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Smoke ban fails to boost pub food

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Published Date: 26 November 2007
AN EXPECTED boom in sales of pub meals as a result of the smoking ban has not arrived, according to a report out today. Some 54 per cent of pub landlords reported no change in their food sales.
The average customer-spend on a dinner was £14.86 - a penny less than last year.

The full article contains 61 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 25 November 2007 9:30 PM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Smoking issues
 
1

Guga II,

Rockall 26/11/2007 07:49:30

Also, how many pubs have closed because of the smoking ban? How many have decreased takings because of the smoking ban?

When are we going to be allowed freedom of choice? When are pubs going to be allowed to be either smoking or non-smoking?

Why do we have to be subjected to totalitarian control freaks who want to excercise total control over every aspect of our lives?

2

ex katman 2,

ex sudan 26/11/2007 08:09:00

#1
Why do we have to be subjected to totalitarian control freaks
You must be refering to your master Alex S you lap dog.

3

Rollo Tommasi,

26/11/2007 08:23:29

Peculiar article. No source given for this survey. And the stat in the 2nd para (average spend per meal) has little bearing on whether or not there's been a boom in food sales (which surely depends more on the number of punters ordering food than spend per sale).

4

Guga II,

Rockall 26/11/2007 08:28:11

#2 I'm referring to any politician, regardless of their party, that tries to impose their control freak values on me.

I do not have political masters, nor am I a member of any political party. That way, unlike lap-dogs such as yourself, I am free to criticise any and all of them.

5

ex katman 2,

ex sudan 26/11/2007 08:45:58

#4
Your so blinkered to the snp, you might as well be a party member if your beloved alex sh-t on you, you would find it hard to criticise him and you think you are a free thinking man? don't make me laugh.

6

RufusT,

26/11/2007 09:49:06

Rollo (#3)

That's because it would no doubt require some journalistic time to figure out who's survey it was.

Concur with your remarks on the statistic in the second paragraph, but chances are it was the most eye-catching for the journo.

7

Guga II,

Rockall 26/11/2007 10:09:35

#5 Better that than being a unionist running dog like yourself.

8

Debtman,

Derry 26/11/2007 10:10:46

I work in insolvency and have seen a huge increase in licensed premises in trouble. Landlords are not admitting that the ban is crippling because they are trying to sell their businesses for the best price. Apart from some individuals I personally have little sympathy because as an industry they did not stand up for the rights of their smoking clients but believed the myth that their pubs would be full of asthmatic anti smokers eating caviar and drinking champagne. Instead these health fascists have set their sights on other groups and the pubs are dying on their feet.
I no longer go for a couple after work because no one is there any more and I am not standing in the cold and rain for a puff. If us smokers continue reducing or stopping our trips to the pub then more and more will close and the ban may be amended. Money is all the government cares about and if their income continues to drop and unemployment rises a compromise may have to be reached.

9

Cadgers,

Perth 26/11/2007 10:33:00

If they sold decent food at decent prices who knows? Instead in most of them you get powdered soup, frozen veg etc.

10

ex katman 2,

ex sudan 26/11/2007 10:40:57

#7
Spoken like a true free thinking snp nerd.

11

Maurice,

Fife 26/11/2007 10:47:47

Who is this ex katman 2 creature??

12

Boggle fey the Bog,

26/11/2007 11:09:44

#9 Aye Purth husnae been the same since Bell's moved oot,
All I can say is that most of the bars that I go to for 'Pub Grub' serve good, wholesome, inexpensive food, at the end of the day, it is, after all, only 'Pub Grub', not Egon Ronay, or Michelin.
Suggest if you want that try The Room at No1 Devonshire Gardens, in Glasgow, or 63 Tay Street in Purth, where you can get a 3 course lunch for under £18

As for the 'article' it is a bit of a 'column filler' but it does reflect that the 'Health Bonus' from the smoking ban, has been grossly exaggerated, as far as Pubs and Clubs are concerned.
There has been no or very little increase in 'Non-smokers' availing themselves of the 'oppurchancity' of having a 'smoke free' tipple, more likely that public houses are losing custom.
My friends and I tend now to meet up in the pub, get a 'Kerry Oot' from the local 'Broon Bottle Shoap' and repair to one or other of our homes, where we can drink, smoke and make merry, without having to face the rigours of the Scottish weather.
In fact the 'Weekend Party' is making a come back!!!

