You can fine them, abuse them, show them awful photos of what tobacco is doing to them - smokers still want to smoke

The government killed all the smokers, didn't it? Didn't an armed mob of people in white shirts tear down all the bars where people were allowed to smoke?

Actually, the legions of grey shirts have managed to cling to several cloudy places in Bangkok, and we're not just talking about designated puffing zones either.

There still are many open-air places all over Bangkok where you can enjoy a fag, great vibes, good drinks and cool music.

Khao San Road has a few options. Hippie de Bar near the popular restaurant Tom Yum Kung has a spacious outdoor seating area under a big, leafy tree. Poor tree!

A little further down the street, The Roof bar lets you smoke and at the same time keep an eye on the traffic below in case anti-tobacco crusaders show up, and there's usually a live band playing too.

A little more low-key on Samsen is the curbside bar Ruay Rin Krin Chiva, which serves whiskey smoothies and music from the '60s. You can smoke, all right, but you might find yourself ironically complaining about the traffic fumes.

Folks are also still lighting up at the rooftop bars Pranakorn and Gallery on Ratchadamnern and the Mediterranean-inspired Amorosa near Wat Po.

And smokers are most welcome at Balcony and the Telephone Pub on Silom Soi 4, where the chairs outside outnumber the ones indoors.

On the other side on Surawongse Road, rustic reggae bar Joe's is also good for a nicotine fix, not to mention cheap beer and tasty Thai grub.

Ekkamai is heavy with air-conditioning clubs where the first whiff of cigarette smoke sets off alarms, but at Happy Monday on Ekkamai 10 you can always smoke.

Non-smokers take refuge inside, but they're in the minority because the little private park outside is a hit with the dek naew and young celebrities.

RCA has the Garden, which has a thick green wall that pens in all the tarry fumes. It's popular after hours with smokers coming from Route 66 and other less accommodating clubs on the strip.

A lot of upscale clubs on Sukhumvit Soi 11 provide classy smoking areas with swanky ashtrays, but they insist on a dress code too, despite having Cheap Charlie's in their midst.

The 26-year-old bar in its own little alley isn't so much a kiosk as a "growth" on the wall, but Charlie's is on most night crawlers' lists of all-time favourite places.

The drinks are indeed cheap, starting at Bt60, the dress code is sandals and shorts or less, the music is at your request and, as for permission to smoke, your choke-happy lungs never had a friendlier environment.