Non smokers where are you?

[ACE]

I have given up smoking cigarettes for a while because of a health scare, on occasions I will have a cigar with after a nice meal. I don't do the pub regulary anymore as it is far too expensive.


Perhaps this government will have a change of rules, after all they did want us to send them details of the laws we thought were unfair so they could get rid of them.

Anyone can see it has caused pubs to close, I doubt it put many off smoking. It should have been left  up to the landlords whether to ban smoking on their premises, not a blanket ban.

I would still not go out to the pubs though, not until they lower their prices.

[ACE]

[Poppy Mole]

Please don't blame the pubs for the high prices of beer, given what they have to pay for supplies &  rent, rates etc.  most prices are fair, instead blame the supermarkets for their ridiculously low prices. As a publican I was able to buy stock from my local Sainsburys/Tesco cheaper than I could from a dedicated wholesaler or cash & carry.
I do however agree with you on the smoking ban, whilst not liking a smoky pub it was MY choice to run a pub, the whole ambience has now been lost by people diving outside for a cigarette.

[betula]

Yep the pub is not the same anymore.........most of the customers are outside and in the winter just don't bother.

The people that said they would use pubs are nowhere to be seen.

I think it is good if you can stop smoking but I do not see many giving up their cars and refusing to go on planes as they polute the atmosphere.They are happy to contribute to foul air if it suits them.

[ACE]

instead blame the supermarkets for their ridiculously low prices.

It used to be  called competition. The price setters are playing tactical games nowadays. I know the breweries are not worried as they are on a winner each way. People buy their products from supermarkets others from the pub. I expect it is a better deal for the brewery to sell it via Tesco, the overheads are not there and it is made to order. I expect that is why there was no great protest from the breweries when the smoking ban came in.

How many years would it take to make the same money as they would get from the development of the pub site into a block of flats. It is a sad fact but the pub will soon be a thing of the past.Or they will all be carveries.  Don't go shouting 'well what about wetherspoons' I would not drink in their places until they get rid of the current crop of losers that frequent them. They are turning into dives.

[non-stick]

My local is busier since the smoking ban kicked in, prior to the ban the number of smokers was in the minority and stunk the place out

Just wish they'd shut the bleeding door in winter when they go out for a puff

I quit nearly 6 years ago - smug git!

[asj]

I was on 60 a day for over 40 years, till I gave up 4 years ago because I just couldn't afford it any longer! :'(  However on 2 occasions since then on holiday in, respectively, Egypt and The Gambia, I delightedly  got through 40 a day. ;D  Can't wait to go on holiday again ;)
As to where all the non smokers are, the pubs are miserable places without the genial smokers!

[queenbee]

Well here I am Monday night smoking like a chimney, Tomorrow I will slap on my patch and off to the caravan. I feel like I am going to my execution, I have eaten a Mediterranean diet for the past week. OH thinks this is wonderful (He being a health fanatic) He thinks that I am improving my diet due to my cholesterol problem I have not got the heart to tell him that I am getting quite stressed and eating large quantities or courgettes and tomatoes due to the glut in my patch. Bit Annoyed at him at the moment, he has told all the family and friends that I am giving up smoking even our neighbours have stopped me to wish me luck. Oh my god I hope I live up to all their expectations. 

[mike77]

6 months "clean" now for me!! Was smoking 40 a day more like 60 at the weekends could now do with a week or two at fatfighters though

[mike77]

Ah just read the first page of the thread! I use my local at least 5 times a week and even as I was trying to give up I used to go outside with the smokers as I don't believe distancing yourself from something is the best way to stop.
Even when I was smoking I preffered being in a non smoking atmosphere much the same way as I never smoked indoors at home.
Do I think it's killing pubs? I'm not sure about that one I think it's more as ace says it costs too much  and is a luxury a lot of people are cutting out but they are the first to moan when the pubs end up shutting down

[grannyjanny]

Good luck Queenbee. You can do this but you must want to as well as need to. Some find it easier than others like everything else in life ;) ;D.

[GodfreyRob]

I think the closing of so many pubs has been a severe blow to our already disintegrating communities. Villages without pubs are empty uninviting places - where can you go to meet and get to know at least some of your fellow neighbours?

The majority of people who regularly sat in pubs drinking were the ones who also smoked. They have been driven away and there is no-one to replace them in the majority of pubs. Most pubs were much more than watering holes - more a place to meet and have a chat and organise lots of shared activities too.

I would have continued to go to pubs even though I have given up smoking but (at least where we live) they are mostly empty and sad places or just restaurants in disguise where ther is no room to sit and chat for an evening (eat up and go!).

Tragic :(

[Digeroo]

I suppose that as non smokers we do not feel welcome in a pub.  I find them hostile places.  Yes I would love to go somewhere to meet people and have a chat.  But I am sure that if I went into a pub ordered a coffee or a coke I could buy it, drink it and leave and no one expect the barman would have spoken to me.

I occassionaly have been in a pub while waiting for a group meal and I find them anincredibly unfriendly environment.