'Ban won't stop people smoking'

Free_America wrote:

<quoted text>A classic example that bans do not work and are doomed to fail.
Landlords are fighting to keep their head above water faced with a choice between bending the rules or going out of business.
Before long the traditional community pub could be a thing of the past.
One landlord, who allows his customers to smoke after hours, says:“I would say at least half of pubs like this are doing what we do.
http://www.lep.co.uk/features/Landlords-ignor...

albion wrote:

<quoted text>If you reversed the ban, most of those pubs wouldnt re-open, peoples social habits have altered over the past few years. There were simply far too many pubs, where i live (in an out of city residential suburb) there are still about twenty licensed bars within ten minutes walk, so many that some close for certain days or in one case the whole season and this has gone on for twenty years (long before any ban).

Free_America wrote:

<quoted text>The fact is according to the article half the pubs in the UK are violating the ban just to stay afloat. That should tell you something. You can make all the excuses you want but the fact remains that the bans may help the big chains but it is killing the small business owner.

Judged:

1

albion wrote:

<quoted text>If you reversed the ban, most of those pubs wouldnt re-open, peoples social habits have altered over the past few years. There were simply far too many pubs, where i live (in an out of city residential suburb) there are still about twenty licensed bars within ten minutes walk, so many that some close for certain days or in one case the whole season and this has gone on for twenty years (long before any ban).

Judged:

1

just candid wrote:

<quoted text> As you live in the UK and see what is going on firsthand, I would take you word for it over someone living in the US who likely has never even seen a Britsh pub.