Ireland is the first country in the world to have a complete ban on smoking in the workplace. The ban came into effect in March 2004 and covers everywhere people work, from hospitals, factories and offices to trains, restaurants and pubs.
Other countries have partial bans - for instance in public but not commercial buildings. Some cities, such as New York, have complete bans, but Ireland is the only country to have gone for such a ban. There are only a few minor exceptions: for instance, hotel guest rooms (though not the lobby or the bar), cells in prisons, nursing homes and some wards in psychiatric hospitals.
Other countries, particularly fellow members of the European Union, are closely monitoring the progress of the ban. Irish Health Minister Micheál Martin expects to bring long-term health benefits for everyone living in Ireland.

Outlawed

Before the total ban, smoking was already outlawed in public buildings, hospitals, schools, restaurant kitchens, on airplanes and on many trains.
About 30% of the Irish population smoke and each year in Ireland, 7,000 people die as a direct result of illnesses related to direct or passive smoking. The main target of the new ban is passive smoking, where you inhale smoke from someone else's cigarettes even if you yourself aren't smoking.
Passive smoking is believed to increase the risk of lung cancer in co-workers by 20-30% and the risk of heart disease by 25-30%. It is also linked to other cancers such as leukemia and cancer of the bladder, liver and brain.
The ban has not been universally popular. Many pub owners and customers have complained that a pint of stout without a smoke is not the Irish way. Pubs, however, are a workplace for bar staff. Mr Martin points out that 70% of Irish people do not smoke, and he is adamant the ban will not changed for the licensed trade or any other lobby group.
So in future, smokers will just have to get used to only smoking outdoors while their colleagues inside the workplace breathe clean fresh air.