The first Christmas since the smoking ban is over and our thoughts return to the previous year’s festive season when the topic of conversation around the country was the forthcoming smoking ban.

It’s estimated more cigarettes were smoked in December 2003 than any other month during the year as Irish smokers were fuming in anticipation of the new smoke-free atmosphere.

Every reason under the sun was put forward as to why it shouldn’t go ahead. Non-smokers seemed to be most sceptical, convinced it would never work, but since it came into force on March 29th 2004 after a few false alarms it’s proving quite successful.

The ban outlaws smoking in a range of public venues including pubs, restaurants and all places of employment including company cars. New research shows that 7,000 have quit smoking and thousands more have reduced their cigarette consumption according to figures from the national smoker’s guidelines.

The scene has certainly changed on the smoking front since last March. If you are a non-smoker you’ll probably find yourself spending a lot of time drinking alone, in what is supposed to be the new fresh environment only to find the pongs of body odour and stale beer, not to mention anything else on the upholstery which is even more obvious now that it’s not masked by the smell of smoke.

Opinions are divided amongst smokers, some are enjoying the new social scene outside meeting new acquaintances and getting to grips with all the gossip, and there’s even romance in the air. I’m told it’s a great opportunity to spot the talent and follow them outside for a smoke. Others are finding it far too humiliating, having been insulted by non-smokers referring to them as desperate.

Sarah, one friend of mine says: “I’m not prepared to look desperate standing out in the cold, so I have two or three puffs in the loo and then flush it down the toilet before the alarm goes off.” It certainly mean’s she’s smoking a lot less but, with the possibility of inhaling something far worse in that atmosphere I think she’d be better off outside, and what a waste of a cigarette.

John, another acquaintance who regularly sat at the bar with a cigarette in one hand and a pint in the other now feels hard done by that he can’t enjoy the pleasure of both at the same time; he’s now resorted to buying a few cans and staying at home.

The beer garden is the new smoking lounge, most of them now equipped with garden furniture and patio heaters for the evening chill. It was the ideal place during the summer months but January and February certainly revealed who’s desperate and who’s not, as smokers return to their seats with more goosebumps than the Christmas turkey.

The smoking ban is being blamed for plummeting bar sales, but the government insists the smoke-free policy will deliver a big health dividend as more people quit; however it may take a decade or two to observe the benefits.

It will be interesting to see in the long run if the ban will be the decline of smoking or the decline of the pub.