King Kreissler needs the world

Smoking ban in Ireland

This is what the newspapers write about the smoking ban:

All eyes on Ireland's smoking ban. Ireland became the first country in Europe to impose an outright ban on smoking in workplaces. (BBC News)

DUBLIN, Ireland — Most bar owners and pub-goers declared Ireland's smoking ban a success Tuesday, the day after the country became the first in the world to outlaw tobacco in workplaces. (Fox News)

Scores of pubs with unused outdoor areas have begun to convert them into heated, canopied terraces for smoking customers. And the owner of one of Ireland's best-known pubs, Johnny Fox's in the mountains south of Dublin, has designed his own unique respite — a 1950s double-decker bus parked outside the door for customers to sit in as they smoke. The "happy smoking bus" comes equipped with heaters and ashtrays. (Fox News)

This is what a pub-owner thinks about the smoking ban:

"This is a good first night of the honeymoon. Maybe we are the innovators of the world," said Oliver Hughes, co-owner of Dublin's trendiest microbrewery pub, the Porterhouse, who had warned that European tourists would be deterred by the ban. His newly opened north-side pub was packed Monday night.

And what about the people? How do they think about the ban?

I thought the best thing to find out is to ask them. During the last week I made a survey with some of my colleagues here at HP. All together I’ve got 26 opinions. And this is what they said, one after another:

Andy (ED&N), Non-Smoker:
“Great, very good, it’s cleaner. Also my smoking friends smoke less now, because they have to go out of the pub. I like it more to go to the pub now.”

Kieran (NT 1st line), Smoker:
“Good decision. I cut down from 20 cigarettes to 5 cigarettes a day. I go to the pub as often as before, I still like going to the pub.”

Rob (NW 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“Well, I’m a Non-Smoker, so for me it’s good. No smelling clothes. I go to the pub as many times as before, unfortunately :-) But objectively it’s not a good idea.”

Marian (UNIX 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“I’m in favor of the smoking ban. Before the ban you had to be a passive smoker and get smelly clothes. But actually, it doesn’t matter to me.”

Gareth (UNIX 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“It’s a good decision. I like it more to go to the pub now. If there would be a choice between a smoking- and a non-smoking pub, I would choose the non-smoking pub.”

Rosalyn (Backup), Non-Smoker:
“Great. The best thing ever. I like it more to go to the pub now.”

Sean (NW 2nd line), Non-Smoker since two months:
“I think it’s a very good idea. I don’t go more often to the pub; it’s just that I like it more now. It would encourage me, if I still would be a smoker. It’s a good thing for a smile.”

Wajih, (NW 2nd line), smokes sometimes:
“It’s not a good decision. I prefer two sections in a pub.”

Joerg (Call Handling), smokes sometimes:
“Great idea. It supports the ‘beer garden atmosphere’ in front of the pubs. I like it more to go to the pub now.”

Laura (Application 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“It’s the best decision, it’s healthier and cleaner.”

Lars (UNIX 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“Very good decision. It’s healthier for everyone, esp. for the people who do not smoke.”

Padraig (UNIX 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“It’s a good idea. In the long run it’s not only good for the non-smokers, but for the smokers as well. I would go to the pub, anyway. I think in the end it will work.”

Seamus (NT 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“Great decision. I go to the pub very, very often. The main point is the smell of the clothes, but also the eyes do not sore anymore, it’s healthier.”

Norman (TQL), Smoker:
“It’s a good thing, for people who try to quit smoking. It helps them a lot; otherwise they would start again – in the pub. I go definitely less to the pub now AND I won’t stop smoking.”

Alan (ED&N), Non-Smoker:
“I smoked when I was drinking, just 2 or 3 cigarettes. It’s definitely a good idea. There are a lot of people who want to quit and after a few pints they start again. Furthermore it’s good for the people who work in the pubs, no more secondary smoking. But actually, I don’t care. I go to the pub as often as before.”

Ross (NT 1st line), Smoker:
“Very good – for people who wanna quit. I think about giving up, now of course in a stronger way. I still like going to the pub.”

Myles (Application 1st line), Smoker:
“It’s a bad decision. The government shouldn’t tell me what to do, shouldn’t take part of freedom. Whoever wants to quit smoking, you don’t need to go the pub. By the way there have been a few non-smoking pubs in the past, they didn’t survive. Now the government had only one choice – all non-smoking pubs. They shouldn’t have done this. I don’t go to the pub anymore.”

Orla (Admin), Smoker:
“It’s good. I like it. I wanted to give up anyway. I already gave up a few times and always started again. I cut down now from 10 to 3.”

Monika (Team Lead), Non-Smoker:
“I am surprised that Ireland is the first country which bans the smoking. It’s I good idea, I love it. Who wants to smoke can go out. I appreciate it, no more smelling clothes, no more sore eyes, healthier AND the Buzz tastes still the same.”

Kay (Application 1st line), Smoker:
“I think the idea of banning smoking is bad – it’s a dictatorship idea. People should be able to make their own choices and even the government could have given people the privilege to either non-smoking or smoking pubs.”

Robbie (Shift Lead), Smoker:
“Smoke is bad.”

Dermot (Application 1st line), Smoker:
“It’s a bad idea in terms of free choice; separately areas would be the best. I work in a pub as a musician. The atmosphere is deader now, more silent than it was before. A pub is not such a warm place anymore. The government made this smoking ban for a healthier country. I think what we really need is a fast food ban.”

Tom (NW 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“It’s a good thing, esp. because of the smelly clothes, and it’s healthier. But they should have left some smoking pubs, just for the older people, who smoke since World War II.”

Paddy (Application 1st line), Non-Smoker:
“It doesn’t matter to me.”

Ken (Shift Lead), Smoker:
“Well, it’s good for me and everybody else, esp. to those who try to quit. I wanted to give up, anyway. By the way, I like Dermot’s idea of a fast food ban.”

Sascha, better known as King Kreissler (Call Handling), Non-Smoker:
“A smoke free pub - that’s exactly the thing I always wanted. And now that I have it, I’m not sure, whether I really like it. Smoke and pub, they just belong together. I guess, since there are pubs in Ireland there has always been smoke inside. Hey irish people, it seems like your government banned a part of your culture?! However, as my colleague Monika already said: The GUINNESS is still the same. Cheers!”

Posted by Sascha at April 16, 2004 02:48 PM