THIS Friday will mark 20 years since the smoking ban was introduced.
Tanaiste Micheal Martin, who pushed through the legislation as Health Minister in 2004, said the landmark public health measure represented one of the “most memorable and significant moments” of his political career.
The move outlawed smoking inside every workplace, including pubs and restaurants.
Martin said: “At the time, there was huge opposition to the smoking ban and doubts over whether it would ever succeed – particularly in our hospitality industry.
“Despite its success, we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent when it comes to the war on smoking. Tobacco, along with the new threat of vaping, is continuing to cause huge damage to people in this country.”
Chris Macey, Director of Advocacy and Patient Support with the Irish Heart Foundation, described the ban as “one of the most important pieces of legislation” ever introduced.
He added: “It is estimated it saved more than 3,700 lives in Ireland in the first three-and-a-half years after its implementation – almost 2.7 lives a day – and resulted in an immediate 26 per cent reduction in ischaemic heart disease and a 32 per cent drop in strokes.
“As countries across the world followed suit, the lifesaving impact of the law is beyond measure.”
Here, Danielle Masterson talks to those who were on the frontline when the smoking ban was introduced.
IRELAND made history in 2004 when it became the first country in the world to ban smoking in pubs and restaurants.
Fuming publicans claimed the ban would sound the death knell for the Irish boozer, and threatened legal action to stop it.
Meanwhile, in Cork they called the Minister who spearheaded the new law – Micheal Martin – “a zealot”.
That March 29, the ban went ahead and overnight, ashtrays vanished in the workplace. Those caught smoking faced a hefty €3,000 fine.
Michael O’Donovan, owner of The Castle Inn in the city, told how he was born and raised in the bar – and recalls the days before the smoking ban and admits he wasn’t sure it would work.
He told The Irish Sun: “Looking at my business 20 years ago when this ban came in, I was very apprehensive about the business… this hadn’t been done before.
“So we had no reference point anywhere in the world to see it done. But looking back now, in hindsight, it was probably one of the best moves that we did.”
He admitted Micheal Martin may have been seen as “public enemy number one” at the time but many views have changed.
O’Donovan said: “There was a lot more people smoking back then, than what there is now.
“I would think there’s no doubt about that.
“There were a lot more casual smokers back then as opposed to now.”
Family-run pub
The Castle Inn, located on the South Main Street in Cork city, has been family-run since it opened in the 1930s.
He said: “I suppose 20 years ago, when I was mid-20s, I’d taken over the family bar.
“Working there then it [smoking indoors] was taken for granted, people would be smoking.
“I’m a non-smoker asthmatic. So my eyes used to be affected every night.
Change of clothes
“When I use to go home to my fiancée at the time, now my wife, I’d have to change my clothes because I’d stink.”
O’Donovan’s “pet hate” was the “horrible” job of washing all the ashtrays at the end of the night.
He said: “You’d put on the gloves, you would empty the scrape box, you would put the ash into the bins.
“The ash would cling to the glass and ceramic ashtrays. You would literally have to scrub the ash off them.”
Masked in smoke
Looking around the pub back then, he said everything seemed to be masked in the smoke.
He said: “After the smoking ban came in, I then realised the walls, how yellow they used to go.
“No matter what colour they were, there was film on it.
“One of the big things that I always remember, when smoking was there, was the television screens had to be washed every week. There used to be a film over it from the smoke.”
Punters adapted
Although O’Donovan was apprehensive of the ban, he was surprised how quickly punters adapted.
He said: “We had a very mixed clientele of an older and younger crowd. I was fairly worried would the older clientele get it.
“But from the get go they understood.”
The Corkman discussed how the smoking ban, which launched in the spring, was well-timed for encourage punters to go outside.
Still going strong
Some 20 years on after the major switch up, O’Donovan and his team said the boozer is still going strong despite the smoking ban.
He said: “It’s one of the oldest bars in Cork city. It’s a real old style country bar in the heart of the city.”
He added: “It’s over 100 years in our family and hopefully, there will be many more.”
Publican O’Donovan’s pet hate is now the plastic vape packaging that he usually finds “all over the bar” every night.
‘Growing phenomenon’
And he told how their popularity is a “growing phenomenon” at the moment.
He added: “What I’m seeing it’s a younger cohort that’s taking up the vaping. It’s chemicals that they’re putting into their bodies.”
The Irish Heart Foundation is calling on the Government to introduce regulations to raise the legal age of sale of tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21.
Director of Advocacy Macey warned, however, that two decades on, Ireland must pursue “bold and ambitious measures” on tobacco and vape control.
He added: “Tobacco is still responsible for 4,500 deaths a year in Ireland, while an e-cigarette epidemic is responsible for driving nicotine addiction among young people.
“Smoking rates among teenagers are increasing for the first time in a generation, most likely due to the gateway effect from vaping.”