Smoke-ins steeds populairder
Noodgedwongen, door de steeds verder oplopende omzetdalingen, gaan steeds meer pub-eigenaren in Engeland over op ‘smoke-ins’: na sluitingstijd gaat de deur dicht en komen de asbakken weer tevoorschijn. Bezoekers uit andere pubs komen na sluitingstijd massaal naar deze gastvrije gelegenheden toe en halen hun tabakswaren weer te voorschijn.
In een artikel in het vakblad The Publican wordt één zo’n pub beschreven. In hetzelfde stadje zijn er nog zeker zes andere pubs die gasten weer toestaan te roken, meldt het artikel.
“Als ik het rookverbod strikt zou naleven zou ik kunnen sluiten“, zegt de eigenaar terwijl hij er eentje opsteekt, “In plaats van 2000 pond per week zou ik er dan maar 800 draaien, waarvan ik niet kan leven.“.
A large group of locals are here too. They started to appear in dribs and drabs from around midnight. Word has spread that the pub is a ‘smoker’s sanctuary’ and people travel from several villages away to light up here after hours.
Two hours later, the bar is heaving with people – almost all of them smoking. The licensee points me in the direction of one of his best customers. “I wouldn’t go to a pub that doesn’t let you smoke,” the customer tells me. “I’d go in the toilets and have one. I’m not going in the cold to have one. The ban is bollocks, we’re being treated like lepers.” Another regular says: “At the end of the day all the government is trying to do is rob us blind. They stop smoking to stop us coming out for a drink and then drive us to the supermarkets.”
Eight months on from the introduction of the smoking ban in England, many pubs are reporting dramatic falls in takings. With cold weather keeping smokers at home, some rebel licensees across England are taking the law into their own hands by holding similar smoking lock-ins. For some it’s a way of sticking two fingers up to a ban which they don’t agree with, while others say that it’s the only way they can keep their heads above water.
