tonyh29 Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 With the news that small pubs and bars in the Netherlands are going to be exempted from the smoking ban , do you think it's time the UK allowed smoking in pubs again ? I'm a non smoker but it never really bothered me so I'd be in favour of the ban being lifted ,to be honest my local has never had the smoking ban so i don't suppose it would make a lot of difference to me either way ... certain establishments like restaurants fair enough , but pubs should be free to chose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno_2004 Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I miss it in pubs, I felt it was part of the atmosphere (and I'm a non-smoker). Now you just get the smell of beer, farts and old Manxies who need a wash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claret75 Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Going outside to smoke doesn't bother me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 No way José, I don't need any extra help killing my body when I'm down the pub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssexVilla Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Think they should have the choice. Not a huge fan of smoking in public but I don't think it should be forced upon people to not smoke. If you really can't bear it go to a different pub. It would help many pubs as well as they all seem to be shutting down these days. :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjw63 Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 It's **** brilliant going into a pub, like The Holte Suite, and not coming out stinking of ashtrays Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troglodyte Posted December 14, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted December 14, 2010 I also think it should be a choice for the pub. I'm not a fan of sitting in smoke, but I don't think it'd be that bad in most places, particularly if there were smoking and non-smoking areas, etc. And if it were to save a few pubs, all the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 14, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted December 14, 2010 While smoking added a little to the atmosphere, it also made everyone and everything stink, theres the health issue and frankly it was just a bit unpleasant. I'm all for the ban. I also don't think it'd do anything to save pubs whatsoever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevMur Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 No, I don't think it should. It's all about the people who work in pubs really. They shouldn't be subjected to all that smoke on long shifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 hard to say , I saw a few pubs around my way close down when the ban was first introduced , the landlords all blamed it on the smoking ban , it was before the recession so not easy to pin point the blame onto that ... I think your Harvesters and the like probably do Ok out of the ban due to the family atmosphere they like to create with the food they serve , but you more hard core flea pit type pubs I could see possibly why the ban might have affected them ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted December 14, 2010 VT Supporter Share Posted December 14, 2010 Pubs are going bust, imo, because they've been squeezed by cheap home boozing and thus the pub has increasingly become more of 'an event' type deal - somewhere you go out to specifically for a good time, rather that habitual thing they used to be. Thus the pubs that don't have either a) a considerable regular local crowd, or a selling point etc, go down the swanny because the average person can get twice as sloshed at home for less than half the cost, and if someone does want to take on the cost of going out they go to a more upmarket place as part of a larger night out or they go to the pub specifically do infrequently that the trade dies off. The ban may have stopped a few people going to the pub, but I'd bet my last penny on cheap booze from supermarkets and the like being far greater to their demise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claret75 Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I used to think it would be fairer to have smoking area's inside pubs, but I'm not so sure people are that bothered about going outside now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevMur Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 Off topic, but wondering how much more tax than off-licenses do pubs pay? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFC-Prideofbrum Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I absolutely hate people smoking, such a waste....ffs, keep your money and then go on holiday at the end of the year! Anyway, I fully support the ban. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larscapaldi Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 With us in Flanders pubs have the choice and not surprisingly to me almost all of them are smoking. I'm a non-smoker myself but I'm not at the least bothered that people around me do. The local I went to when I was young decided to be non-smoking and since then we actually went there only a handful of times again, and every single time it was almost empty, whereas before there always used to be 10 men minimum inside. Our new local however (which is held by my brother-in-law) is going better than ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted December 14, 2010 Moderator Share Posted December 14, 2010 I also think it should be a choice for the pub. ... if there were smoking and non-smoking areas, etc. And if it were to save a few pubs, all the better. Totally agree. If pubs feel they get more custom, let it be their choice, have a room with extractor fans that actually work. Let people decide, not governments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limpid Posted December 14, 2010 Administrator Share Posted December 14, 2010 hard to say , I saw a few pubs around my way close down when the ban was first introduced , the landlords all blamed it on the smoking ban , it was before the recession so not easy to pin point the blame onto that ... How many of them re-opened with new management? How many were levelled and housing built because of the VAT relief on brown field developments? I suspect that what the landlords got was an offer they couldn't refuse. In my town we have more pubs since the ban, but I put that down to no planning permission in the conservation area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted December 14, 2010 Author Share Posted December 14, 2010 How many of them re-opened with new management? How many were levelled and housing built because of the VAT relief on brown field developments? I suspect that what the landlords got was an offer they couldn't refuse. In my town we have more pubs since the ban, but I put that down to no planning permission in the conservation area. one of them has just reopened after being closed for around 3 years , The Woburn (the home of football for anyone that ever watched Angry Britain :-) ) has just closed again after losing it's 4th Landlord in about 18 months a couple of the others have closed and reopened on a regular basis could be that Chindie is right with his cheap booze theory ,but most of these pubs were thriving businesses for years and cheap booze has been around for a while .. I recall buying Thunderbird from my local corner shop for about 49p a bottle :-) not seen any levelled just yet .. though due to some backhanders to the council a huge great chunk of green belt land was allowed to be developed for 400 houses and property developers just don't feel the need for any more at present !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I think it should be the business owners decision, and if he thinks he can do more business one way or the other, then good. That said, I can't stand the stench, and I'm happy to be in smoke free pubs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsonp Posted December 14, 2010 Share Posted December 14, 2010 I am more than happy for the pubs to remain smoke free, and I am a social smoker (i.e. only when I go out to the pub). But I find that I smoke less and oddly I cannot stand being in the enclosed space right next to a smoker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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