Where I live a lot of the pubs have changed so much since we had a smoking ban back in 2007. The antismokers tried to make us all believe that most of the population were all for it, and they promised that hordes of nonsmokers would suddenly flock into pubs and that they would all thrive as a result of this new clintelle.
The reality is that it's been an utter disaster. When I walk past pubs, instead of seeing happy customers inside, enjoying themselves, what I see is people standing outside in all weathers, while the pub itself remains empty. It's just so pointless, pubs are for adults, grown ups to indulge in the legal vices of their choice. Smoking goes hand in hand with drinking (for smokers, of course) and if you force them outside to smoke (and yes it is effectively forcing them) it creates mass inconvenience and a tende atmosphere, you can't relax properly. If you smoke, you spend half your timeoutside, and if you don't, you spend half your time either waiting for your smoking friends to return, or you go out and join them and then when you go back in you've lost your seat. It's the most ridiculous setup.
The government originally promised that pubs would be exempt from the ban, and at the last minute they did a u turn. At first, the antismokers denied that pubs were suffering, and over time it's becoem clear that they have, what with 50 or so pubs closing down each week. And now they're saying that it's because of cheap supermarket booze or the recession or the weather, and those are all lies. Supermarket booze has always been cheaper than pub booze, and people are always prepared to pay a premium for a pub atmosphere just like with restaurant food. The recession is another excuse as pubgoers have always been able to manage to afford going to the pub no matter what the economy is doing. And the weather is the silliest excuse since the weather has always done what it's done and it has never dissauded anyone before.
The reality is that it's been an utter disaster. When I walk past pubs, instead of seeing happy customers inside, enjoying themselves, what I see is people standing outside in all weathers, while the pub itself remains empty. It's just so pointless, pubs are for adults, grown ups to indulge in the legal vices of their choice. Smoking goes hand in hand with drinking (for smokers, of course) and if you force them outside to smoke (and yes it is effectively forcing them) it creates mass inconvenience and a tende atmosphere, you can't relax properly. If you smoke, you spend half your timeoutside, and if you don't, you spend half your time either waiting for your smoking friends to return, or you go out and join them and then when you go back in you've lost your seat. It's the most ridiculous setup.
The government originally promised that pubs would be exempt from the ban, and at the last minute they did a u turn. At first, the antismokers denied that pubs were suffering, and over time it's becoem clear that they have, what with 50 or so pubs closing down each week. And now they're saying that it's because of cheap supermarket booze or the recession or the weather, and those are all lies. Supermarket booze has always been cheaper than pub booze, and people are always prepared to pay a premium for a pub atmosphere just like with restaurant food. The recession is another excuse as pubgoers have always been able to manage to afford going to the pub no matter what the economy is doing. And the weather is the silliest excuse since the weather has always done what it's done and it has never dissauded anyone before.
