That was then, unfortunately this is Scotland now
Posted on 04/02/2006 12:28:18 PM PDT by SittinYonder
"KINDA cosmopolitan, eh?" says a rosy-cheeked punter as his female companion attempts to light her cigarette on a gas cylinder lamp used to heat an outdoor smoking area at a suburban pub.
Around them, ashtrays overflow, piled high, one on top of the other. Relative strangers shyly shimmy closer to one another, nestling up to the gas heaters hanging over their heads. Paris in the springtime this is not, but on the first weekend following Scotland's ban on smoking in public places, there is ample joie de vivre in residence.
It was a scene repeated across Scotland on Friday night, the first 'real' test of the smoking ban controversially imposed five days before. It was also payday for many and the freedoms of the Easter break were looming. So Scotland on Sunday decided to test adherence to the new law by dispatching reporters to more than 100 bars in every corner of the nation. And the result? A few, minor transgressions amid remarkably high levels of compliance.
Police forces reported they did not have to respond to any calls to deal with public order incidents in relation to the ban. Many CCTV cameras were directed on pub entrances in anticipation of trouble, but the footage only revealed a steady stream of customers popping out for a cigarette.
Bouncers in Edinburgh and Glasgow, on the frontline of the ban, also reported not having any problems. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was delivered yesterday morning when publicans finished counting their takings: several reported income steady or even substantially up.
In Edinburgh's Grassmarket on Friday night, the streets appeared busier than ever. Outside Bar Alba two men hovered, bottles in hand. One wandered over and offered a homeless man on the street a swig.
Down the street at The Last Drop watering hole, the only evidence of last weekend's smoking swan song was two cigarette butts engrained in the wooden floors, defiantly refusing to be swept away. In Maggie Dickson's a man propped up a heaving bar, pint in one hand, large flashy lighter in the other. But no cigarette was lit.
In the Canny Man's public house in Morningside, "no smoking" signs sat on each table, while signs obscured the decor on the wall. On the tables a message from the proprietor read: "Although smoking is no longer permitted anywhere in the house, you're welcome to smoke on the terrace or in the courtyard. My favourite brands of cigarettes and cigarillos are available at the bar. Please enjoy one with my compliments."
In a rain-drenched Glasgow, smokers sheltered beneath soggy umbrellas in dripping doorways.
In the Doublet, in the Woodlands area, four sullen drinkers crowded beneath a single broken beer garden umbrella. "My fag's drenched," moaned one man as he sucked heavily on a roll-up, before stubbing it out and ducking back inside the bar where large "no smoking" signs spelled out the new rules.
Outside the Old Govan Inn in the shadow of Ibrox Stadium, cigarette butts had piled up on a patch of grass in front of the pub where they had been discarded by smokers.
Inside the bar every available wall and doorway was plastered with "no smoking" signs of varying sizes. Bright orange signs adorned the bar while other red and white stickers were placed every two metres. The excessive display of almost 30 signs in the cosy living room-sized bar suggested a slight tongue in cheek approach.
"We felt it was important to make sure our customers were aware of the situation," explained barmaid Marie Grady.
As she spoke, one woman walked through the bar with her cigarette lit as she moved from one doorway to another where her friends were while trying to stay out of the rain. Shouts from staff and customers chased her outside.
Grady added: "So far it has gone far better than we were expecting - everyone seems to have accepted there is little they can do about it as it is not worth getting fined over."
At the Saracen Bar in the city's Possil area, the ban was already taking its toll. A man in a wheelchair complained he wanted a cigarette, but it was difficult for him to smoke outside and get shelter. Eventually a kind member of staff wheeled him out and held an umbrella over his head while he enjoyed his cigarette.
Extra bouncers had been put on the door at late-night bar and club Wigwam, where they asked smokers to move away from the doorway before escorting them back inside so they could avoid having to pay to enter again.
Across the Forth from Scotland's capital, the smokers also appeared to be sticking to the rules.
At the Yard in Rosyth, around 50 pool players competed in the weekly pool league, but the traditional haze of cigarette smoke hovering above the tables was missing.
Owner Karen Ferguson said: "We've not had any problems yet. Everyone has taken the ban to heart. We get quite a young crowd in here and most of them don't smoke."
