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Originally Posted by orangebird
Why not go the whole hog then and ban supermarkets etc from selling fags at all?  |
There is no doubt that if tobacco were discovered today, it would be illegal. As it is, far too many people are already hooked on it to simply criminalise it overnight. 20 years ago, one in three people smoked and you couldn't talk seriously about banning it in public. Now it's one in four and the proposal is on the table. That, in my view, is good progress. Perhaps one day, another 10 years from now, we can consider restricting the sale of tobacco, and eventually eliminate it altogether. Banning supermarkets from selling it is a very good idea imo.
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Why?? Why are they silly? What's wrong with non and smoking establishments?
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Because, as you have already pointed out, banning some and not others puts the 'banned' establishments at a competitive disadvantage. Banning all of them levels the playing field. If you can't smoke anywhere, it can't influence your choice of where to go for the evening, can it?
Described above.
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It's a bar and restaurant, a licensed building which will prove almost impossible to delicense. What do you suggest she diversify into??
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If I knew the answer to that, I'd be running my own business and not selling my soul to a multinational corporation.
But the very fact that your friend has the drive and talent to buy and run her own place suggests that you should maybe have more confidence in her ability to grow her business despite the inconvenience of new health and safety laws.