Grin and beer it, you can’t smoke in Ireland now

While similar bans have been imposed in cities and states elsewhere in the world, including in California and New York, Ireland is the first country to impose such a ban nationally.

Sheila Montgomery, a non-smoking office worker welcomed the new law: ‘‘I gave up going to the pub because I just hated the stink on my clothes … but this changes everything.’’

The bold move in a country not traditionally known for its healthy lifestyle will be closely monitored by other European governments considering similar legislation.

Health Minister Micheal Martin marked the historic day witha smoke-free breakfast in Bewley’s Oriental Cafe on Grafton Street — a hub of Dublin social life since the 19th century.

With the rate of heart disease in Ireland the highest in Europe, Martin described the ban as a ‘‘no-brainer’’. ‘‘We have to do something extra, go the extra mile, to get that rate down.’’

Anti-smoking group ASH said tobacco killed six times as many people in Ireland each year than road accidents, work accidents, drugs, murder, suicide and AIDS combined. But others were not so enthusiastic.

‘‘For me personally, it’s a bridge too far,’’ said electrician Shay Mahoney. ‘‘I mean, what’s next, compulsory haircuts?’’ asked Mahoney, who said he had smoked 20 cigarettes a day for the past 20 years but did not think his local pub in North Dublin would enforce the legislation.

At Ned’s Bar, a so-called ‘‘early house’’ which for the past 50 years has been opening at 7.00 am. For workers coming off the night shift, manager David Coulahan said he feared for his job if the first day of the ban was anything to go by.

‘‘We’re normally spinning at this hour of the morning, even on a Monday, but most of our smokers are missing,’’ he said. However, Ted O’Sullivan, owner of Maguire’s pub in upmarket Baggott Street questioned whether trade would be dented.

‘‘We’ll sell more coffee and more food. I don’t think we’ll have any drop in turnover, we’ll survive,’’ he said.

Enforcement would not be ‘‘a major trauma’’, he added, saying he had been encouraged by positive feedback from customers, including smokers who saw a chance to curb their habit. Vincent Maher, medical director of the Irish Heart Foundation, said it was high time Ireland did something about its lifestyle, which includes a love of fatty foods.

‘‘What better place to start? We have double the EU average death rate (from cardiovascular disease) and five times the rate compared to France,’’ he said.

Some 7,000 people die from smoking-related diseases in Ireland each year out of a population of less than four million. A quarter of all adults in the country are regular smokers.