Patio heaters negate non-smoking benefits

AS a Cork woman living in England, I often find myself citing my home as a nation of progress.

I think that such overnight successes such as the levy on plastic bags and legislation making businesses responsible for their impact on the environment should be adopted in England.

The smoking ban is due to happen here also and the British have been very happy to use Ireland's success as their template on this issue. But this is the one piece of legislation that is probably having the most negative impact on the environment in Ireland - with the year-round use of patio heating in public places, the environmental effort made so far is pointless.