Smoking in bars and brasseries: what Belgians can teach the British

I'm in Brussels for a meeting tomorrow.

But first I joined my former Free Society colleague Tom Miers for a drink and a bite to eat.

Here's a picture of Tom. It was taken this evening in the smoking room at L'Ultime Atome, a brasserie close to my hotel.

Yes, the smoking room. Note the ashtray and the comfortable leather chairs. It was also inside, 100 per cent enclosed.

If Belgium can give bar owners the option of providing a well-ventilated smoking room where people can smoke and drink in comfort indoors, why on earth can't we?

Why is Britain so uncivilised?