Anti-smoking laws may be good for health but, for restaurants and pubs, they’re bad for business

　　拒烟法令可能有益健康，却不利餐厅和酒吧的生意

　　Restaurant owners around the world are up in arms over laws that prohibi

t smoking in public places. A new law in Ireland, home to hundreds of previously-smoke-filled pubs, fines restaurants and offices over $3,600 every time a smoker lights up inside.

　　世界各地的餐厅老板都对禁止在公众场所吸烟的法令感到愤怒。爱尔兰有数百家烟雾弥漫的酒吧，最近爱尔兰通过了一条新法令，只要有任何人在室内抽烟，每次就对餐厅和办公室处以3,600元以上的罚款。

　　“Business is definitely off,” complains one not-so-busy pub owner in Dublin. “In summer it’s not so bad because people don’t mind standing outside for a smoke. But come winter, this place will be empty.”

　　“生意绝对变差了。”都柏林一位不太忙的酒吧老板这样说，“夏天情况还算好，因为大家不介意站在外面抽烟。但是到了冬天，这里会空无一人。”

　　The trend started nearly 20 years ago when individual cities and towns required restaurants to provide a non-smoking section. Though this often caused problems for smaller establishments, most owners saw the wisdom in providing a place for smoke-sensitive customers to enjoy themselves. Laws later became stricter, requiring that public venues be smoke free, but allowing for an enclosed smoking section.

　　这个趋势始于近20年前，各个城市和乡镇要求餐厅提供非吸烟区。这虽然经常对小一点的场地造成困扰，大多数老板都给对抽烟敏感的顾客提供一个可以享受自我的环境，并从中学到了教训。法律后来变得更加严格，要求公众场所全部禁止吸烟，但是准许有一个封闭的吸烟区。

　　That didn’t last long, and soon even smoking sections were banned. Today in California, the entrance of a public place is also considered public so, if you want to stand outside and smoke, you have to be at least six meters away from the door. “The result is that the only place you can smoke legally in California is in your home or in the middle of the street,” says one smoker. “People go to restaurants to relax and enjoy themselves. They shouldn’t be treated like criminals.”

　　那并没有持续很久，很快连吸烟区都被禁了。在今天的加州，公共场所的出入口也被视为公共空间，所以如果你想站在外面抽烟，你必须离门口至少六米远。“结果在加州你惟一可以合法抽烟的地方就是在你家里，或是在大街上。”一位抽烟的人这样说，“人们到餐厅去放松一下，享受自我，他们不该被当成罪犯对待。”

　　Some pub owners are trying to fight back. A loophole in many laws allows for smoking in private clubs, so some restaurants have taken to charging a token membership fee at the door. Others are hoping that smokers will get together to demand changes to the laws. But chances of that happening are slim: over 80 percent of voters in Ireland approved the ban, including 61 percent of smokers.

　　有些酒吧老板试着反击。许多法律有漏洞，允许在私人俱乐部抽烟，所以有些餐厅开始在门口收取象征性的会员费。其他人则期望抽烟的人会团结起来要求更改法律。但是这种事发生的几率很小：在爱尔兰，超过80%的投票者赞成这项禁止令，其中包括61%的吸烟者。