work in pubs, so they claimed. Kind of back fired a bit really considering how many have lost their jobs through pub closures.

Surely there must be a middle ground somewhere but of course there will be no compromise whenever the interfering tentacles of the nanny state are involved. Besides, a recent report by the American Cancer Institute concluded that second hand smoke does not cause cancer. Make of that what you will but there's a good article on that by James Delingpole here.

There is one place you can smoke and have a drink legally, yep, one of the Houses of Parliament bars is exempt. one rule for them, one rule for you

[darmstadt]

Nobody wants to sit in the pub these days listening to some pish stained half cut life long failure dribbling tulipe about what he would do if he were in charge of the country. People would rather have twitter on the ipad, football on the TV and a few beers in the fridge because quite frankly it is a better night in that a night out in most of the pubs going.

And people that go into pubs for the social aspect are usually dull fookers like yourself who cant build up any friendships where booze is not involved, my local is filled with them, once you know the barman's name it is time to get out and get a life

Ah, you're talking about Nigel Farage aren't you:

A pint of bitter in hand – never lager – spewing out pro-Thatcher, anti-Brussels views sprinkled with politically incorrect jokes and a smoker’s throaty laugh.
...
He’s standing in a Wetherspoons pub in the middle of Stone town centre, surrounded by a crowd, a pint of real ale in hand and deep in conversation.
...
“I’m a lucky just to be here – two crashes and cancer. I’m completely fatalistic about it all now. That’s why I go on drinking and smoking. One of the great things I’ve learned in life to do is ignore doctors’ advice completely.”

[Gittins Gal]

Thinking about the smoking ban and meddlesome politicians in general made me mindful of the words of Benjamin Franklin:

Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

[mudskipper]

You aren't allowed to pick on dwarves.

But you can rest newspapers on their heads.

[Mich the Tester]

Thinking about the smoking ban and meddlesome politicians in general made me mindful of the words of Benjamin Franklin:

I agree with Benny Franklin.

[d000hg]

There is one place you can smoke and have a drink legally, yep, one of the Houses of Parliament bars is exempt. one rule for them, one rule for you

Aren't private clubs exempt? For instance private members clubs such as cigar clubs?

Thinking about the smoking ban and meddlesome politicians in general made me mindful of the words of Benjamin Franklin:

Good job smoking in a pub or travelling on a plane and only paying for one seen are not essential liberties then.