“Ireland has become the first country in the world to outlaw cigarettes in all its restaurants and pubs, to the delight of non-smokers but the dismay of some publicans worried about having to police the ban.”
We’re supporting our “local” by making sure that we’re down there a little more often now. It’s going to be very interesting to watch how this plays out…
(For those interested in some history on this business (hi, Shai!):)
The law was originally mooted as a way to keep Irish workplaces smoke-free (and incidentally to help people stop smoking) since the Irish death rate from heart disease and smoke-related ailments is the highest in Europe, and costs the Irish economy nearly a billion euro a year in social services support, hospitalization costs, etc. (The health minister’s statement today was that smoking kills three times as many people in Ireland “as car accidents, on the job accidents, suicide, murder, drugs, and Aids put together.” Some estimates run as high as a mortality rate of 20%.)
The present crackdown has come in a number of stages. First passed was the “Public Health (Tobacco) Bill”, in 2001. This forbade the sales of cigarettes in packets of 10 as well as corporate sponsorship of sports events using a tobacco company’s name instead of the name of a product, and required that tobacco machines be operated by special tokens obtained from the store or shop where the machine is located, rather than with coins. Then came another piece of legislation steeply raising the penalties for those who sell tobacco to under-18’s.
After that came the present bill. There was fierce opposition to it from the Vintners Association (the biggest of the organizations representing people who own and operate pubs and restaurants) but the government resisted the lobbying. The legislation passed, if I remember correctly, in late 2002. Originally it was supposed to go into force in January, but there was a delay so that some exceptions could be incorporated into the law. There was also a question as to whether the Irish law would conflict with upcoming EU legislation, but that seems not to have come to anything.
The aspect of the law which has caused the most ruckus was the government’s determination not even to accept the concept of indoor smoking sections, as the pub staff would still have to go into such places and subject themselves to the passive smoke. The only smoking areas allowed to be connected to a pub or restaurant are those open to the outdoors on at least one side. There has therefore been much installing of patio heaters, outdoor fireplaces, awnings over patios, etc etc.
…Google is full of stories about the ban today, with more context: check here for a selection. The Irish Times’s stories are pretty much the best for getting a feel of the history of the crackdown, but unfortunately the Times is a subscription website.
