Without taking away from the issue, pubs have been going to the wall for years though haven't they? Society has changed so much over the last 20 years that going to the boozer for a nigth out is no longer the thing it used to be ... the commercial rates that the service companies (breweries, electricity and gas suppliers, coucnil tax etc etc) are continuing to rise and pushing the publicans out of business.
The pub I used to drink in was run by a guy who could only afford to run it because he had an army pension, he said that if it wasn't for that income he couldn't afford to live off the income from the bar alone because of the charges he had to pay.
The smoking ban hasn't helped, but it's not the only nail in the coffin I don't think.
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