Mixed reaction to Ireland's smoking ban
Reaction to the Republic of Ireland's smoking ban, which came into force on Monday, has been mixed. One punter raged against it asking: "Why must we be the guinea pigs of Europe?" And Emma St John, a smoker outside a bar in Dublin, added: "I think it is appalling and dreadful we should be forced to do this."
The Vintners' Federation of Ireland confirmed trading had already been hit in border counties like Donegal.
Previously, hundreds of punters crossed from Northern Ireland to the Republic on weekends to go to the pubs. This trend, the Federation argues, has been reversed since the smoking legislation was passed in parliament.
Denis McClafferty, licensee of McClafferty's bar near Donegal town, said: "I expect this pub to lose €200,000 (£133,750) a year, particularly as half of the town's trade at weekends is from across the border."
However, Colm Whelan from Galway, said: "None of our family smoke, so we don't usually go to pubs for a weekend meal, even though they're good value. Now we will."
Speculation is growing in the UK national press that a ban could come in here, with the Daily Express claiming it could happen in a matter of months.
"Independent research consistently shows that when bans are put in place takings are either unaffected or actually increased," Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, wrote in The Guardian this week.
However, The Sun has nailed its colours firmly to the pub-licans' mast. This week it said: "That [ban in Ireland] is a massive attack on civil liberties of millions. We must hope the Irish find a way of stubbing out this dog-end of a law."
Pictured: A Dublin pub displays the sign on March 29, the day the ban began.
Related articles:
Irish smoking ban starts today (29 March 2004)
