Friday, April 16, 2004

The smoking ban

I forgot to mention the smoking ban in public places, including pubs, in the Republic of Ireland. It really does work. I was a bit sceptical when I first heard about it and thought most pubs would just ignore it. Wrong. In every pub we visited, and believe me there were a few, I didn't see a single smoker light up. They politely left the pub and stood outside and continued the craic out there, which meant the bar staff and the rest of us didn't have to share their smoke, and when you got home your clothes didn't smell like an ashtray. Any chance of Dr John Reid having the bottle to push for the same thing here.