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Friday, 14 November 2008

Smoking bastards

As an asthmatic, I'd been fairly keen on the ban on smoking in Dutch pubs. And as someone who wasn't too happy about having to burn all his clothes after a visit to the pub.

Wonderful. I'd be able to visit all those pubs I'd been avoiding because of the stench an an inability to draw breath. The fun was shortlived. Many pubs are simply ignoring the ban.

Who do I despise more? The nicotine addicts too lazy to walk outside to light up? The landlords who are happy to indulge them? Or the supine authorities who can't can't be arsed to enforce the law? I'm still thinking about it.

This evening I found the first that was in my Amsterdam Pub Guide that was flouting the law. Was in the guide I repeat. Because it isn't any more. I won't tell you which it was. Not because I don't want them to be prosecuted. I do. But because I don't want to provide a guide to illegal smoking pubs.

The coffee shop around the corner, quite dependent on smoking for its existence, complies with the ban. If they didn't, I bet they'd have a load more shit than a shitty pub that does just ignore the law. How come pubs can get away with it?

I'll remove any pub from my Dutch guides that I discover allows smoking. Simple as that. Anywhere that ignores the law and the health of its staff and customers doesn't deserve inclusion.

2 comments:

  1. Zak Avery14 November 2008 at 16:42

    Seems fair.

    I love the fact that pubs are now non-smoking in the UK, although of course it means that you have to run the gauntlet of smokers huddled around the door as you enter and exit.

    In Copenhagen, the smoking ban doesn't apply if the bar has a customer serving area of less than 40 sq.m. A friend who lives there told me that when the law came in, bars that were borderline actually extended the bar, to reduce the customer area to less than 40 sq.m. and allowed people to exert their pollutant grip over the populace - sorry, I mean assert their human right to smoke (and ruin my day)

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  2. The Woolpack Inn15 November 2008 at 02:45

    The smoking ban has hit the economics of the pub industry a little, but less than some would like to think - recent info suggests the weather has been the biggest influence.

    The great benefit is that pubs are getting to be nicer places as a result. We may see a few less, but they might just be the ones that should be put out of their misery anyway.

    But most importantly, it's your guide, if you feel they shouldn't be there then it's your call.

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