1.  
   mick from oldham says:

   Nov 29, 06:33

   smoke weed in pubs insted then make every 1 get HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2.  
   mick from oldham says:

   Nov 29, 06:32

   smoke weed in pubs insted then make every 1 get HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3.  
   Oliver Puff from Wet Outside says:

   Nov 29, 01:06

   Decidedly not. Pubs are dying in droves; those that are doing well rarely have enough staff to deal with customers - and it's almost impossible to get 'a quick pint' since the staff are busy making coffee, taking food orders, and swiping credit cards to pay for meals, and as a result don't get round to serving the average drinker. Three locals have closed here, all because of a drastic fall in trade since the ban was introduced. Pubs, as we knew them, are soon going to be a thing of the past. They'll all be restaurants which HAPPEN to serve beer, or they'll CLOSE. All traditional values have gone out of the window; I went to a popular social club LAST September for a birthday bash - cheap drinks, open free buffet, disco - about 60 people turned up, and at NO stage were there more than a dozen people actually IN the club. The smokers were outside, and their non-smoking friends had to be outside to hold any sort of conversation. These clubs are also in danger of folding, because the Health & Safety Act prevents anyone doing anything on premises for which ANYonE might be responsible for being sued. It's NOT a health issue at all, much as the non-smokers might think; it's not THEM who have won here, it's the killjoy element of power who have come up trumps. The nation is now socially split as never before - social interaction is grinding to a halt, I fear. It's become an 'us & them' society. Remember the phrase "Divide and Conquer"? Think about it. We all know smoking's not good for us. Neither are car fumes, alcohol, aeroplanes, dog mess, street crime... I could go on. Livelihoods are on the line, and what with the rexession... hmmmm. I recently travelled to Sheffield by train from the South coast, and to smoke a cigarette, I had to stand in the pouring rain while two tramps (complete with black bags & the obligatory dog-on-a-string sorted through the rubbish bins. Are we such social pariahs? Non-smokers can gloat all they want, although I suspect that they won't stop complaining until tobacco and smokers are consigned to a distant planet, but all this is at the expense of BASIC FREEDOM OF CHOICE. Pubs etc should get the choice on whether they want to adhere to a policy which may very well cause their demise. And, as several have pointed out, if the government actually succeeded in killing off tobacco sales, where would this lost tax revenue then be found? It's a question of logic - smokers pay for any treatment they may require, in tobacco tax. It's a whittling away of freedom. I wonder what it'll be that the government will do to alienate non-smoking vegetarian cyclists? I just hope that, whatever it is, and whenever it comes, THEY will feel the same awful sense of being ostracised by society. Just a little consideration goes a lot further than making law-breakers out of people. Wxcuse me, I've gotta roll a fag now...
4.  
   Lally from ashford says:

   Nov 29, 00:17

   As a non smoker I enjoy the non smoky atmosphere of public places now. But I do agree, its been really bad for business at pubs etc. Smokers shouldnt be forced to go outside, thats cruel and victimisation. Why on earth they couldnt just have said that pubs/clubs etc that wish to allow customers to smoke must have a separate area which is completely separate from a non smoking area and properly ventilated beats me. But typical Labour, they want to destroy our rights to do anything.
5.  
   david from norfolk says:

   Nov 28, 23:39

   mike from barnsley Democracy is the rule of the people through their elected representatives..and thats how the smoking ban was implemented... stop voting labour!

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