Overturn the smoking ban and save our pubs!

Its not the smoking, its the price of ale in a pub compared to the supermarket that's the problem!

At one time, and I am not going that far back, I could get a pint of bitter for under £2.00. Average price was around £1.80. Now it's about £2.50. Pubs are simply out-pricing themselves and yet nightclubs can have offers on bottles for kids to get smashed on!

I agree with Rudebox,The price of beer goes up every year and we have had to tolerate it.The smoking ban came in and killed the trade.Befor the ban came in they said it works fine in Ireland,but what they did`nt give us was the figures of how many pubs have shut down over there because of it.


Cheap beer has always been available from shops so I don`t believe that this is the reason.

I also believe that if the ban was overturned it would not make much of a difference as too much damage has been done to the trade.It would take years to recover and also alot of people are now set to stay in.

The big brand name tins has come down in price enormously, certainly with the advent of 12/24 packs.

At one time brand name tins of beer were dearer than a pint in the pub, now tins can be got for less the £1 whilst the pub price is over double that.

There has been 20000 lost jobs and 2000 pub closures since the ban!
In Berlin the smoking ban was abolished. Apparantly, the pub propieters presented their case to the authorities, and won.
Source: daily mirror

I went to birkenhead last night the place was dead.

I remember many years back and it was very busy

Looking at pub closures on the wirral, there were many closing before the smoking ban, it is a general trend which the smoking ban just happened to land in the middle of.

I see The Dell is still going strong!

Take away the karaoke...final nail in the coffin.

One land lady has found her way aronud the ban!

Pub finds smoking ban loophole

The landlady of a pub has exploited a loophole in the country's smoking ban by opening a "smoking research centre" where drinkers can light up legally, reports said Wednesday. Skip related content
Related photos / videos England and Wales introduced a ban on smoking in enclosed public places in 2007 Enlarge photo Locals at the Cutting Edge pub in Barnsley, northern England, must fill in a questionnaire on their smoking habits to satisfy legal requirements before sitting down for a drink and a cigarette in the centre.

England and Wales introduced a ban on smoking in enclosed public places in 2007, contributing to tumbling beer sales which have forced over 2,000 pubs to close in the last year, according to the British Beer And Pub Association.

The Cutting Edge's landlady Kerry Fenton opened the centre, which is a separate room in her pub, five days ago.

"It's given business a shot in the arm and it's all in the name of research, legal and above board," she told the Sun newspaper. "I'm a non-smoker but I believe in the freedom of the individual."

The loophole in the law was discovered by pub regular James Martin, a 40-year-old printer. The local council told the paper it intended to enforce the smoking ban at the pub

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20090513/tuk-pub-finds-smoking-ban-loophole-repor-a7ad41d.html

The company that own that pub have told her in no uncertain terms to make sure this is stopped asap or she will lose her tenancy apparently

Just reading back on all this...

The Three Stags, my local pub, Ive never seen it so busy, so theres no sign of any pub closure etc at the minute, its absolutely heaving constantly.

They used to have Cains bitter on tap, at £1.70 for a pint, that was my tipple last summer. They stopped stocking it when Cains went into financial difficulties, and it hasnt been back since


One thing that might help these ailing pubs, whatever happened to 24/7 drinking? Longer opening hours, more customers, more money?


No need to bring smoking back into them, Im enjoying being able to breathe

You often hear smokers moan about the freedom to smoke and yet there answer to "what about my freedom to breathe fresh air" is usually "well, don't go to the pub then"!!

I think it spoils the atmos. Conversations and turns on the karaoke are interuppted by the need to go out for a fag! And 'three stags' aside everywhere looks dead coz everyone is outside puffing! I miss reekin of fags after a night out!!