Barkeepers' study doesn't tell entire story, health experts say WATERLOO REGION (May 27, 2003) Local bar patrons are drinking a lot less beer and the smoking ban is to blame, says a group of concerned barkeepers. A study by the group claims beer sales have dropped almost 12 per cent in Kitchener-Waterloo bars since smoking was banned in 2000 as a public health threat. This compares to a drop of only five per cent in beer sales in communities where patrons can still smoke. Worried barkeepers fear for their businesses. "Smoking bans have made a bad situation doubly worse," said Barry McKay of the Pub and Bar Coalition of Canada, an Ottawa-based advocacy group that released the study yesterday. "The profit margin just isn't there to support the business." Some local bar operators agree the smoking ban has hurt their beer sales. "A lot of people just started to drink at home and stay home more," said Cal Dicks, who operates Frankie's Pub in Kitchener and Sidelines in Cambridge. "You'll still see them off and on, but you don't see them as much." But health advocates have slammed the new study as flawed, and say its conclusions are unsupported by its figures. "It doesn't make any sense to me," said Brian Hatton*, Waterloo Region's director of environmental health. The study compares monthly beer sales in three cities where smoking has been banned, to beer sales in other cities where smoking is still legal. Sales figures were provided by a national association of brewers. Critics contend the study has failed to consider: Sales of a few imported beers, some microbrews, wines, spirits and foods, all of which contribute to pub and restaurant revenues. Demographics, changing consumer tastes and increasing awareness among patrons about healthy living. High failure rates that are normal for pubs operating in a volatile industry. "You cannot trust the numbers, and they don't mean what the group says," said Michael Perley of the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco. "There are too many other factors that are not taken into account." Some bar operators agree beer sales are influenced by more factors than whether patrons can smoke. Glenn Smith of Ethel's Lounge in Waterloo has noticed patrons switching from domestic to imported beers, but drinking fewer beers because they cost more. "The tastes are changing," he said. His patrons are changing as well. There are fewer young people, who drink more, and more older people, who drink less. "Probably the biggest impact on beer sales has been demographics," said Jeff Newton, president of the Brewers of Canada. Dicks cites laws against drinking and driving, and even the GST, to help explain falling beer sales. "It's been in a spiral the last 10 years," he said.
*Note: Brian "Harebrain" Hatton to retire only days after making this statement. Deficit forces marching band to curtail travel plans, spending KITCHENER-WATERLOO (May 27, 2003) Falling bingo profits have finally caught up to a local marching band. A debt of more than $20,000 means the Dutch Boy Drum and Bugle Corps will likely have to drastically curtail its travel to competitions and other events this summer. Most disappointing for about 50 members from 12 to 21 years of age is the cancellation of a trip to the world championships in Orlando, Fla. But while organizers scramble to compensate for several years of declining profits at a Kitchener bingo hall, they insist the longtime group will weather the tough times. "We don't intend to go belly-up tomorrow or 25 years from now,'' said John Robins, vice-president of the Northstar Youth Organization, the corps' parent group. "We may not be in the same ballpark as we are right now, but we're going to survive.'' Drummers, horn players and dancers in the corps, which has Kitchener-Waterloo roots stretching back to the 1950s, were told this weekend that the big trip is probably off because of a drop in annual bingo revenues to $40,000 from $120,000 just two years ago. At a meeting tonight, Northstar board members are expected to make it official by voting to slash spending during the busy summer touring season. "It's a very tight budget right now,'' said Steve Meikle, the corps' director and a member himself when the band started in its present form in 1977. "We're just trying to stay afloat, I guess.'' He said the group has an annual budget of about $150,000, but likely needs $200,000 to continue running a full educational and competitive program. Bingo revenues, long the corps' lifeblood, took a hit when Waterloo Region's smoking bylaw came into effect in 2000, then suffered more as casinos lured away customers and its hall introduced a system to pool profits. Also a factor were new rental fees for practice space implemented by local school boards about three years ago. Once free to participants, the band now charges members $900 a year. Volunteers are also trying to seek out grant money and attract corporate sponsors. "My goal is to let the world know we've got something good here and we need help -- flat out,'' said Meikle. "What we do gives more than just music lessons and travelling to kids. It actually gives them life skills and leadership qualities.'' |