Smoking ban - Talk of legal fight music to lawyers’ ears

THE latest spat over an injunction to stop smokers causing an obstruction outside a suburban Dublin pub is largely the product of a refusal by publicans to face the reality that the smoking ban is here to stay.

The vast majority of people do not smoke and the ban was introduced to protect their health because studies have conclusively demonstrated that passive smoking is a health hazard.

Health Minister Micheál Martin has been commended for having the courage to take on the vociferous publicans, but that was not the hardest of political decisions.