Well the ban has hit now!

What do you think? Worth it?

to be honest i havent seen much of a difference, i'm still seeing people smoke everywhere.... but then again i havent been in a bar since the ban has started lol ...... my b/f works in a bar on george street he said after a busy nite at work, becuase no one has been smoking, all u can smell is peoples sweat (ewww) which the smoke used to drown out .... now, people were complaining of passive smoking, they didnt think of passive sweat did they!! lol

I've noticed an increase in people hanging around outside places smoking. I have noticed that many of my mates have been much more successful in quitting smoking than when they attempted to before the ban. And I think it's great that I don't stink of smoke after I've been in the pub. Oh and I survived a night in the pub last night, despite having a bad chesty cough, I don't think I'd have survived it of it had been smokey, lol.

To be honest I haven't really noticed the difference that much, except in New Town where now there always seems to be a group of about 200 people stood in Paragon Square near the cenotaph smoking. Quite a few places have got fag ash sections now, so it's not really been that much of a problem for me. Has just been an issue of changing pubbing habits.

I think it will be a problem for the police though because more people are outside and drunk and fighting and the last time I went out round town the fuzz looked like they had a tough time keeping up with all the troublemakers.

Will be interesting to see how this pans out!

I think there's a good idea behind the ban, but I think they should have gone about it differently, instead of banning it full stop they should have given people the choice. If a coffee shop decided they wanted to still let people smoke in them then they should have been allowed. People who are worried about passive smoking should be able to go to a non smoking coffee shop/pub but at the same time people wha want to have a cigarette with there coffee should have somewhere other than outside to go.

Seems to me that this is a precursor of what will happen with drinking.
The same spurious, pseudo-scientific arguments about the evils of alcohol are starting to be wheeled out. And interesting to note the comments about the smell of stale sweat becoming apparent now. I did hear of a club somewhere that has taken to pumping out scented air to offset stale beer and sweat smells.
I went to Sweden the other week and they have smoking houses within bars and restuarants. I did notice that people were far friendlier in the smoking area than the main bar.

I don't think that the same will happen with alcohol. The difference is that smoking harms the health of other people around you, alcohol doesn't. As for the suggestion of people being given the choice of whether to go non-smoking or not, surely that was the case before the ban, and how many people chose to? I know I am unaware of any no-smoking pubs before the ban.

Agreed, before the ban I'd never heard of a non-smoking pub either. At the same time though, where I live there are three pubs within easy walking distance, two of those could have banned smoking and the third could have stayed the same, that way people in my area who smoked would have somewhere warm and dry to sit, instead of being forced out into the lovely summer weather.

If the government are trying to get people to quit I don't reckon that banning it in enclosed public places will work. I've seen old people sat out in the rain having a cigarette with their drink. I think that as passive smoking decreases other problems such as pneumonia and littering will increase, there aren't always ash trays outside because people would steal them so not everyone will have the decency to walk to the nearest bin to put their cigarette end in.

so do people think the ban was a good idea or not? What do you think to the crowds of people stood outside a door way smoking?

No I don' think the ban was a good idea, just another example of the nanny state

I can't say it has bothered me that much.

Yes I smoke and I consider myself a conciderate smoker. How dare the government say I cant have a cig with a drink on a rare night out, its ok now because its summer, but what about the winter when its raining, snowing and blowing a blizzard. We smokers are going to look like idiots, and Im not best pleased about that. And just to let you know there was a few no smoking pubs before the ban, cant remember where they were though, the landlord said before the ban "my trade is as good as ever, even better", but that was because ppl had a choice, mark my word it is going to hit the landlords in the pocket in the long run.

Thats my rant over with, for now anyway