albeit not the sole cause

Thank you. Exactly what we have been saying all along. The pubs were on the decline in the first place.

come back in a year and tell me I'm wrong

I already have, albeit a bit early. I said earlier in the post that none, repeat none, of the 30 or so pubs near me have closed. It is 9 months since the ban. I have asked skipy if his local has closed but he seems remarkably quiet on that front.

For what it's worth I do believe that smoker should be catered for. Provided they don't infringe my rights to go in a pub of my own choosing and breathe clean air and on the condition that they do not put the lives of the staff at risk. It would, however, involve investment in very sophisticated air filtration systems and high cost building work. Something that the drink industry simply were not prepared to do. The brewers, or more correctly the big businesses behind them, are interested only in fat profits, not peoples welfare. If you want to blame someone for your nicotine withdrawal symptems, blame them instead of the non smokers or the government.

Cheers

Dave.