Smoking ban putting clubs at risk
Mick Hudson, treasurer of Seaton Carew Social Club, said: “We are £18,000 down on beer sales in the last six months – and we are one of the clubs that is just about coping.
“When you look at the membership, our figures have dropped from about 450 to around 300 in the last year, so we have lost a third of the members.
“People can buy cheap drink in the shops and stay at home, they don’t want to be standing outside in the cold, smoking. When the members drop, there is a knock-on effect everywhere. The money over the bar drops, we have to put prices up, we don’t make enough to cover the costs of putting entertainment on and so on.
Source: Hartlepool Mail. Link
