I'm happy pubs are dying out

[Raymondsam]

In my town at least.

Maybe decades ago the argument could be made that they're social hubs for people to unwind, meet and have a good time on a weekend.

Nowadays they're just hovels where mostly retired old boys go to binge drink in the daytime and cost the NHS billions in the various cancers strokes and host of other comorbidities that crop up.

The three biggest ones in my town are the typical chain owned leasehold places. Big companies that own hundreds of pubs all over the country. They treat the leaseholders like crap, if they start to turn a decent profit they up the rent.

Yep another YABU from me. There are loads of great pubs in my town, independent, craft beers, board games, books, quizzes. It allows you to mix with people who aren't just like you..I was literally reading something the other day that said one if the reasons we've forgotten how to debate and disagree without hate speech, cancelling and violence is because we communicate on social media, via algorithms that put you in echo chambers rather than down the pub with a mix.
There's a pub in my town that has organised a mens group for socialising. The pub is the hub but they go on walks, organise activities, do charity and community work. It's brilliant and helping a lot of older men, divorcees or widowers who would be at risk of loneliness, mental health concerns etc. we have crappy chain pubs too but they're entirely different.

The 2 pubs in our rural village are the heart of the village. They provide employment and a sense of community.
Problem drinkers are as likely to drink at home than in a pub.

You utter killjoy/snob. Don’t like pubs? Don’t go then.

As most others have said, what a ludicrous generalisation. Of course YABU @Raymondsam My village pub is a lovely little pub, and attracts people from mid 20s to mid 80s.

YABVU. The publicans work hard in an already really difficult industry. And often the pub is their business, home and they often have all their savings tied up in it.

With the massive amount of tax on alcohol, the costs to the NHS is more than covered.

Same with smokers.

It would be better to tax things like UPF food, increase sugar tax and even cannabis to buffer NHS costs.

Then we could leave people alone to enjoy what they wanted, safe in the knowledge that they'd already paid for it.

I think it's a shame for you to feel this way. Lots of people visit their local pubs to socialize and enjoy time out of the house. My mam is in her 70s and really enjoys going to the pub to watch a show a few times per week with her friends. For some people, the pub provides a sense of community and helps with loneliness. This post reminds me of the people wishing that lockdown was still a thing because the isolation made them happy. If you don't like the pub, don't go but wishing it away from those who enjoy it is just nasty.

Those that drink like that won't because pubs have closed. They will drink at home, in their gardens and on their balconies.
Plus pubs create lots of jobs throughout their chain. So lost jobs. And closed pubs mean empty run down towns as I don't see retail coming back massively. But if all that makes you happy, have at it. You might be luck. They might turn into amazon warehousing next

Where would you prefer “retired old boys” to socialise? Or do you just want them to miraculously disappear?

You do realise that, with a bit of good fortune, you will also be old one day?

I get cost to NHS from alcohol related disease as 4.9 billion and tax revenues from alcohol at 13 billion.

Smoking - cost to NHS 2.8 billion, revenue 8.1 billion

And that's not counting the reduction in pension costs /health costs due to dying sooner.

I miss the pubs of the 90’s and Noughties.
I used to work in the trade
The trade is dead for many reasons. We’ve lost a valuable community resource. The soul has gone.

My dad is 88, I take him to his local 3 nights a week between the hours of 6 - 7pm for him to spend 1 hour out of the house. It give him some much needed respite from caring for my mum who has Alzheimer's and allows him to watch some sky sports (they don’t have sky at home - too expensive). What would you have him do instead? Yoga? Don’t worry too much about him having a stroke due to alcohol- he only has 2 halves but even if he wasn’t so what? He’s going to die of something and probably fairly soon - he deserves what pleasures he can get at this point to be honest.

Proper little ray of sunshine aren't you OP? 🤣🤣

You're glad something that you don't like and don't use is dying out, so others can no longer enjoy them?

You sound like the spiteful primary school child who's glad it's raining at playtime, because they don't like playing outside.

Alright Mary Whitehouse!!

I went out last night for the first time in ages. Local independent selling lovely locally brewed ipa's.

Had a great night. But it was bloody expensive!

I would be surprised if it was in pub social drinking rather than the at home wine bottles and preloading that causes harm anyway

We have great pub near us in South London run by an Irish couple. It has families in the beer garden, old boys in the back room watching GAA, groups of young people in the front bar chatting or watching tbe football, couples in the snug. Everyone gets on. They have tw
rad Irish music nights once a week and a pizza van on Fridays. It's ace and a real community hub, ealcially for young irish people in London for the first time.

cost the NHS billions in the various cancers strokes and host of other comorbidities that crop up.

how is that the pubs fault?

You’re generalising a bit!

Yes the sort of pubs you’re describing sound awful, but just across the square from us an amazing bar has opened, serving gorgeous wine and craft beer. I don’t go there a huge amount as we’re a bit older, but in spring and summer it was so lovely to see all these young people gathering in and outside, spilling almost into the road. It’s transformed the square and made it almost seem Mediterranean.

Whilst the cost to the nation of poorly funded women’s gyne services is 11 billion per year

Right ?!

Oh. Your 80 year old dad taking care of your mum with Alzheimers broke my heart. All the best to hi and all of you. May He enjoy many hours at the pub

@Allywill ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Where on earth do you live that this is your impression of pub culture?

There are brilliant pubs all over the country. Yeah, you get that certain chain that everyone knows and has a reputation, but on a Friday and Saturday night they are heaving with all sorts of different people. Friends, students, work colleagues, people starting their night, people having dinner.

I live in a smallish town and even we have a load of brilliant pubs that are clean, friendly, offer quiz nights and live music. Hold events for the community. I bloody love the pub scene!

Those "old boys costing the NHS millions" have probably worked for decades and paid their tax and national insurance. Some will be likely to suffer industrial diseases from hard work in factories, mines etc.
At least the NHS isn't having to spend fortunes on botched tit and arse enlargement and turkey teeth as seems to be the norm these days!!

They’re not costing the NHS millions - the revenue created from alcohol tax is in the billions