Not in the UK Art - there you pay for every drink - no refills in the pubs I know.

In most pubs the food area is separate from the bar and so there is no loss of custom that way. The pubs are set up for drinking and socialising rather than having a meal, for the main part.

As I said earlier, the cost of producing a coke or lemonade from the carbonated taps is about one penny a glass, usually about half a pint. Pub prices can range from 50p to over one pound. I was charged 90 pence for a half pint glass of carbonated water at the pub where the folk club met in Hertford.

The difference between the cost of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks in the UK is that a hefty slice of the cost of booze goes in tax. The tax element in respect of soft drinks is much, much lower. That means that there is a much higher profit margin to the publican on soft drinks.