Europe's economic leaders got a chill taste of Ireland's pioneering new smoking ban this afternoon.
Nicotine-hooked finance ministers and central bankers huddled in the cold outside a European Union meeting near Dublin for a quick hit, five days after the Irish government introduced a blanket ban on smoking in the workplace.
Clouds of cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke tend to hang in the air when the finance chiefs gather across Europe. But in Ireland, smoking at work now carries a €3,000 fine.
There had been rumbles of dissent from some foreign officials in the run-up to the meeting at Punchestown racecourse, outside the capital.
Publicly, though, no one was complaining at the weekend. "No minister broke the rule about smoking," said Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy. As president of the EU until June, Ireland will host numerous further ministerial meetings.
Dutch Finance Minister Mr Gerrit Zalm offered Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker a light on a chilly, damp Irish day outside the meeting and declared the new law "excellent" - with just a hint of irony.
With tobacco one of the most heavily taxed products in Europe, many finance ministers fear following Ireland's lead would hit their revenues. But the Dublin government argues that better public health will eventually save money on medical care.