I wouldn't wholly disagree with some of that skipy - separate smoking rooms mighthave been a fair exemption (though not bars - people have to work behind bars, and the smoke blows from one bar to another)   What brought about the wider indoor ban was largely the refusal of smokers to accept that smoking should only be carried out in settings where there was no imposition on other people, customers or employees, and to campaign for facilities that would permit that.

As I said, I don't think I have ever seen a cigarette smoker voluntarily walk out of a public place such as a pub or a restaurant before lighting up - be honest, have you ever done that? Let alone calling for a separate room to be provided for people wishing to smoke, to which they could take their drinks themselves. If those kind of things had been happening, I have little doubt that legislation would have been framed in such a way as to allow it to continue.

And nobody is forcing you to give up smoking, skipy. Just ensuring that other people won't have to breathe in your smoke second-hand.

I suspect that the ban is actually going to help a fair number of old pubs survive. It's the old ones with small bars which get smoked up most easily, so that just one smoker can deter any number of potential customers from even entering.