UK mulls plain cigarette packs to cut smoking

[slowmotion]

I have already heard the Tories mentioning taxing cheap alcohol....

Where exactly do people find this "cheap alcohol"? It seems to have eluded me.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Where exactly do people find this "cheap alcohol"? It seems to have eluded me.

Aldi, they have a 3 lagers that are similar strength to Stella but better for cheaper. Jennings bitter is 99p for a 500ml bottle, sure there are better beers but 99p, bargain. Their brandy is good also for around a tenner as is their Cognac for a bit more, they also used to have a good 12 year old single malt for £17.99 that was just as good or better than the popular ones that cost a tenner more in supermarkets. The sparkling dry wines that my wife drinks are also way cheaper than Jacob's Creek or whatever and as good or better so I am told. Apparently their Oliver Cromwell gin is great way better than Gordon's and not far away from Bombay Sapphire so my brother tells me, I hate gin though.

 

[slowmotion]

Thanks CH, great info about Aldi. I shall visit...and return....

http://www.b3tards.com/v/eb783298689f2c951081/brown-bottle.jpg

 

[dellzeqq]

Cannabis, cocaine, heroin etc are all illegal yet readily available to anyone
Smokers are being clobbered so more and more buy smuggled fags
Drinkers are being clobbered and bars are closing rapidly, there is a growing market for illicit booze
I often wonder if governments are purposely creating a market for criminals

who's clobbering drivers? Where are these closing bars? If drinkers are being clobbered, why are more and more people drinking to excess?

 

[zimzum42]

am I reading some of these posts wrong or are some smokers actually claiming that they are not addicted??

Being a reluctant, yet somewhat happy smoker, I know full well I'm addicted, especially when i'm gagging for a roly. I also love bacon butties, but can't recall ever 'gagging' for one. There's a shop in town which sells butter pies (yumyumyum) and the best pork pie I've ever experienced. I love pies, but have never 'gagged' for one.


with regards to whether or not selling ciggies in a plain pack will cut smoking... of course it will, or at least appear to. Smoking in the UK and has been in steady decline for decades. Every year more and more people stop smoking (often through choice, often through death) whilst the take up new smokers continues to slowly and steadily decline.

Armed with this data, any initiative, no matter how insignificant will 'appear' to have a positive affect on smoking in the UK and 'they' can all pat themselves on the back for a job well done.

I'm not sure which is stronger, the cravings I get for chocolate and other similar sweet stuff, or the craving I get for a ciggy!!!


And as for all the stuff about taste and brands...

The branding work done by ciggy companies is some of the best you can get. Given the restrictions placed on them, what their agencies do is truly amazing. As they clamp down on the junk food companies, they will follow suit (and possibly become more effective! - be careful what you wish for...)

As for the taste thing - yes, in blind taste tests smokers may not be able to pick their bran from another - but this doesn't mean they all taste the same. They do taste different (and most brands taste different from country to country too)

 

[rollinstok]

Pubs have been closing at the rate of 30 per week since the smoking ban
More and more youngsters are drinking to excess because they are tanking up at home before hitting the all night bars that are still open
The vast majority of people drink sensibly and sociably
I didnt mention drivers but its a pretty easy guess as to who's clobbering them too

 

[dellzeqq]

Pubs have been closing at the rate of 30 per week since the smoking ban
More and more youngsters are drinking to excess because they are tanking up at home before hitting the all night bars that are still open
The vast majority of people drink sensibly and sociably
I didnt mention drivers but its a pretty easy guess as to who's clobbering them too

what evidence is there to suggest that the smoking ban is responsible for pubs closing? Do we need the pubs? I very rarely go to pubs - should I be concerned that they're closing? If people are drinking in all night bars then that suggests that the price of alcohol is not prohibitive.

 

[zimzum42]

Just did a bit of research on this for Molson Coors - in short, pubs are not closing because of the smoking ban. Crap pubs are closing. Badly run pubs are closing. Badly located pubs are closing. A huge number of pubs are doing really well - the ones that are well run and well located.
If you want a pub to survive, have a word with the landlord, tell them to do the job properly...

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

what evidence is there to suggest that the smoking ban is responsible for pubs closing? Do we need the pubs? I very rarely go to pubs - should I be concerned that they're closing? If people are drinking in all night bars then that suggests that the price of alcohol is not prohibitive.

I do not think it is the smoking ban that is causing pubs to close but the excessive price that is charged for alcohol due to tax or whatever. I live in a rural area of Cumbria and in the past there was a local in all but the smallest of villages. Now with people having less disposable income the majority have closed and usually the only ones that exist are making money from food alone. People, myself included tend to drink alcohol bought from supermarkets at home now which is undertandable. I mean I really do not want to pay £3.50 for a pint of decent lager when I can get a 500ml can of half decent stuff from Aldi for 72p. I would like to go to a local (if I had one) with the Mrs more often as it is nice to socialise but at those prices it's a luxury I just cannot afford.

 

[benb]

who's clobbering drivers? Where are these closing bars? If drinkers are being clobbered, why are more and more people drinking to excess?

Freudian slip!

 

[benb]

Pubs have been closing at the rate of 30 per week since the smoking ban

What rate were they closing before? In other words, I would dispute that the two are related.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Where are these closing bars?

They're all outside the M25, don't worry yourself abaht it.

 

[zimzum42]

Plenty of pubs are closing in London too. As with the national trend, it's the crap ones that are failing. This example, from the end of my street, is now part of a Girls' School. Previously, it was a really crap pub that generally only ever had three or four angry Scotsmen in it, trying to pick a fight. I am sure they are distraught at the loss of their local, but no one else in the neighbourhood is. We just made sure it's exterior was preserved according to the protected status of the area...

 

[dellzeqq]

I do not think it is the smoking ban that is causing pubs to close but the excessive price that is charged for alcohol due to tax or whatever. I live in a rural area of Cumbria and in the past there was a local in all but the smallest of villages. Now with people having less disposable income the majority have closed and usually the only ones that exist are making money from food alone. People, myself included tend to drink alcohol bought from supermarkets at home now which is undertandable. I mean I really do not want to pay £3.50 for a pint of decent lager when I can get a 500ml can of half decent stuff from Aldi for 72p. I would like to go to a local (if I had one) with the Mrs more often as it is nice to socialise but at those prices it's a luxury I just cannot afford.

That I understand. I'd have thought that the loss of pubs owes a lot to changing social patterns (which may or may not be for the best), hard times, and the crazy way that pubs are owned.

 

[dellzeqq]

Just did a bit of research on this for Molson Coors - in short, pubs are not closing because of the smoking ban. Crap pubs are closing. Badly run pubs are closing. Badly located pubs are closing. A huge number of pubs are doing really well - the ones that are well run and well located.
If you want a pub to survive, have a word with the landlord, tell them to do the job properly...

to be fair...the way that pubs are owned, let, and supplied has a bit to do with it.

The Coalition's not bothered http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Hot-topics/Pubcos-Beer-tie/Government-shuns-pubco-review-panel and the pubcos aren't too troubled http://mobile.morningadvertiser.co.uk/General-News/Pubco-pubs-closing-fastest because they can usually get planning for conversion to residential