Northern Ireland bans smoking in pubs and restaurants

Northern Ireland has become the first region in the UK to introduce a smoking ban in pubs and restaurants.

The Irish Republic, by outlawing the habit in their venues, has followed New York and has introduced the ban 18 months before it becomes official.

It is thought the ban preempts similar legislation planned for England and Wales.

The Northern Ireland minister Shaun Woodward says he hopes the move will encourage his counterparts in the UK to follow suit; he says the ban demonstrates that the people of Northern Ireland are progressive.

Woodward made the suggestion of an immediate ban in pubs after announcing that a ban on smoking in all workplaces would come into effect in April 2007.

Mr Woodward, himself a former smoker, says responsible bar and restaurant owners can put up signs immediately saying no smoking, and need not wait until the ban becomes official.

As from April 2007, smokers will not be able to have a cigarette in their place of work, in a bar, nightclub or restaurant.

At present the only exception could be in prisons or psychiatric institutions, but medical advice on whether the ban should apply there, or whether cigarettes were a calming influence on inmates was being investigated.

Following a meeting with New York Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, this summer, the minister was concerned that a partial ban, with smoking permitted in bars where food is not served, would in effect create a two-tier workforce, with some workers exposed to the dangers of smoke on a daily basis.

The ban now brings Northern Ireland into line with the Irish Republic, which became the first European country to impose a ban in March 2004.

Norway and Italy have followed suit, and Scotland will bar smoking in workplaces from April.

According to Nicola Carruthers, of the Federation of the Retailed Licensed Trade in Northern Ireland, Mr Woodward is using the province to test the implications of a smoking ban in England.

She says that in rural Ireland pubs had lost 20 to 30 per cent of trade and 400 pubs had closed.