ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the introduction of a comprehensive, yet controversial, ban on smoking in all workplaces, including licensed premises in Ireland. It addresses the persistence of Irish smokers and how government actors started to think differently on how to deal with smoking in public places before and after the ban occurred. Before the smoking ban was put into force, the Irish government had attempted to control smoking at various times. The government tried two general approaches: control the smoking problem by means of legislation; and negotiating voluntary agreements. In the case of Ireland's smoking ban, three barriers can be discerned: paradigm, anti-reform coalition, and opposition from within the health minister's own party. The chapter also address what happened to these barriers, followed by a description of additional factors that facilitated the reform process. Besides the crumbling barriers, two factors can be discerned that facilitated the reform process: a unified pro-reform coalition and the minister's actions.
