Smoking ban July 1st 2007

It was dead last night in the pubs, a warm night too. The working class are not happy. There could be huge job losses here.

It's been business as usual in our pubs in Belfast since the ban came in a few months ago. I really can't see that much of a change apart from the fact that my clothes don't smell of smoke of a morning. Most of our pubs that had the space had already had an outside area for drinking in the summer, but these are now converted to smoking areas which is a pity if you're a non-smoker and want a pint outside in the sun.

Our booze prices haven't gone up either.

You can smell the urinals now, and that dry sweat. You can also hear the chatter accoustics more, the shrieks of silly girls and grunts of the 'lads' not dulled by the fog.
I suspect the Irish pub industry wont want you to know they are stuffed.

Ziggy! wrote:

It was dead last night in the pubs, a warm night too. The working class are not happy. There could be huge job losses here.

most people support the ban...

I support the ban, but not a blanket ban. I dont want to find that lost tax, presumably gathered through increased boozing.

Ziggy! wrote:

You can smell the urinals now, and that dry sweat. You can also hear the chatter accoustics more, the shrieks of silly girls and grunts of the 'lads' not dulled by the fog.
I suspect the Irish pub industry wont want you to know they are stuffed.

Obviously we don't drink in the same types of pubs, but I really doubt that the smoke played much havoc with the acoustics in my locals. It doesn't seem to have had any effect in the pubs I frequent.

I do agree that the absence of smoke has made other scents more noticable.

As I've said before, Phil, attendance in pubs in Belfast seems to have trundled on without any ill effect. In fact, a pub I was drinking in at the end of June did more business in one night than it had ever done before (through breaches of the H&C laws, sadly) by having a capacity pub indoors and half that amount against outside in the smoking area...

Glasgow trade hasn't gone down and its been nearly a year and a half.

People just get on with it. It has been proved the world over. England will be no different.

What was it like in the first few weeks.

It was fine. No drop in business. The pubs and clubs I went to (and I go to quite a wide range of them in Glasgow) were as busy as ever and haven't stopped since.

Seriously, I cannot understand the fuss down south. Even when I was a smoker I prefered the ban as I smoked less and saved a fortune. AND I smelt less.

Before I gave up smoking I went to Manchester for the weekend and was out clubbing and I couldn't deal with it. Seriously, it is horrible! I smoked more than I would have up here, and could hardly speak the next day.

Even if people don't give up, it will help cut down on 'binge smoking'.

Yes. I used to be a social smoker - a couple of ciggies if I was drinking. Erm... still am to an extent. I don't do it as often now and on the nights I do, I'd smoke a couple rather than ten.

I also agree with Drew re: business. I don't think there was a slump in business when ours kicked in. We did have a spell of smashing weather that might have helped matters though.

Ciao's Favourite Member wrote:

Most of our pubs that had the space had already had an outside area for drinking in the summer, but these are now converted to smoking areas which is a pity if you're a non-smoker and want a pint outside in the sun.

Give them a break

Theyve been kicked outside now you want the outside area to yourself too haha

WormThatTurned wrote:

Ciao's Favourite Member wrote:

Most of our pubs that had the space had already had an outside area for drinking in the summer, but these are now converted to smoking areas which is a pity if you're a non-smoker and want a pint outside in the sun.

Give them a break

Theyve been kicked outside now you want the outside area to yourself too haha

Well is there not something that says you can't smoke withing however-many feet of a public building. When i go into pubs (rarely) i don't particuarly want to breath in about 15 smokers fumes because they have been chucked out of the pub. They should away from the door

As I understand it...the regulations apply to the building itself...not the space immediately outside the building.

However a lot of companies - us included - do not want people congregating at doorways - but that is more about management of customers and staff (staff are a little easier as company policy rules (as long as it is fair and of course legal, which ours is)

Not easy to manage if a pub is straight out onto the street though..

drewboy wrote:

Seriously, I cannot understand the fuss down south. Even when I was a smoker I prefered the ban as I smoked less and saved a fortune. AND I smelt less.

