Luck o' the Irish

Ireland will stub out smoking in pubs starting at midnight Sunday. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern says the ban has public support, but many are outraged. The nation where a cigarette and a pint have been a way of life for generations has one of the highest proportions of pub regulars in the world. Pubs in Northern Ireland anticipate a cash bonanza from smokers from the south nipping across the border to puff away with impunity over a drink or two. Southern publicans complain they will have little choice but to implement the ban under threat of heavy fines, and fear profits will disappear in a cloud of smoke.