Smoking: Ireland’s ban re-examined
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As part of our mini-series on smoking across Europe, we begin our trip in Ireland – home of the first European smoking ban. The ban, introduced in all workplaces in 2004, was initially welcomed with open arms by Irish people. Network Europe investigates whether attitudes have changed six years on.
A ban on smoking in all workplaces was never going to raise too much controversy amongst the staff of Ireland’s shops and offices. It was, in effect, banned from most canteens and office spaces anyway. It had already become rude to light up without asking the permission of those sharing your breathing space. But these same informal rules never applied to the pubs of Ireland.
If you spent an evening in the pub against your partners will, it’s safe to assume that without a shower, the smell of smoke would be the unforgiving informant who blew whatever cover you had carefully devised on your way home. In that regard the smoking ban has alleviated one problem often faced by pub regulars.
And the ban is still proving popular among some other customers too. There’s no smell, the health risk of passive smoking is over, and some smokers have cut down or quit altogether.
However, some detractors claim that having to leave a table every 30 minutes for a cigarette has ruined the once famous banter synonymous with Irish pubs. And any attack on the famous Irish ‘craic’ is certainly worth discussing.
There are those who have labelled the ban ‘draconian’ as the rigid law outlaws in-door smoking rooms, forcing the punters outside to the much colder smoking areas. Some blame the ban for making smoking tourists stay away from a place they don’t feel welcome. And then there are those who just don’t like change.
While Prime Minister Brian Cowen may not share the concerns of these critics, he certainly can’t ignore the alarming rate at which Irish pubs and restaurants are closing.
Irish Publican Charlie Chawke has called for the ban to be revised claiming that “there’s around 1,500 pubs closed in Ireland in the last couple of years and there are more than 40 pubs in Dublin at the moment in receivership and examinership and that’s going to increase.”
As it stands there are no government plans to revise the law.