I dont think there is a huge fuss in England overall..most people are definitely in favour of the ban - and we certainly are not noticing any difference in trade at my place of work (which has several drinking outlets) My local is doing ok too, he got an act on for the Sunday afternoon in the beer garden and I have to go as I live ten steps away..). He has put up a smoking umbrella outside..and created a whole new area though, which is as much as he can do really.

I think people agree with the ban but smokers juts wont go out so much, which means job loses and tax rises for you and me, the non-smokers..

Perhaps the (small) hole vacated by those smokers who don't go out will be filled by non-smokers that avoided smoky pubs in the first place?

As I've already said... there's no discernable drop in business here in Belfast after a few months. In Dublin, where I go out fairly frequently, there don't seem to be any problems with a drop in business and the smoking ban has been in force there for years.

Are you sure you're not just making up wild theories so you can complain about job cuts?

Ciao's Favourite Member wrote:

Perhaps the (small) hole vacated by those smokers who don't go out will be filled by non-smokers that avoided smoky pubs in the first place?

As I've already said... there's no discernable drop in business here in Belfast after a few months. In Dublin, where I go out fairly frequently, there don't seem to be any problems with a drop in business and the smoking ban has been in force there for years.

Maybe not overall but certainly where I live the smaller pubs with no outside area has been much less busy whereas the ones with a garden have seen an increase in trade through smokers, as the winter sets in we should see where we really stand.

I agree with Mauri. This is a culture shock, especially for the working class, again feeling 'nannied. If your addicted to smoking, which many working class people are, its tough to give up one of your 'few pleasures', as John Reid patronisingly put it. I agree with moves to get rid of smoking but I feel this is rushed.

Oh my god. Smoking is simply not a working class thing. I know PLENTY of people who would be defined outwith that class who smoke. You just don't see them do it as much.

A lot of my mates smoke and since I have them through going to Uni and now working in a blue chip organisation, they simply are by definition, not working class.

I've only just quit smoking and have never been 'working class'.

Please, get over the class thing.

I dont know about rushed either...this legislation has been talked about for eons..

Smoking at uni is about trying to act cool and working class dude.

Are we on the "Class" Merrygoround again?

Ziggy! wrote:

Smoking at uni is about trying to act cool and working class dude.

Smoking at uni makes you about as working class as you saying 'dude' makes you American.

And regardless of starting to look 'cool', please have started and a great many keep going - regardless of their class.

Well most middle class students 'learn' to smoke and 'learn' to adore indy music at uni. Its not a lifestyle choice. 70% off all smokers are from the lower socila groups, which is relevent as that is the majority of town centre pub goers.

Ziggy! wrote:

Well most middle class students 'learn' to smoke and 'learn' to adore indy music at uni. Its not a lifestyle choice. 70% off all smokers are from the lower socila groups, which is relevent as that is the majority of town centre pub goers.

I despair!

Ah, the anti-smoking debate - my favourite!

I love the ban. I love the fact that smokers are marginalised and left out in the cold, much like many non-smokers have been for years. I'm not sure about the whole class thing, but smoking is extremely downmarket and I'm sure will only continue to become more and more so. Smokers already look rather desperate, clinging to their right to do it and hovering in every vacant doorway like vagrants. It's great.

I don't imagine that the pub / bar industry will suffer though.

People enjoy the social aspect of going / being out - they don't need to smoke to do that. If pubs and bars now need to review how competitive / attractive they are (e.g. food, live music, atmosphere, price) to keep the punters coming in then that has to be a good thing for everyone. My expenditure on drinking out has risen massively in July - I'm sure it's the same for many others.

Besides, the working classes will still go to the pub a lot because they need to buy all those stolen goods that their fellow drinkers shoplifted earlier that day.

Can I say that? Oopsy, I just did.