Many of us will either agree or disagree on this topic. We all acknowledge that smokers have rights but those rights should be constricted within the law. Aswell as them treating fellow gig goers with the respect of not polluting their lungs or hampering their night. My both parents are big smokers, I don't smoke but I have nothing against smokers. Just don't blow it in my face. Go to the gigs for the music and do your best to not disturb others.

in fairness, you can't defend people who light up in a pub. its against the law, the inconsiderate, its selfish and its kinda an arsehole-y thing to do. i'm a smoker, i love me lovely fags, but i've no problem moving outside for a quick drag. i wouldn't force anyone to breath my smoke if they don't want to. i never smoked at a gig before the ban, and i definietly wouldn't now. incidently, you're asking for trouble if you go see the republic of loose... :)

Agreed. There is a slightly Aslan chic to the ROL crowd. Whether you care/don't care about smoking, tis against the law and 99.9% of smokers have accepted this. As with all laws though, there will be a few cretins who push it. I'd be far more annoyed with the venue not being able to stop them.

i'm an ex-smoker and i could'nt give a rats ar5e about people smoking, i thinkits a stupid law for venues with high ceilings(village, point, olympia...whats the story lads do ye want a field in the mountains!), was over in manchester for a night out and its grand to get the smell of a real pub and not the farting fat phuckers that inhabit most bars! what kind of gig goer worries about they're freaking clothes?! jeez lads, relax, life is short(i feel an "even shorter if your a smoker" reply in a high horsey tone coming on), go mad and dance/mosh/bust a move with a ladyee/fella/stuffed animal/vegetable...

here here just get over it and get out of this mentality of "i could die early becuase of that smoker beside of me", you could die from the car ride to the show. I think the drunken fools at concerts ruin it more than smokers. Go to any single intimate venue, 1 drunken person has the ability to ruin the concert. I was at a Paddy Casey concert in Cuba Galway a few years back, and because of two drunken girls up the front i could bearly hear any of Paddy's slower songs. he got pissed off and didnt perform at all to the best of his ability. This bodes the question, would you prefer to ban someone blowing smoke in your face after you paying 30 quid for a ticket,or would you prefer to ban the person drowning out the music with drunken heckles after you paying thirty quid for a ticket? In the first instance the whole reason for you coming to a concert is to watch the performer perfom is possible, its not in the second. If anything needs to be banned it is the drink

I hear what your saying guys, I put up with passive smoke before the ban, the health risk didn't put me off then, but your not seeing the whole picture. We tend to think of the smoking ban as a ban on smoking in Pubs/Venues, it's not. It is a ban on smoking in the workplace. Barstaff, security personell, sound engineers etc. all gotta work there night after night. Now I know everybody whinges about these folk, but guess what, they're people too and are entitled to a bit of human dignity and respect in the form of a pleasant and safe work envoironment too. Continued exposure to passive smoking is dangerous, that is a fact. Nobody should have to choose between breathing clean air and a job. I know, I was working for a small business a few years before the ban where everybody smoked and it did affect my health. After I left, my health improved considerably. A smokey atmosphere may also mean that going to a gig is completely out of the question for people with bad respiratory illness such as asthma. By smoking, you are completely restricting their freedom of choice. When people were allowed to smoke in venues the combination of their disability and others actions meant they were unable to see many gigs. Would you begrudge a wheelchair user for the many concessions that need to be made for them to enjoy music? (and yes I know, Ireland still lags behind in this area too) As for drink in gigs, good point. Nothing wrong with drinking, but when you exceed your own limit and start making hassle for others it becomes annoying. It all comes back to my original point of showing a bit of consideration for others negates the need for laws. If people just consider how what they do affects others and act on it by being reasonable in their alcohol intake there is no need for a law, no need for the nanny state to step in. I know this sound very un-rock and roll, and I don't mean to sound preachy, but nothing is achieved by a teenage "I can do whatever the hell I want attitude". Freedom can only be maintained when we respect the freedoms of others.

good point! forgot bout the workers, But i must say i disagree on the "consideration" aspect. As you know yourself that will never happen, the only way this can be curbed is by legating in. Peoples definition of "consideration" changes from person to person. I would find some annoying drunk singing inconsiderate whereas this person may find it perfectly acceptable to do such a thing. Someone may find it dangeropus and inconsiderate to mosh, while others rate concerts on how good a mosh is!! same as a bar i think intoxicated people should be ejected, know i sound like a right broing old git

fair points, also that smell off your clothes thing was me, meant as a barman, not gig goer my clothes always end up wet with sweat no matter what gig i go to, so smell of smoke won't make much difference. but when you work in a bar or venue the smoke is a killer can't emphasise enuff how bad it is. what bar staff get paid doesnt really make up for it