All in All, the Anti-Smoking Legislation, is just another one of Joke McConnell's less well thought out pieces of legislation.
And before any Unionist lackeys cry foul!!, although it was originally introduced as a PMB by a SNP MSP, McConnell categorically stated before the 2003 election that he had no intention whatsoever of introducing a blanket or any kind of smoking ban in public places.
However we all know the man is pathological teller of terminological inexactitudes, don't we.

13

I'm no really here,

26/11/2007 11:37:22

DOOM AND GLOOM. As a result of the smoking ban people go about the streets searching high and low for a pub that hasn't been closed down.

14

Sinnerman,

Another Planet 26/11/2007 11:44:38

Just because the chef does not have a fag dangling out of his mouth does not improve his standard of cooking.

15

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 12:05:09

#12, chas winfield, suffolk.
Chas should perhaps notice that "Britons" have progressed a bit in recent years and adopted some continental practices. Perhaps he too could move on a bit, like 50 years, and realise that greasy spoon caffs and dull little tea rooms are not to every one's taste.

16

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 12:07:02

#14, I'm no really here.
Really? Just where does this "really" happen?

17

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 12:15:26

#3, Rollo Tommasi.
Quite so, as no detail is given of the range of pubs involved. Presumably, JDW houses were not included?

18

G,

dundy 26/11/2007 12:41:58

Yes this survey says this....
But I'm certainly more likely to eat out now that the toxic fumers have been sent outside.

Perhaps we could legislate that the smokers also have to wear dunces hats as well - this would identify them more easily and cover their bald patches...

19

Colin Gee,

Banff 26/11/2007 12:46:54

I see David prefers selective reporting, as usual.

Perhaps you missed this:

http://tinyurl.com/3cmjcy

Just in case you dont bother to follow the link: JDW are losing millions due to the ban.

With pubs now closing at a rate of 50 per week (yes, yes, we KNOW that pubs have always closed down) up from 56 per month, pre-ban (source CAMRA).

Its time the nannies admitted that smoker bans are an unmitigated disaster.

20

Debtman,

Derry 26/11/2007 12:52:16

All you non smokers may be smug now but your turn is coming. Only recently research suggested that processed food is a bigger cause of cancer than cigarettes.

Pretty soon you will find yourselves outside with smokers as the health fascists will not want to catch second hand cancer from your bacon buttie!

21

fred bloggs,

26/11/2007 16:40:46

The pubs that have closed were lino-floored male-only boozers patronised by rheumy-eyed old blokes following the racing on TV and drinking Export.

22

Rollo Tommasi,

26/11/2007 18:28:49

Colin (22): Let me get this straight. According to the article in your link, JDW's overall sales are down just 1% since the ban came into force in England. In that time there's been growth as well as declines. The JDW boss puts it down to a transitional period, which he predicts might last 12 months. Nowhere does he complain about the new laws. How exactly is this an "unmitigated disaster"?

By the way, would like to know the source for your figure of 50 pubs closing per week. And is that figure gross or does it take account of new pubs springing up?

23

Rollo Tommasi,

26/11/2007 19:01:58

Here's the source of the Scotsman article - although you'd never know it judging by the way the Scotsman's scribe and editor have produced it: http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=7&st....

What does it say? First, food sales haven't made that much difference: 33% of surveyed pubs report increased food sales, compared with 54% reporting no change.

However, here's the really interesting stat. The story reports that 21% of pubs reported a fall in overall (drink & food) sales since the law change in England. In other words, almost 80% of pubs are either better off or no worse off following the ban.

More evidence the ban is hardly the "unmitigated disaster" that Colin claims.

24

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 19:17:17

#20, chas winfield, suffolk.
A lot less than 50 years ago. So what's chas. waiting for? Perhaps he should go continental, with or without dogs, before smoking restrictions spread Europe wide. Should give him him a few years' grace.