In the former mining village of Limekilns, locals in the Ship Inn were also adhering to the ban. Around 15 customers had brought musical instruments to the pub with them and they struck up harmonised renditions of Bob Dylan tracks with their guitars and violins. When one of their number got up to go outside for a cigarette, the musicians struck up a version of 'Knocking On Heaven's Door'.
In Dundee, smokers were divided on the merits of the new law that saw them exiled from bars when they wanted a cigarette,
but officers occupying a police car outside Yates, a large 'superpub' in the city centre, said there had been no reports of trouble. "We haven't had a single call all night," a PC told Scotland on Sunday. "We had a few extra officers on shift just in case, but people seem to have accepted the law and the pubs are coping with it."
Further north, The Heathmount, in the Crown district of Inverness, was enjoying a roaring trade. It was by far the busiest bar and restaurant in town, and smokers weren't resentful about having to take regular trips outside.
John McColm, 34, said: "Within two months it will be considered the norm. No one will be complaining."
In Aberdeen, smokers and landlords appeared to be toeing the line. A trawl of the city showed up only one possible breach of the new rules.
In the popular Revolution bar and club on Belmont Street, a hastily extinguished cigarette was lying on the floor in the ladies' loos.
Yesterday morning, Jim Hughes, owner of Black Bull Hotel and Railway Bar in Moffat, was among those totting up the takings. Hughes is also president of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, which is planning legal action for compensation against the Scottish Executive over lost earnings. But on the first night he admitted his takings had gone up by 30% compared with the previous weekend.
He said: "It is the last Friday of the month, which is always busier than normal, but this goes beyond even that. I would guess there is a bit of a novelty factor here and perhaps some non-smokers who previously avoided bars came out to see what it would be like."
Lynn Adams from the George Bar in Hamilton said takings were up 14% on Friday night, in comparison with the previous week. She said: "It was our best Friday for the month of March. There were external factors such as payday and two of the other bars in the area being closed for renovation, but either way it is very positive."
That was then, unfortunately this is Scotland now
Just wait 'til the first massacre at a smokeasy.
I believe "Scotland on Sunday" is a newspaper but I could be wrong.
Note to self: Use this to escape future jury duty, although my anger would be targeted toward judge and prosecutors.
Alright, everyone. Repeat after me. Right arm up at a 45 degree angle, palm flat. In English "Hail, Victory". "Hail, Victory". "Hail, Victory".
They've groped your children?
Fortunately they are usually only groping each other.
If they ban it in my area, I will only go to bars to play shows there. If and when I quit smoking, I will go to bars, since apparently bars in those areas only want nonsmokers as clients. These bans stand because smokers keep going to the bars. I will not be purchasing drinks at any nonsmoking bar as a smoker. If more smokers would follow this policy, the bans would be short lived indeed.
This is the beginning of the end for all personal freedom in Scotland, it appears. The line between private and public property has been erased. Coming soon to America.....
These bans stand because smokers keep going to the bars.
I too am stunned at the docile reception the Scots have had to this intrusion upon their private property, let alone the court's reaction to a juror/smoker merely stating her desire to have a puff, and the potential repercussions of PROHIBITION!
The right: 
!!!!FREEEEDOMMMM!!!!!
Some day they will prohibit drinking alcohol in bars.
Freedom on the march!
There is NO BAN on smoking in your own home.
It was merely a stupid comment/suggestion by a congenital idiot we sadly have as a minister...
It didnt make the headlines here and nobody has taken any notice of it as a result,dont worry...
According to this article, there is a ban on smoking in people's homes.
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2449002005
If I've misunderstood and this ban isn't in effect, please let me know. Perhaps I've read it wrong.
Smokers who continue to give money to the bars are more responsible than the nannies who demanded the legislation.
Thats England.
Here,it has been 'suggested' but the NHS has no Scots legal right to enforce such a 'right' in a private home.
In fact the English one is illegal too I believe...
LOL ... I get so accustomed to skipping over place names in articles in the Scotsman (since they mean nothing to me) that I never looked to see where it actually was, just assuming it was Scotland because of the source.
Thanks for setting me straight, although my general point (which is that nationalized healthcare leads to a loss of liberty) remains the same.
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