In 1492, Rodrigo de Jerez was the first victim of the anti-smoking lobby. Having returned from Cuba with Christopher Columbus, he smoked tobacco in Spain and was seen exhaling smoke from his nose. The Inquisition promptly incarcerated him for seven years. A bit harsh for a public smoking ban! By the time he was released, smoking was all the rage in Spain.

Sir Walter Raleigh is often credited with introducing smoking to the UK, but he didn’t. It was likely done by Sir John Hawkins several years earlier, but Raleigh did popularise the leaf. It took around another 450 years for the UK to put an end to this centuries-old custom when the 2007 smoking ban was enacted.

Of course, smoking has its drawbacks as we all know. Jack won’t hesitate to tell you why he quit his three packs a day habit. One morning he woke up and coughed blood, and that was the end of that. And as a reformed-smoker, he knows how hard it is to stop, despite all the warnings and labelling.

The fear of death or serious illness has the effect of making up your mind for you, but the addiction with some is so strong, they continue right up to the day they die.

Yet it is the dangers of passive smoking that has driven so many countries to change their laws in public places, despite strong arguments about freedom and rights from both sides of the fence.

Those who want to ban smoking argue that they have a right not to be exposed to harmful chemicals, inherent in tobacco smoke. To the smoker, it’s a small inconvenience to take their habit outside in order to protect employees and patrons from the second-hand smoke they exhale. Some also argue that teens will be less likely to start smoking if they don’t see it happening all around them.

Of course, many smokers don’t see it that way. They argue a ban becomes an infringement on their rights, and if you don’t like the smoke, then go somewhere else. It’s a discrimination issue and can also impact on business. Many pubs in the UK have reported a downturn in customers since the smoking ban, forming the opinion that some smokers are staying home where they can relax in comfort, rather than brave the cold weather outside just to have a cigarette. Happily, the weather is not a problem here in Cayman.

There are the legal issues of course. Over 4,500 chemicals have been identified in tobacco smoke, and a number of them are known to cause cancer. The Cayman Labour Law requires that employers must make sure a place of work is as safe as is reasonably practical for their employees. And therein lies the crunch. Since it is now proven that even passive cigarette smoke has the potential to cause cancer, if an employer allows smoking on their premises, that means they are willingly risking the health of their staff.

This is a bit like taking a lump of uranium, placing it on the bar, and making staff work around it without any protection. We realise this may seem like an extreme example, but when you think about it, the comparison is quite apt. Threats of class-action lawsuits are one of the biggest driving forces to ban smoking in work areas. Naturally, removing the smoke is the simplest and most effective way of getting rid of the ‘hazard’ and thereby eliminating any possibility of lawsuits, unhappy customers and risking the employees’ health.

Whatever your view on the subject, the ban will be a culture shock. Like many countries that have made the move, it is difficult at first but not an impossible situation. In time, people embrace the change and, in fact, I have heard from smokers themselves who now welcome the ban.

A certain percentage of people took the ban as a cue to give up completely. Will quitting be on your agenda when the smoking ban finally arrives at Cayman’s pubs, clubs and restaurants? Others have turned the negative into a positive, saying that standing around in groups outside has been a great way to meet new people. It seems that adversity does bring people together!

There are other bonuses from a smoking ban. If you quit, the immediate results will be a lot more money in your pocket, no more early morning smoker’s cough, and no more bad breath or dry mouth. Most important, a perceptible improvement in your overall health and a disappearance of that shortness of breath you’ve been noticing.

Having been a heavy smoker, I have gone through all of the trials and tribulations connected with the addiction. In retrospect, I honestly wonder what I ever saw in the habit in the first place. I don’t miss it, I would never start again, and I wish all of you who will embark on your search for the holy grail of being a non-smoker all the support in the world.

For those of you who don’t wish to quit, I respect your decision, but hope that at some point in your life you will realise, as I did, that your long term health and your best interest will be served by going smoke free.

Good luck to all our readers.