Roza is standing on the steep stone steps at the front of her house, cigarette in her right hand, bouncing slightly to keep warm. "I don't really smoke anymore," she says  to her guests. "And not doing it in the house means there's less temptation. And David doesn't smoke, so..." She trails off with a shrug and sips her apple vodka. Roza, 25, has just moved in with her boyfriend. This is her flatwarming party. Robin, her former flatmate, laughs: "But everyone in our old place smokes!" Then he remembers his manners. "Nah, it's cool though. I never expect to smoke in someone's house, even if they do. You don't assume you can just spark up do you?"

After the smoking ban

Smoking in bars, restaurants, offices, shops, members clubs and other enclosed public spaces throughout the United Kingdom has been illegal since 2007, meaning clusters of smokers have become a common sight on pavements and in doorways. Partially covered areas like railway station platforms, bus depots and the terraces of football grounds are also included in the ban. "People have accepted it," says health psychologist Dr Martin Hagger of the University of Nottingham.  "It helped that the pre-ban campaign focused on the effects smoking can have on those around you. People don't generally like to think of themselves as hurting others."

Whilst smoking in any of the places covered by the ban could land you with a £50 fine, rising to £200 if you're taken to court, sussing the smoking rules for private places, such as your friend's houses or cars, is trickier. "The idea of not smoking indoors is much more normal now," says Dr Hagger. "It depends on what's acceptable in your social group. You hear of people living alone, or living in shared houses where everyone smokes, but the people who share that house will still go outside. Generally, people are more willing to say they don't want smoke in their homes and smokers are more accepting of that view."

Modern smoking manners

"Things have changed over time," says Jo Bryant, author of Debrett's A-Z of Modern Manners. "Certainly for my parents' generation one of the first things guests would be offered was a cigarette." But as smoking becomes less tolerated it's important, if you do smoke, to consider the feelings and the health of those around you. Jo Bryant advises smokers to say they are going outside for a cigarette. "That way you don't put your host in a pressurised position, where they feel they have to let you smoke inside, even if they don't really like it." However, if you're at a friend's house and they light up, you can follow their lead and assume smoking inside will be okay.

Back at the party, Roza bounces into the house. "Can you put your cigarette ends in the middle of the road or down a drain?" she shouts back over her shoulder. "The woman next door doesn't want her little girl picking them up." When they're done Robin and the girl he's smoking with pick their way down the damp steps to the curbside drain. "It's only fair enough," he says to her. "Yeah," she replies. "It would be rude not to."

Updated: 12/04/2010