Sorry if I'm going over old ground but I havn't had a chance to read the full thread yet.
When I was a lad, pubs had smoke rooms and snugs, bars and parlours. Each room had it's own function, each room had it's own community. Now we have open plan booze outlets that serve no other purpose than to encourage people to drink as much as possible. To ban smoking in pubs can only be seen as a way to encourage more people (presumably non smokers) to partake of the alchohol, thereby creating more revenue for the breweries. We know smoking probably causes respitory and heart problems but excessive consumption of alchohol is a much greater cause for concern. At least smokers only kill themselves ( unless one wants to discuss the dangers of passive smoking). Excessive alchohol consumption, on the other hand, has a far greater impact on the people who come into contact with the inebriate. I'm a non smoker but I have no problem with people who go into pubs and smoke, unless I am eating a meal, then it does become a problem but if pubs have a license to serve meals, then they should be bound to have an area that is smoke free, i.e. a separate room.
I agree, smoking should be controlled in public areas but the simplistic way this government is going about it is just yet another ill conceived attempt at controlling an already out of control culture.