Impact of smoke-free legislation in Ireland
Introduction
On 29th March 2004 , Ireland became the first country in the world to prohibit smoking in the majority of workplaces, including bars and restaurants. The law is intended to protect employees and the public from exposure to the harmful effects of tobacco smoke. The advantage of the Irish law is its simplicity: it applies to most workplaces with very few exceptions such as prisons, psychiatric hospitals and hotel bedrooms.
Since the law came into force surveys have shown widespread support for the measure and there is little objective evidence of any significant economic hardship as a result of the law.
Support for the smoke-free legislation
Compliance with the law has been extremely high: a survey by the Office for Tobacco Control (OTC) found a compliance rate of 97% in the first month after the law came into effect. [1] The OTC also found that 71% had visited a pub within the previous fortnight, compared to 68% prior to the legislation being enacted. The increase in pub visits was accounted for by a rise in the number of non-smokers from 67% to 70%. The number of smokers remained constant at 74%. [2] Furthermore, one in five smokers had chosen not to smoke at all when out socialising,
Public opinion  pre and post ban
Pre ban
In June 2003, a poll commissioned by the Office for Tobacco Control found that 67% of the Irish public supported the proposed law to ban smoking in bars and restaurants. [3] The survey revealed a significant increase in support since the law had been announced earlier in 2003. An earlier poll conducted in February 2003 revealed that 59% were in favour of the proposed smoking ban.
The survey also revealed growing support among smokers for the ban, with almost 4 out of 10 smokers in favour of the legislation by June 2003.
By comparison, public support for smoke-free provision in the UK is higher than Irish public opinion prior to the ban. A national poll by MORI in June 2004 showed overwhelming backing among the British public for a workplace smoking law similar to the Irish legislation, with 80% of those polled in favour of the measure. [4]
Post ban
A survey commissioned by the Irish Department of Health found continuing strong support for the smoke-free at work law. [5] Data released in August 2004 showed that:
82% support the Smoke-Free at Work measure;
90% agreed that going smoke-free is of benefit to workers;
82% agreed that it benefits everyone in public places;
95% agreed that the legislation is a positive health measure.
Polling by independent research company Amarach Consulting found that 89% of respondents believed the ban was a great success and only 10% saying it was unsuccessful. Even smokers admitted that the smoking ban has been a success, with nearly 90% believing the law has worked. [6]
Smoking trends  pre and post ban
Prevalence: The latest official data for June 2004 show that overall adult smoking prevalence is currently 24%. [7] (By comparison, UK prevalence is similar at 26%) A separate lifestyle by Amarach Consulting found that 25% of Irish people classified themselves as smokers. This compares with a 27% smoking prevalence rate in 2002.
Consumption: A survey by the national Quitline service has revealed that around 10,000 smokers report that they have reduced their consumption.
Cessation: It is estimated that around 7,000 people have stopped smoking since the smoke-free law came into effect with a further 10,000 stating that they have reduced their consumption.
Almost four out of ten people who have stopped said the new smoking ban had a significant or important bearing on their decision to quit. Over half said it was an important aspect in terms of staying off cigarettes.
19,800 people called the National Smokers Quitline between October 2003 and April 2004. Some 33% of those people have quit, according to the survey, conducted in July and August.
Sales: Sales of cigarettes fell almost 16% in the first six months of 2004, according to the Irish Revenue Commissioners. In addition both Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco have reported a decline in tobacco sales in Ireland during the same period.
Gallaher, which has about 50% of the Irish cigarette market share, said tax increases and the smoking ban had contributed to a 7.5% fall in the total cigarette market. This means about 260 million fewer cigarettes were sold between January and June, and experts have forecast that if this trend continued, tax returns from tobacco would fall by 81m euros this year. [8]
A recent analysts report from Citicorp, commented:
The companies are refusing to detail the impact [of the ban] on national volumes but at this stage it appears significantly worse than we had expected . In its trading statement, Gallaher said volumes in the first five months of 2004 were down 9%. Volumes in Ireland probably would have fallen at around 5% in 2Q04 had it not been for the ban as a result of increased smuggling and reduced consumption. The company is doing its best to hide the impact of the ban, but it appears to have been a bit over 5%. [9]
Impact on alcohol sales
The pub trade has been quoted as saying that sales are down by as much as 15%. However, these are not audited figures and are on the basis of just 3-4 months trade since legislation came into force.
The latest data from the Central Statistics Office show a 4% annual fall in bar sales. [10] However, this is part of a trend that has been in place for a number of years. The decline is attributable in part to an increase in alcohol taxes together with a trend towards more off-licence sales. A review of alcohol sales by a trade publication noted that economic factors provide a more convincing explanation of sales trends than almost any other influence. [11]
There is no objective data to show that the decline in bar sales is linked to the smoking ban.
Tomorrow will be an historic day in the Republic of Ireland. It will be exactly one year since the initial introduction of the once controversial . The ban, introduced on March 29 2004, made Ireland the first country in world to completely ban smoking in all workplaces.

The idea was initially met with much skepticism by the Irish who traditionally had a worldwide image as a land of drinkers and smokers. However despite this early uncertainty, the ban has been a huge success. Cigarettes sales have fallen by as much as 60% in , with the country's biggest tobacco brand, , reporting an overall drop in sales of 7.5%.

The   announced earlier this month that over 7,000 had given up smoking in the past twelve months. A survey by the  showed 82% supported the ban. Anti-smoking lobby groups such as ASH had been calling for a ban for many years prior to the Government's initiative.

On 3 December 2003, New Zealand passed the  which lead it to become the second nation to impose a total ban. Its ban came into effect nine months after Ireland's, on 10 December 2004. In January of this year Italy also introduced a ban. Sweden intends to go smoke free in June of this year and in Scotland, the  hopes to have a ban in effect by early 2006.