Smoking ban in the UK

[Scollzie]

With the pubs & clubs especially, I wonder how this has affected business, now that there is a smoking ban in place, as of 1st July, in the UK.

Anybody from the UK here care to comment on it?

[Ryebeach]

I'm not from the UK but New Hampshire, the state I live in, recently approved a smoking ban also (to go into effect the end of September). I really don't know how I feel about smoking bans. Personally, I think it should be up to the individual restaurant and bar owners whether or not to allow smoking in their establishments, rather than the government. But, on the other hand, second hand smoke does cause considerable harm. I know there's plenty of debate about second hand smoke and the effect it has on other people, with some insisting it causes no harm and others insisting it does.

I don't know about all that, all I know is that I've known a large number of people who have never smoked a day in their life, yet their spouse did, who have gotten and subsequently died as a result of lung cancer.

Whether it will end up hurting the economy or not, I don't know... I think it may, at least in the beginning, affect business at bars that have a large smoking clientele. Some may go in after work for a couple of drinks and to smoke. With the ban, they may skip going out for drinks and just go home where they can smoke and they'll have their drinks there. But with restaurants, I think they'll be fine.

[julianfan4eva]

Im from the UK, it's not really affected as a lot of pubs and clubs where i live have aranged alternative places for you to smoke, as your able to go outside in their beer gardens and smoke!

xxx sarah xxx

[Scollzie]

What about in winter though? Bit chilly out, isn't it? :o

I don't see what's wrong with having smoking & non-smoking sections. I honestly don't. What can possibly be the problem with that? :rolleyes:

[julianfan4eva]

Yes it will be chilly come winter, so not looking forward to that!:(

I didn't see the problem with different sections, but i suppose its not up to us!

xxx sarah xxx

[Scollzie]

Yup, I guess it's not up to us. We're only the people. They're the government! What say should we have in things? :p :D

But they'll sure enjoy all the tax they make off it, eh? :rolleyes: If one is so against a product I would have thought one would boycott the product and completely distance ones self from it, don't you think? But the government will enjoy every penny they can grab in tax off all the cigarettes imported, manufactured and sold. ;)

[bingbangbaby]

I'm not from the UK either, but I wanted to comment on this...
Im from the UK, it's not really affected as a lot of pubs and clubs where i live have aranged alternative places for you to smoke, as your able to go outside in their beer gardens and smoke!
See, that's just the thing about bans...people will always find a way around them. I'd bet by the time winter rolls around people will have thought of something. I agree with Ryebeach though, it seems like establishment owners ought to be able to decide what they will allow in their own businesses.
But, on the flip side, smoking and non-smoking sections don't work as well as one would think, either...as an asthmatic affected by smoke, I can tell you sometimes sitting in a non-smoking section doesn't make much of a difference. If smokers are enclosed in the same building, it just can't be contained. But I know that, and I go or don't go into those buildings or restaurants at my own risk. So, I guess what it boils down to is that I, as a person who is affected by the smoke, am in a position now where I can't/don't go into a lot of places I might want to go into because of it. With a ban, the tables would be turned...it would allow me and others like me to go places I didn't go before and the smokers would be the ones who would have to pick and choose where they were going to go. And that is only if they wanted to smoke...smokers could still go there if they wanted to. And since you can't smoke anywhere, smokers would still go places because the option would be to go nowhere, ever. So I could see where it could actually be good for business too...the establishment would now be available to twice as many patrons, just that smokers may not stay as long.

[Scollzie]

Well this is the thing that I think of non-smoking sections. As you say, they don't work very well right now. Surely non-smoking areas could be made smoke-free zones, with smoking areas being adequately sealed & ventilated? Or do we not yet have the technology to do so? I suppose it's far easier just to ban the smoker from smoking. What I'm waiting for, though, is the next step: ban drinking in pubs. :rolleyes:

Also, as obesity has overtaken smoking-related illnesses as Britain's number one killer, why don't they ban eating in public places? :D