How many pubs have closed in Scotland since the introduction of the smoking ban ?

Question

I read that over 1,000 had failed in Ireland and Diageo was now thinking of shutting the Guiness brewery in Dublin. I see a fair number of bars now derelict in Scotland but the evidence is still anecdotal.

Answer 1

Last time I heard it was 171. Source was the main newspaper in Scotland.

Answer 2

I don't know about Scotland, but I do know that here in Fort Wayne, Indiana (USA) a smoking ban that took effect on June 1, 2007 has already resulted in the closing of at least six neighborhood bars. Many other bar owners are being faced with the very real possibility of bankruptcy, and their employees, who now earn half as much as they did in May, are threatened with unemployment.
It takes just a handful of moronic government leaders to screw things up, I guess. (By the way, I don't smoke, but I still believe it's an infringement on people's civil liberties to ban a product that is manufactured and sold legally). -RKO- 07/01/07