Paul Cullen
Over 100 bar staff have volunteered to take part in a medical research project to test the effects of the ban on smoking in pubs.
The bar staff, all members of the Mandate union, have undergone extensive respiratory tests over recent months.
They will then be tested again after the ban has been introduced, to see if the resulting reduction in smoke levels has any effect on their health.
The project has been arranged by organisations which favour the ban.
Similar research carried out after the introduction of a workplace smoking ban in California resulted in a significant improvement in lung function among bar staff.
"Based on those results, we may see some improvement in Irish bar workers after the ban is introduced here," according to Dr Shane Allwright of the Department of Public Health and Primary Care in TCD.
Dr Allwright's department and the respiratory laboratory of St James's Hospital are leading the project, which also involves scientists from other universities and health board around the State.
The trials are being funded by a variety of Irish health organisations, with some funding coming from the US.
The volunteers have been tested for a respiratory symptoms such as lung function, coughing and sputum, eye irritation and the amount of nicotine in the bloodstream.
Both smokers and non-smokers are participating and the results will be compared to tests carried out on bar staff in Northern Ireland, where smoking is not banned.
According to Dr Allwright the bar staff taking part in the trial say they "can't wait" for the ban to be introduced.
"They say they're counting down the days to the moment when it comes.
"Even pub-owners and managers are telling us this."
The results of the research will be available in about a year, she estimated.
Although the project is confidential, one barman came forward yesterday to say the tests had prompted him to give up smoking.
Mr Joe Neville, who works in the Belgard Inn in Tallaght, said his tests had shown that the amount of nicotine in his bloodstream fell after he had taken a few days off.
When he went back to work, the level rose again.
"It's quite frightening," he told RTÉ Radio's News at One yesterday.
"The results of these tests should be highlighted. When people see the results on paper, they're quite worrying."
Mr Neville said the vast majority of bar customers were unaware of the effect of their smoking on the people who worked in pubs.
Some people even blew smoke over the bar-counter in the direction of staff.
Mr Neville said he decided to quit smoking on New Year's Eve and he was now using patches to get over his desire for nicotine.
The smoking ban is expected to come into effect in March.