Smokefree success

Now that we have evidence from Scotland that the smoking ban has significantly improved the health of smokers and non-smokers alike, perhaps the loopy pro-smoking lobbyists, Forest, could apologise and shut up shop?

Turkey's tobacco addiction

There is nowhere like Turkey for smoking. It must be where the phrase 'smoking like a chimney' was invented. Sitting outside in an otherwise charming harbourside fish restaurant trying to enjoy dinner is impossible when your neighbour is a chain smoker who manages to put away half a dozen cigarettes whilst eating his own fish plate. Nobody asks do you mind, nor do they care if you do. Only public transport and the excellent internal airlines are smoke free. Bans at airports are ignored and unenforced. Non-smoking areas are non-existent in most hotels, bars and restaurants (though Istanbul is getting better on this score). For me, it was like stepping back twenty-five years to a time when cinemas in Dublin were fume-laden, the student bar at UCD was fume-ridden and the notion that Ireland might lead Europe as a beacon in the no-nicotine stakes would have given Frank Carson a run for his money in the Irish joke stakes. There were those who laughingly claimed that our new smoking ban was an infringement of civil liberties. In Turkey, non-smokers have none where tobacco is concerned.

Smoked out

Given how fraught the original decision was to ban smoking in pubs, restaurants and work places, it is surprising how little fuss there has been since the ban actually took effect. Alan Johnson, the new health secretary, rightly hails its popularity. Visiting our local in Keynsham yesterday, it was a pleasure to experience the smoke-free atmosphere in the older, cosier part of the pub. People ate meals in the once smoky lounge. The landlady reported brisker business than usual. And the smokers popped outside between showers without too many grumbles. None of this was surprising given the successful experience of Ireland, Scotland and New York. But there were still many arguing for partial bans even two years ago. That we had a full ban is not just an important part of Tony Blair's legacy, it is a tribute to the tenacity of Caroline Flint, the public health minister until Thursday, who argued over the merchants of doom to win the day. The non-smoking majority should toast her.