Keir Starmer has dealt hammer-blow to pubs already clinging on by a thread | Daily Express

Reem Ibrahim writes for the Daily Express

After years of challenges, our pubs are already clinging on by a thread. The latest leaked reports that the Government may ban smoking outdoors would be another nail in the coffin.

The 2006 indoor smoking ban helped contribute to the vast number of pub closures across the country. Smoking is much more common among pub-goers than the rest of the population, so when the indoor smoking ban was introduced, pub attendance among smokers declined significantly. Before the ban, 54 percent of pub customers were smokers, but this dropped to 38 percent after the ban. There was also a net reduction of 74 percent in smokers’ visits to pubs.

Read the full article in the Daily Express here