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The end is near for smoky Irish pubs
Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press
Published February 19, 2004
DUBLIN, IRELAND -- Francie O'Connor has been venturing into smoke-filled Dublin pubs for as long as he can remember, once at his father's side, now at his son's. For him, a pint and a cigarette go hand in hand.
No longer. Inspired by similar restrictions in California and New York City, the Irish government announced Wednesday that as of March 29, smoking will be forbidden in all enclosed workplaces -- including the country's 10,000 pubs.
Thirty percent of Irish adults smoke, but opinion polls indicate the plan has widespread support. To hard-core smokers and traditionalists like O'Connor, however, it's something close to sacrilege.
"A man comes to a pub for a bit of happiness in his life. It can be more of a home than your own home," the 59-year-old handyman said between drags on a cigarette, his son Daithi adopting an identical pose on the bench beside him. "If the goal is to live longer and less happily, well, we're on the right road."
Pub owners have threatened to challenge the government in court to delay or water down the ban. They argue that it will drive away up to half of their customers -- not just the smokers, but the smokers' friends.
But Health Minister Micheal Martin, a nonsmoker who rarely ventures into a pub, has dismissed proposals to create separate smoking sections with modernized ventilation systems. He says such measures don't lessen the damage done to the bar staff obliged to work among smokers.
He stressed Wednesday that nothing could protect people from secondhand smoke but a ban. He dismissed the pub owners' predictions and noted he has the support of the unions representing bar staff.
"I am confident that people will adjust, just as they did when cinemas, theaters, hairdressing salons, airplanes and numerous other settings went smoke-free," he said.
Some upscale pubs have embraced the plans as an opportunity to redesign, creating terraces with gas heaters to encourage smokers to sit outdoors, beyond the ban's reach.
But in a blue-collar pub, with no such options, John Owens, 27, said: "I suppose we'll end up smoking outside. We'll all die of the cold and that will be that -- no more problem."
Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press
Published February 19, 2004
DUBLIN, IRELAND -- Francie O'Connor has been venturing into smoke-filled Dublin pubs for as long as he can remember, once at his father's side, now at his son's. For him, a pint and a cigarette go hand in hand.
No longer. Inspired by similar restrictions in California and New York City, the Irish government announced Wednesday that as of March 29, smoking will be forbidden in all enclosed workplaces -- including the country's 10,000 pubs.
Thirty percent of Irish adults smoke, but opinion polls indicate the plan has widespread support. To hard-core smokers and traditionalists like O'Connor, however, it's something close to sacrilege.
"A man comes to a pub for a bit of happiness in his life. It can be more of a home than your own home," the 59-year-old handyman said between drags on a cigarette, his son Daithi adopting an identical pose on the bench beside him. "If the goal is to live longer and less happily, well, we're on the right road."
Pub owners have threatened to challenge the government in court to delay or water down the ban. They argue that it will drive away up to half of their customers -- not just the smokers, but the smokers' friends.
But Health Minister Micheal Martin, a nonsmoker who rarely ventures into a pub, has dismissed proposals to create separate smoking sections with modernized ventilation systems. He says such measures don't lessen the damage done to the bar staff obliged to work among smokers.
He stressed Wednesday that nothing could protect people from secondhand smoke but a ban. He dismissed the pub owners' predictions and noted he has the support of the unions representing bar staff.
"I am confident that people will adjust, just as they did when cinemas, theaters, hairdressing salons, airplanes and numerous other settings went smoke-free," he said.
Some upscale pubs have embraced the plans as an opportunity to redesign, creating terraces with gas heaters to encourage smokers to sit outdoors, beyond the ban's reach.
But in a blue-collar pub, with no such options, John Owens, 27, said: "I suppose we'll end up smoking outside. We'll all die of the cold and that will be that -- no more problem."
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