[thenightwriterblog] The Night Writer: They're not kilts, they're aprons

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Posted by The Night Writer:
They're not kilts, they're aprons
http://thenightwriterblog.powerblogs.com/posts/1174590202.shtml


   Scotland is now one year into it's nation-wide smoking ban, something
   that I could see Robert the Bruce agreeing to but never William
   Wallace.
   Personally, I'm a lifelong non-smoker. In my youth I considered the
   economies and relative "coolness" of smoking vs. driving and decided
   to use that money to put gas in my car. Furthermore, the last few
   years I haven't gone to many bars, but when I did I preferred to go to
   ones that had no-smoking sections. Nevertheless, I enjoyed going to
   Keegan's (pre-Minneapolis ban) for Trivia Night even though I knew I'd
   come home reeking of smoke. It was a trade-off I was willing to make
   for the socializing. I draw the line at socialism, however, and other
   people telling a private business how it ought to operate through laws
   rather than the marketplace. That's not because the marketplace is any
   kinder or gentler than the government, but it is a lot more grounded
   in reality. Not that the marketplace can't be a cruel master, but at
   least its focus is on finding ways to entice me to give it money
   voluntarily while the government is dedicated to finding ways to take
   more money, preferably while giving me as little say in the process as
   possible.
   Anyway, because of a news thread I've been following on a business
   matter I occasionally come across news stories about the effects of
   the smoking ban in Scotland (unrelated to my original news search). An
   article in today's The Publican, a UK pub-trade publication, takes a
   look at the results of the past year. It notes that many pubs have
   been hurt and are even going out of business since the ban went into
   effect, but that this may not be tied solely to the ban, and that
   other pubs have not been as affected.

     One year on: the Scottish smoking ban
     22 March, 2007
     Licensees there have faced the new laws with varying success, Roy
     Beers investigates 
     Three-hundred-and-sixty-five days into the smoking ban, pubs north
     of the border are experiencing mixed fortunes.
     The ban in Scotland has hit some pubs and clubs even harder than
     trade pessimists expected, according to the country's biggest
     licensee organisation. However, on-trade multiple operators, for
     example Mitchells & Butlers and Belhaven (now part of Greene King),
     have reported only minor damage to their Scottish pubs' drinks
     sales.
     The Scottish Licensed Trade Association's (SLTA) chief executive,
     Paul Waterson, says independent commissioned research showed
     overall pub turnover slumped 11 per cent last year, a more serious
     decline than the organisation's own original estimate of seven per
     cent.
     He told The Publican a combination of the ban and discount beer
     offers in supermarkets was driving many pubs to the wall.
     He has warned publicans in England that even some of those pubs
     that "do everything possible" Â- for example enhance food business
     and provide smoking areas -Â are still certain to lose trade.
     In Scotland traditional wet-led community pubs are said to have
     been hardest hit, along with community-based social clubs. Bingo
     halls have suffered a wave of closures. Scotland's growing pub
     leasing sector is also said to be under particular pressure.
     Making the lease unworkable
     James Hickman, lessee of Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises
     (S&NPE) McEwans Ale House, in the Newington area of Edinburgh, said
     last week that the ban had been "the major factor in making the
     lease unworkable" Â as he prepared to wind up his business with
     major debts. "Besides the ban driving people away, you see people
     passing all the time with carryouts from cheap supermarket deals
     -Â they're the students who would be our customers, but who can now
     drink cheaply as well as smoke freely in their flats," he added.
     S&NPE operations and sales director for Scotland, Ken McGown, said:
     "In addition to the impact of the smoking ban, for which we have
     sympathy with the lessee, there were a number of other factors
     which ultimately led to him deciding to move on."
     Loyal customers
     "Some (S&NPE) pubs you would imagine would suffer have actually
     borne up due to a loyal customer base, and pubs with good food
     offers are reporting a positive response to the smoking ban," said
     McGown.
     In Fife, some community-based registered social clubs have shut,
     while others have seen annual takings  and charity donations
     slashed. Davie Nelson of the Coal Industry Social Work Organisation
     in Glenrothes, said:
     "We're losing £1,000 per week, and two other clubs have closed Â-
     some pubs are in trouble too. Local charities will be getting only
     around half the usual amounts because of the ban  and a local
     wheelchair users' club has been forced to close for lack of money."
     In addition to falling sales, licensees around the country have
     been dogged by complaints about noise and litter created by outdoor
     smokers: a North-East councillor last year tried unsuccessfully to
     ban smoking at outdoor tables.
     ...
     "We were promised a massive influx of customers when smoking was
     banned -Â and it simply hasn't happened."

   Read the [1]whole thing.

References

   1. http://www.thepublican.com/story.asp?sectioncode=14&storycode=54707&c=1