Smoking ban HAS harmed pub trade
Wednesday, March 4, 2009 The Norwich Evening News recently launched a Love Your Local campaign. Readers are invited to "visit your local at least once a week ... write to your local MP ... join Camra’s Save our Pubs campaign" etc etc.
Until now there has been very little mention of the smoking ban. On Saturday, however, a well written letter appeared in the paper under the headline "Smoking ban has harmed pub trade". I can't find it online but it highlights the fact that while the smoking ban may not be the only reason for the decline and fall of many pubs, "it is the single act [that] stopped nearly all of our friends getting together in the pub in the way they always used to".
"It wasn't the cheap supermarket beer - it was already there. It wasn't the excessive duty on a pint - it was already there. It was the fact that this hugely arrogant Labour government decided that they could remove personal choice and micro-manage the health and social life of the individual."
Thanks to this letter the paper is now asking the question, "Should the ban on smoking in pubs be overturned? Write, email, text ... You tell us". Email eveningnewsLetters@archant.co.uk (please include your name and address).
PS. If you are writing to the Norwich Evening News, please copy your comment to this blog. It will be useful for the launch of our own Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign to get as much feedback in advance as possible.
Simon Clark
The BBC News website has an article called "Our pub's about to shut?!?" HERE. Worth commenting.
Reader Comments (9)
I hate to sound unsympathetic, but publicans who knew that their clientelle was largely comprised of smokers did nothing to oppose the blanket ban in the UK. Now the damage is done. I feel sad for those who have lost their homes and livelihoods, but the complete lack of real resistance is as much to blame as that god awful government of yours. The customers too did little more than complain. In the end, if you are too apathetic and cowardly to defend your own business there is little reason for anyone to do it for you. Had there really been a partnership of feeling between pubs and customers the loss of community pubs might not have happened on this scale. Certainly it would not have been so easy for the politicians to simply row straight over the people. Time to stop talking maybe.I am very much afraid that any steps taken now will be too little, too late. I for one will mourn the passing of the dingy little local where people went to meet, chat, drink and smoke in an exclusively adult environment. Their loss is as good a reason as any not to return to the UK. The Chiiildren friendly pseudo coffee bars will never see my custom, although it is too much to hope they will follow the traditional pub down the slippery slope to bankruptcy.
LabourList the Labour Party's official website are inviting comments on:
"It's not small beer, we need to support our pubs"
Some people seem to be mentioning the smoking ban.
http://www.labourlist.org/its_not_small_beer_we_need_to_support_our_pubs
This is a copy of my letter to the editor.
Dear Sir
The main reason for pub closures is the smoking ban. Anti-smokers say that the majority should rule. I agree and that is why I believe that a publican should ask his customers for their preferences and if the majority want smoking allowed, then he/she should be allowed to have smoking back inside, with decent ventilation.
Regards
Chas
I agree with MCO that publicans could have done more, but this problem affects everybody, not just publicans. For those of us who still live here, it would be suicidal to say that because the publicans did nothing we should also do nothing.
I agree with MCO 100%! Let the publicans suffer, they did NOTHING for their loyal customers, and they should pay the price for their desertion. Screw em all!
Many thanks to Dave Atherton, I have posted my thoughts on Labour list - lets hope they get the message, but I'm not holding my breath! (Need another fag)..
At the moment my post is being considered by the thought police at LL.
I wonder what will come out of todays parliamentary meeting of the save our pub thing, and if this lobbying will produce anything.
Here is my letter:
The statement I am about to make is not about amendment, it is about honesty.
Why oh why do the government and large breweries try to give other reasons for the pub crisis when it is glaringly obvious what the cause is. The government took the advice from ASH and other charities that a total smoking ban would not harm trade, they even said that it would improve because more non smokers would start going. This was wrong, and pubs began to close at an alarming rate within weeks of 1st July 2007.
The government could say something like this.
'We made a mistake, based on bad advice, about certain businesses not suffering from a complete smoking ban, We have no intention of amending it. If we loose every traditional British pub for ever, we don't care'.
If the government said this, at least they would be being honest.
Just one other point. I have noticed that when an organisation causes a large problem, like banks for example, they are held to account, questioned and dealt with publicly. This government were given bad advice by ASH in particular about the effect of the smoking ban on pubs and clubs, advice which was not even evidence based. So why are the government not holding them to account for the loss of thousands of livelyhoods and loss of revenue.
The reason the govt are not holding Ash to account over misinformation on the smoking ban is because they were in on the deal with them along with the pub owners.
They all made a big mistake when the money was flowing and they saw that the worried well and the new rich wanted to live beverley hill lifestyles and it wasnt the thing for them to be seen having dirty habits like smoking, it was ruining their image.
What the stupid labour govt didnt realise and are beginning to belatedly catch on to now and to their cost, is that non smokers dont put bums on pub seats. Because they treat their precious bodies like the green party treat the environment, i.e living in cloud cuckoo land.
The govt and Ash and pub landlords thought they would make a fortune with these antis thinking they would flock in their hundreds to the lovely airy new smoke free pubs, but they got it wrong again big time on this occasion because its the smokers who are the real drinkers and spend the money and were the ones who always filled the pubs pre smoking ban.
And Smokers will NEVER fill them again until this stupid crazy smoking ban is lifted and they are allowed return to sanity before its too late.
But alas, a lot of the traditional pubs that depended on working class clientele will be gone and we will be left with super clean americanised food orientated cafe pubs.
Hopefully now with the downturn, the self rightous health freak preachers will be treated with the derision they deserve.
MCO, I also agree 100%, Can I have your permission to place your letter on my website? It's on of the best I have seen.
Roy