Letter: Closing time
It is clear there are a number of factors affecting pubs, such as changing social habits, raw materials and energy prices increasing while beer sales decline, and a disparity between the VAT and duty paid in pubs which is higher than that in the retail sector.
This research issued by a pro-smoking, tobacco industry-funded group ignores all these more pressing factors. In addition, the data used to inform the survey has been questioned by independent researchers, since it classes pubs that re-registered as restaurants as having closed.
Sheila Duffy
ASH Scotland
Frederick Street
Edinburgh