Fruit Machine Chat

cool wrote:I understand the point about the smoking ban though , as you have to be pretty stupid to smoke there will be less stupid people in the pubs to fill the machines up!

Just thought I'd throw this one out for discussion. I'm probably in the B camp in terms of my poll in that I don't smoke but tolerate it in a pub environment, although I am definitely looking forward to the ban. More specifically I nearly got in a fight in a pub in Swindon over this very issue two weeks ago - it was a Beefeater place and a woman came around from the non-smoking food section to have a crafty fag, with the smoke coming straight up from the ashtray into my face as I played the machine. I asked her politely to move it away and got no response so I satisfied myself with chucking the remains of my drink into the said ashtray and asking her if it was compulsory to be ignorant when you smoked.

Verbals ensued but it went no further than that as (a) I'm a lover not a fighter (b) she was bigger than me! (a 'big-boned' girl let's say) (c) in Swindon the chances are that her boyfriend would be just out of prison that day * but the incident totally put me off my 'Big Match World Cup' stride I can tell you...

* apologies to any Swindonians, you know I'm joking, right?

I went for A - bloody hate it with a passion. Never tried a cigarette in my life, nor will i ever smoke one. Filthy, disgusting habit. Roll on July, when i can wear a t shirt for more than just an evening as it won't reek of stale smoke!

Matt

I too, have never tried a 'fag' (no puns!) and really can't stand it being carried out in my vicinity... My partner smoked before she met me and for about three months in to the relationship, she gave up. That was nearly four years ago now!

However, in this case, I've voted 'B' as it's (unfortunatley) as much a part of a pub as a pint of best.

The ban will be pleasant and I really ccan't see it having too much of an effect on 'trade'. There's a smoke-free Wetherspoons in Bexleyheath, and come Friday it's heaving as much as any other.

Also, there's a lovely smoke-free country pub in a little village nearby, which also makes a pleasant break from the clouds of white, wafting in front of my eyes when I'm trying to savour the ambience of the place!

It's been in place since last year up here, and I can honestly say, as an ex-smoker, it's brilliant!

One word of warning - especially for the less salubrious pubs. There is nothing to mask the smell of other people's BO / farts / decaying corpses.

Hmm, didn't think of that serious downside... Delicate Nasal passageways will suffer a whole new kind of attack!

I voted for the top one, roll on July.

Fithy habit.

I'm in favour of it from a public health view (although not from a civil liberties one) somewhat although I suspect it will have a negative impact on machines, which is my main concern.

It's certainly not gonna encourage people to play machines more. It's no surprise that online bingo is becoming more and more popular. Can't see who'll actually go to the bingo when the smoking ban comes in. Last time I went it was like Whitechapel in the 1880's.

I suspect a lot of the smokers/gamblers will stay at home and get their gambling fixes on the net.

i'm a smoker. intelligent enough to realise that, statistically, it is going to kill me. i'm also pro-hunting but that is a matter for foxhoundchat. i'm not allowed to do that anymore either. i was also against the london 2012 campaign. but now that we have got it i am giving it my backing (professionally if not personally) as a Londoner my taxes are going through the roof to fund what i consider to be a white elephant.
if you have freedom of speech you also get responsibility of action. my opinion is that if the government doesn't trust its subjects to behave with socio-cultural dignity then we live in a nation which is morally bankrupt.

if you want to know what else is wrong with the country just ask and i'll be happy to elaborate.

getting back towards the topic; will it increase throughput of money into our cash machines? yes. will it decrease footfall in pubs? yes. will it increase sanctimonious bigots congratulating themselves in pubs? yes.

another knock-on i predict is a large rise in 50pees being left in credit while the mug punter goes for a cigarette outside. when and whether they return to play out the credit is nebulous.

furthermore i predict that the above will irk people like us more than a little bit of fug (but not as much as being rolled over and ucked up the arse by blackburn).

a lot of people I play with smoke, so I have to put up with it, like they put up with my subway-meatball-jalapeno-fuelled farts.

So who said that they won't be returning to pubs after the imposition of a smoking ban?

Surely that's cutting off your nose to spite your face?