Originally Posted by hitchw (Post 7753841)

I think you are completely wrong on this... It is a fact that that more pubs have closed since the smoking ban on a weekly basis than before. Although in another post you mention a boom in the food sales, this is not where the most profit is made... Before you say it, yes I did work in the trade too, for many years, and although when you say about the profit made on a barrel of carling for example where you dont take into account the overheads etc, the mark up on food is nowhere near as much. so although you may be selling a few more nuggets and chips, the bar sales are down! I myself am a smoker, and I may be one of the few that DO agree with the no smoking law to some extent, there is nothing worse than sitting down for a meal and some prat at the next table sparking up and blowing the smoke your way... but by the same token non smoking friends of mine who were all up for it when it first came into effect have since said on many occasions that they would prefer the smell of smoke to the smell that you get in a high percentage of pubs nowadays which seems to be a disgusting mix of sweat, stale beer, sewage too much air freshener to cover up the aforementioned...

anyway, gone off topic... with regards to the drink driving limit, if going out for a night, there are always alternative forms of transport, fair enough, in spain the buses are slow and always late, trains are the same and taxis expensive, but if you split a cab 4 ways thats that problem solved, and really, if it is too hard to go out with your pals and not drink then you have a drink problem...!

Originally Posted by rugbymatt (Post 7753898)

I honesty think this is one of the worse arguments I have ever heard and I hear it all the time.
Someone once told me that because of the smoking ban he now refused to go into a pub because he could smell urine on the blokes at the bar! Wow, after 20 years of smoking I was surprised he could smell at all!


Let me ask you something.

Given that you can, at the moment, buy 8 pints of magners cider from ASDA for £8 and the average pint of Magners is about £3.50 a pint, do you not think that the supermarkets have more to blame for the death of the pub than a ban on smoking?
It amazes me that people don't see it, why buy two pints and get little change from a tenner yet you can sit at home and for a tenner you can have 8 pints and a bag of pork bits and, if you want to you can even kill yourself with tobacco!

Originally Posted by rugbymatt (Post 7753898)

I honesty think this is one of the worse arguments I have ever heard and I hear it all the time.
Someone once told me that because of the smoking ban he now refused to go into a pub because he could smell urine on the blokes at the bar! Wow, after 20 years of smoking I was surprised he could smell at all!


Let me ask you something.

Given that you can, at the moment, buy 8 pints of magners cider from ASDA for £8 and the average pint of Magners is about £3.50 a pint, do you not think that the supermarkets have more to blame for the death of the pub than a ban on smoking?
It amazes me that people don't see it, why buy two pints and get little change from a tenner yet you can sit at home and for a tenner you can have 8 pints and a bag of pork bits and, if you want to you can even kill yourself with tobacco!

Originally Posted by hitchw (Post 7753927)

bearing in mind that we have always been able to buy booze cheaper from the supermarkets, are you that naive that you think it is a huge coincidence that when the smoking ban came in this is what smokers have started to do more and more of?!?!? and seeing as you obviously are so anti-smoking, one thing that really pees me off in pubs now is if it is a sunny day (few and far between granted) you will always get some non smoker sitting outside where we are banished to come rain or shine and then start whinging about the smoke etc... you want no smoking inside pubs, then stay inside!

Originally Posted by Fredthered (Post 7751806)

Wow ! :blink:
Just read in today's Daily Mirror, about Costa Blanca's draconian 0.5 milligram/millilitre limit, and of Alicante's 2470 positive tests and 400 prison sentences !

Anybody need the services of a good chauffeur ? :thumbup:

On reflection, it would appear that the Spanish Authorities, have finally realised the British (decades long), :wub: affair with their country is finally over, and in the current economical climate, with unsold, and uncompleted developments, and British Ex-Pats leaving in droves, the 'Gravy Train,' has well and truly hit the buffers.
They have, over the years, extracted the maximum amount of 'Wonga', from both ourselves (and the Germans, in the Balaerics), often for unfulfilled off-plan dream homes, which remain just that ! with the prospect of more looking extremely unlikely.
WHY NOT, therefore, squeeze the remainder 'till the pips squeak', and any unsuspecting tourist with a hire car ? :sneaky:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating everyone get 'bladdered', then take control of what is potentially a lethal weapon, but :ohmy: Ye Gods ! You can't even drive to a nice restaurant, out in the country, anymore and have even ONE beer ! :(
(Something to which to us Brits was synonymous with Spain).

Take a long hard look Lads and Lassies, it's Last Orders !

:beer::drinkwine:

Cheers (oops Sorry, now banned !)
Fredthered

Originally Posted by rugbymatt (Post 7753940)

Loss leaders are a relatively new "invention"

The only statistics that show that the smoking ban has killed the license trade are the ones that have come from the Anti-ban lobby. As such they can't be trusted.

Originally Posted by hitchw (Post 7753992)

Im not anti ban, and although you may not believe statistics (13.6589% of statistics are rubbish anyway!) the results speak for themselves... loss leaders... no idea what youre on about, if you mean the price of supermarket booze going down then then although that is a definite factor, that mixed with smokers not being able to enjoy their cig (however unhealthy we may be) has led to this... and if you look nowadays, since the beginning of this economic downturn, alot of prices in supermarkets have gone up for beer... asda for example... November time last year... £3 for a four pack of pint cans of fosters... yesterday... £3.68 for 4x440 cans... that is just one example... wine is more expensive, spirits too...

Originally Posted by hitchw (Post 7753992)

Im not anti ban, and although you may not believe statistics (13.6589% of statistics are rubbish anyway!) the results speak for themselves... loss leaders... no idea what youre on about, if you mean the price of supermarket booze going down then then although that is a definite factor, that mixed with smokers not being able to enjoy their cig (however unhealthy we may be) has led to this... and if you look nowadays, since the beginning of this economic downturn, alot of prices in supermarkets have gone up for beer... asda for example... November time last year... £3 for a four pack of pint cans of fosters... yesterday... £3.68 for 4x440 cans... that is just one example... wine is more expensive, spirits too...

Originally Posted by andyrich666 (Post 7754016)

If supermarkets are selling beer at a loss then why does the local landlord not go there to buy his booze to sell on ? Because its fantasy I guess !

Originally Posted by rugbymatt (Post 7752058)

I
Its sold here, and in most places now, for £3.70 a pint.....

Originally Posted by missile (Post 7754054)

I wouldn't drink that pizz water, certainly not at your prices :eek:

Originally Posted by rugbymatt (Post 7754068)

Guiness £3.80, Scrumpy £3.70 Grolch £3.70, real ale £2.80...


Large glass of house wine... £4.95 (we buy the bottle for £4.10), take your pick, prices are rising in pubs on a weekly basis, and the supermarkets are taking full advantage and all the while we are happy to blame smoking, the supermarkets are laughing all the way to the bank!

Originally Posted by rugbymatt (Post 7754068)

Guiness £3.80, Scrumpy £3.70 Grolch £3.70, real ale £2.80...


Large glass of house wine... £4.95 (we buy the bottle for £4.10), take your pick, prices are rising in pubs on a weekly basis, and the supermarkets are taking full advantage and all the while we are happy to blame smoking, the supermarkets are laughing all the way to the bank!