Paradiso owner Wayne Furbert took the bold step in January to ban smoking at his Reid Street cafe.

Mr. Furbert opened the cafe five years ago with a designated smoking section. It worked for a while, but Mr. Furbert and his wife Ulene, who run the cafe together, left work every day smelling like smoke.

Initially, it was tough to enact the ban, particularly since many people came to the cafe to enjoy a morning coffee and a cigarette.

"We did lose some business but we made a conscious decision to notify our clients and to take time in educating them about our decision. My wife and I wanted to recognise the importance of people eating in an environment which is healthy."

Some customers have left and some have stayed, but Mr. Furbert said he made up for the ban by offering a larger coffee area and improving the salad bar options. Smokers have returned to enjoy a coffee minus the cigarette and despite the initial ten to 15 percent drop in revenue business is now booming and has increased overall by 20 percent.

Mr. Furbert joins a group of restaurant owners including Monty's, Paraquet and the Green Lantern who have all banned smoking from their premises.

While he recognised the repercussions of a ban in pubs and bars, Mr. Furbert said if anti-smoke legislation is put in place, then owners have no choice but to follow the legislation and find other ways to pull in customers.

"As a cafe owner, you think 'will a customer go to another cafe?' It has happened, but now I think what's mine is mine and I appreciate the clients who have stayed."

When asked if he would ever reconsider, Mr. Furbert said the only way he'd go back to smoking was if the cafe expanded to include an al fresco dining area.

"I'll never go back to smoking again, I've cut the umbilical cord."