With the smoking ban coming into force today, the pleasures of puffing indoors in public places will be confined to history.

And now, smokers like me will have no option but to befriend one another outside pubs, clubs and restaurants, during that timely fag break.

For some time now, the non-smoking general public has tried to stigmatise folk like me.

Anyone who has been to Gatwick airport knows my pain.

Herded into a smelly, ashtray-laden, pen-type enclosure to 'feed the habit', while the Better Class look in, disapprovingly, as they walk by.

'Have you ever tried those patches? Or thought about getting hypnotised?' well- meaning people often ask. 'My husband read that book that your man wrote and he never smoked again. You should try it.'

There are a legion of would- be saviours out there, but what they don't know is that perhaps salvation isn't on our agenda. Who wants to live forever?

In fact, for sociable ciggie lovers everywhere, this smoking ban is a good thing.

We'll make new friends - for five sacred minutes, or maybe even a night, if we co-ordinate our habits.

And it's the perfect escape from any dull and wearisome folk you've been forced to go out with of an evening.

The next time a smoker tells you 'I'm just away for a smoke' remember that could well mean: 'I need a break from dreary old you.'

There's also no better place for gossip-gathering in the workplace than smoker central.

You can rest assured that those afflicted with the nicotine addiction know more about what's going on than you do.

There are other - more altruistic - benefits, too. Smokers are, for example, the main reason for Northern Ireland's up-and-coming al fresco pub culture. We brought continental living to your doorsteps.

There will be no more stuffy, smoky bars packed to the rafters with cancer stick- loving punters, so we all benefit in terms of space.

And, in addition, we'll have beer gardens, balconies reserved for us and heated areas in which to sit. You may even care to join us.

'No more clothes smelling of smoke, our hair won't pong,' smoking ban crusaders claim. 'Passive smoking will be no more. We'll all be happy and live longer.' Why didn't anyone think of this before?

One sweet irony will endure, however, at least for the foreseeable future. And that's the fact that us smokers can still buy cigarettes in most pubs and clubs - it'll just be illegal to smoke them on the premises.

That's like buying a ticket for a concert and watching the band live on TV.

So, it looks like I'm going to have to get used to standing outside pubs and clubs as a member of this new breed of social rejects - unless I give up smoking, that is.