GUERNSEY went smoke-free yesterday – and liked it. The ban on smoking in all enclosed public spaces and workplaces came into force at 4am.

Throughout the day pub and restaurant-goers adapted well with smokers happily sitting out in the sunshine, diners enjoying smoke-free meals and barmen and waiters reporting no major problems.

And the benefits to tourism were already apparent, with visitors praising the island for becoming the first British jurisdiction after Scotland to impose the ban.

Holidaymakers Jack and Liz Peake arrived on Saturday for a week and had no idea about the ban before they arrived.

‘It was such a pleasant surprise and will make our holiday so much more enjoyable.’

The couple from Leicester are staying at the Captain Cook Hotel and intend to visit several pubs and restaurants during their stay.

Having never smoked, they were looking forward to enjoying bars without the smoky atmosphere.

‘It’s a far healthier environment,’ said Mrs Peake, 53.

Her husband said it was great that the island was showing England the way. He thought it was only a matter of time before the rest of the UK followed suit.

‘In Leicester, although it is not the law, more and more establishments are banning smoking. With so much known about how damaging smoking is to health, it is just no longer socially acceptable.’

The 60-year-old said the ban would be a great marketing tool for the island’s tourism industry, though he was surprised they had not been told about it when booking.

Chief environmental health officer John Cook said early indications were that the ban would prove a resounding success.

He and a team of four colleagues spent the day visiting licensed premises checking that the ban was being properly enforced and that the no-smoking signs required by law were correctly displayed.

‘The majority of places welcomed the smoking restrictions,’ he said.

‘There will be a number of smaller pubs that won’t initially welcome it, but hopefully in time they will appreciate the benefits.’

Health and Social Services minister Peter Roffey said it had been accepted politically more easily than he had first anticipated.

And he expected it to be accepted at a practical level more easily than some might have feared when they started the process.

‘Both Ireland and Scotland have found it relatively painless and I’m sure that a fairly law-abiding place like Guernsey will find it’s not much of a problem,’ said Deputy Roffey.

‘I’m sure that there will be the odd glitch over the next few weeks as people genuinely forget and light up out of habit, but I’m sure that will be handled well by the authorities and the responsible people on the premises.’

He sympathised with smokers.

‘I empathise with their annoyance, but the vast majority of the island realise that this has to be outweighed by the rights of the rest of the population to go to public places without having their health affected.’

The Peakes lunched at the Rockmount yesterday.

‘Everyone seems to have accepted the ban almost as if it has always been there. A couple of locals were joking and laughing about not being able to smoke at the bar, but most seemed very positive.’

Hampshire Lodge licensee and president of the Support our Smokers campaign group Peter Leigh said there had not been any problems thanks to the really hot weather.

‘You would need to see how it really works when it’s raining all day.

‘The main feeling among some of my customers has been that they accept the law’s the law. But they also feel this island is getting worse. They are sick of being told what to do all the time.’