Smokers forced out by new legislation | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

Whether you like it or not, the law is going to change in New Zealand.

On December 10, it will be illegal to enjoy a cigarette with your drink, inside all bars, restaurants and clubs.

The Christchurch Star went on a mid-afternoon pub crawl to discover what people think. They either love it, hate it, or, like Leo Swan, carry on regardless.

Swan, a regular at the Papanui RSA, has been a smoker since he was nine years old.

He says his smoking will not change, he will just have to go outside. He shrugs his shoulders when asked if he is concerned about the effects of his habit on non- smokers.

The new rules do not bother him.

"If it comes in, it comes in, and that's it. There's nothing you can do about it," he said.

At the Papanui RSA, smokers will have a sheltered area outside to smoke under, and that goes for winter months as well.

Bartender Teresa Hyde has had some angry responses to the new law.

A female patron once told her she should work somewhere else if she did not like smoke. After being unemployed for a year, Hyde was relieved to have a job and takes antihistamines every day to control her allergy to cigarette smoke.

"I'm not going to be breathing in second-hand smoke, and I'm not going to be cleaning out ashtrays from the gaming room all the time, so I'm looking forward to it," she said.

"It's a load of ****", says Neville Brittliff.

"It's depriving people of their right," he said.

He also referred to a time when the New Zealand Government supplied cigarettes to soldiers.

Brittliff quit smoking eight years ago, after advice from his doctor.

His wife Nicky still smokes. "I don't agree with it at all. I feel, if you can drink? why can't you smoke? We've got all the vents to clear out the smoke. I can 'not smoke' if I have to, but I just feel? if you want to go out to the pub and enjoy yourself, why can't you have a cigarette and a drink?"

Former Christchurch Star editor Phil Osborne, who worked as a public relations officer for the New Zealand Army in Korea during peacetime, says the daily routine of a soldier was structured around smoking breaks.

The Government supplied cigarettes and they were a part of daily life.

"I just think that the Government rules far too much on what's best for us."

He says smoking is a "bloody stupid thing to do" but he has done it all his life. "And like a lot of smokers of my age, I'm a bit knackered."

"Bring it on," says Jeff Eifte, Sticky Fingers daytime manager and non-smoker.

He came home from working in Ireland, just before that country made a similar law change in March this year.

He said resistance was strong and many were unhappy with the change. "I don't think it will bother New Zealanders as much. Over here we're a bit more easy going."