25

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 20:02:52

#22, Colin Gee(rainger), Banff.
Good of Colin to spare a minute from feverishly trying to patch F2C's I.T. system, and try to cloud the issue with a spurious link.
I am not quite clear how he feels I have been selective, in that at #19, I simply questioned the vagueness of the Scotsman report, and am indebted to Rollo Tommasi at #27, for casting some light and beefing up the original report.
If Colin wishes to talk about selectivity, perhaps I should quote from his link as follows:-
"it follows similar-patterns to what we saw in Scotland (which introduced a ban 15 months earlier), it takes about a year for custom to come back." and "bar sales, which we now believe are stabilising, we have seen double-digit growth in food sales, which make up around a third of our business."
As at Rollo's #26, can Colin produce some hard facts about all these alleged pub closures, gross or net, as he seemed unable to do so in the past for the fairly restricted catchment area of Banff?
Colin may feel smoking restrictions to be an unmitigated disaster, in that he can no longer sit and puff away in the Banff Arms, but not every one shares his coloured view.

26

Euan,

Edinburgh 26/11/2007 20:03:27

The average customer spend 'was a PENNY less than last year'.

A very, very small price to pay for eating and drining in a much healthier and far more enjoyable smoke-free environment.

As for the posts by Guga - shut the heck up, you idiot.

27

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 20:13:33

#29, chas winfield, suffolk.
Chas is somewhat guity of jumping to conclusions, in that I've never been an "anti", just a pro-restrictionist, and feeling that I don't visit pubs.
"Go on, be a devil and get out a bit" and patronise some of these "half empty" pubs, if he can't go continental,but just leave the tobacco outside.
Beats staying in and whingeing.

28

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 21:09:30

#33, chas winfield, suffolk.
Chas may take comfort from the fact that I cross the road nearly every day, usually successfully.

29

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 26/11/2007 22:01:46

#35, DaveAA, Prison, courtesy of Ash.
Can DAA clarify from his cosy cell?

30

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 27/11/2007 11:23:33

#37, chas winfield, suffolk.
Chas is quite right, but conveniently overlooks the fact that Britain is full of many other Britons, who appreciate the same freedom regarding pubs, shops, supermarkets, public transport etc.
Smokers and non-smokers have every freedom to drink in the pubs of their choice, assuming that they've not been barred, of course.
Chas' apartheid scenario is past history, and he should perhaps move on. If he can.

31

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 27/11/2007 12:21:38

#39, chas winfield, suffolk.
For chas, like all of us, there is a very simple choice. You drink in a pub, traipse round Tesco with a shopping trolley, sit in a bus, or you smoke. The latter doesn't go with the other activities.
If he doesn't care for that choice, he's always free to go continental, until the rest of Europe catches up in a very few years.

32

Fj,

London 27/11/2007 16:29:32

That seems to be your answer to it all, doesn't it? If you don't like what I want then hoik it! you don't seem able to accept that there is a great deal of discontent over this issue and, particularly, the way it was done.( probably the only way it could be done) Where was the demand before talk of a ban? there wasn't, so don't be surprised when trade suffers and don't pretend it doesn't and hasn't.

33

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 27/11/2007 19:39:34

#41, Fj, London.
As Fj doesn't make clear to whom his contribution is directed, I feel free to point out that in "the good old days" before smoking restrictions were enacted, the smokers' attitude was very much a case of "If you don't like what I want then hoik it!", therefore I have scant sympathy for smokers' protestations about feeling unjustly maligned.
Can he be more explicit about all this claimed discontent, other than the enactment of a few marches by a handful of protesters, and give us details of all these illusory closures of scores of bingo halls and hundreds, or is it thousands, of pubs in his, or any other area?

34

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 27/11/2007 21:58:20

#43, cw.
Jolly good show, old boy! Keep it up.

35

David from New Mills,

Pleasantville, U.K. 27/11/2007 23:11:17

#43, c.w.
Now that chas' chairman/spokesman has reportedly decided against continuation of F2C's much vaunted Judicial Review, perhaps it's members will be getting refunds, thus enabling them to have lots of continental jollies buying their "bargain" booze and tobacco products?


 

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