[Intl-tobacco] Ireland: Smokefree Workplaces (inc. Pubs) into Effect

[Robert Weissman]

Europe 'Set to Follow Ireland's Smoking Ban'
Scotsman
March 29, 2004

By Kieran McDaid and Victoria Ward, PA News

Countries across Europe are likely to follow Ireland=92s lead in imposing a
smoking ban in workplaces, it was claimed tonight.  As the Irish Republic
became the first nation in the world to ban smoking at work, health
minister Micheal Martin insisted the health of thousands would be
improved.  Calls for corresponding measures in Northern Ireland and in
Britain gathered pace as Mr Martin claimed many other European countries
were now considering implementing bans.  =93There is significant momentum
building across Europe,=94 he said.

Norway is expected to introduce a smoking ban this summer, while a number
of other Scandinavian countries are likely to follow suit.  A spokesman
for the Irish Department of Health claimed officials from other EU
countries would be watching the implementation of the ban very closely.
=93There is huge interest from the international media and it=92s fair to s=
ay
other countries will be keeping a close eye on how the ban works here,=94 h=
e
added.

Mr Martin claimed the introduction of the smoking ban marked Ireland out
as a forward-thinking, modern society.  =93Ireland has transformed itself i=
n
many ways over the last decade, not least in becoming one of the leading
economies in the world,=94 he said.  =93In the context of the transition to
the euro currency, for example, handled within 24 hours without any great
difficulty, the Irish people had no difficulty in adapting.  =93Plastic bag=
s
levy =96 people had no difficulty in adapting.  =93I think Irish people hav=
e
demonstrated their capacity to change and to adapt.=94

Mr Martin said the smoking ban would have a massive positive effect on
people=92s health.  =93We are top of the European league table in terms of
heart disease,=94 he said.  =93I want to get off that position, it=92s one
league table we don=92t want to be topping and one of the most effective
ways to do that is to challenge the tobacco issue.  =93It=92s a no-brainer,
it=92s a clear public health instrument we can use to reduce the levels of
heart disease and cancer in our country and that=92s why we=92re doing it i=
n
Ireland.=94

Mr Martin said he understood many publicans were worried about a possible
loss of business, but he said there was no research to suggest the new law
would have a negative impact on the hospitality trade.  He said the vast
majority of Irish people supported the introduction of the ban.  =93I get a
sense that this is a decision and an initiative whose time had come and
that people are in a position to respond,=94 he said.

=93The general sense I am getting from ordinary people is that they can=92t
wait for it to happen.  I understand the deep anxieties many publicans
have =96 after all, it is their livelihoods at the coalface =96 but I have =
met
a lot of people who will actually go back to pubs because of the fact that
they will be smoke-free.  =93I=92ve been to California, I=92ve been to New =
York
and life has gone on, the world has not collapsed.=94

Although pubs and restaurants have received the lion=92s share of the
attention, it is important to realise that up to 200,000 workplaces will
now be smoke-free, he said.  =93We are talking about places like
universities and hospitals, where thousands of people spend the majority
of their day, so the impact is quite huge.  =93In other jurisdictions they
have achieved up to 94% compliance and we=92ll be aiming at the same target=
s
in this country,=94 he said.

Anti-smoking lobby groups hailed the introduction of the ban as a great
day for health in Ireland.  Maureen Mulvihill, health promotion manager
for the Irish Heart Foundation, said: =93Employees and, indeed, patrons in
our bars, restaurants and hotels will benefit from this ground-breaking
health initiative and lives will be saved.  =93It may take some adjustments
initially, as it did in cinemas and on aircraft, but we can make it work
in the wider interests of public health.=94

Professor Luke Clancy, chairman of ASH Ireland, said Irish and
international customers could now enjoy visiting pubs and restaurants
without breathing in cancer-causing chemicals.  He said: =93The introductio=
n
of the workplace smoking legislation is groundbreaking in terms of its
contribution to the health of the nation.  =93Workers around the country =
=96
78% of whom do not smoke =96 can enjoy a smoke-free and a much safer
workplace.=94

The Irish Cancer Society said because 34% of all smokers were aged between
18-34, the ban in pubs and clubs would be the most contentious.  Chief
executive John McCormack said: =93The introduction of the ban in these
workplaces is a vital preventative measure for young people starting to
smoke, in addition, of course, to providing protection for employees.=94

Prison cells, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes are exempt from the
ban, but all workplaces =96 including film sets, company cars and cafes =96
became smoke-free today.  A complaints hotline has been set up by the
Office for Tobacco Control for customers to report anyone they see
flouting the law.  Fines of up to 3,000 euro (=A32,400) will be issued to
anyone caught smoking illegally by the 340 health inspectors policing the
ban.




Smokers take to the streets as Martin wins clash of the ash
Irish Examiner
March 30, 2004

By Harry McGee

March 29, 2004, was, by any measure, a momentous day for Irish society,
when the country=92s most radical social experiment forced hundreds of
thousands of people to take to the street.  But they gathered in the open
not to protest or to march on Leinster House but to meekly accept with
surprisingly good humour in most cases the tough medicine meted out to
them by Health Minister Miche=E1l Martin.  And in doing so, we witnessed th=
e
landscape of Ireland changing forever within the space of 24 hours.

Walking through Dublin was a strange experience yesterday. The streets
bustled like the overcrowded cities of India with people standing in smoky
huddles that grew larger as the evening wore on. What they were doing
(smoking) was what they were talking about.  For once, descriptions of the
capital as the Big Smoke achieved a literal accuracy.  The consensus was
the first 24 hours passed off successfully, though the resolve wavered a
bit as the night wore on and pubs began to fill up.

There was the carping you would expect from first-day stuff. Pubs reported
drops in business. Vintners said a nasty shock lay waiting in the long
grass for the Government come the next election. There were a couple of
isolated reports of rebellions in smaller country pubs. Militant smokers
grumbled about the 'nanny state'.  But, anecdotally at least, the
widespread public backing predicted by Health Minister Miche=E1l Martin
materialised. Even hardened smokers were largely positive, perhaps
temporarily beguiled by the novelty aspect of it. How long that will last
is anyone's guess.

The ban also attracted enormous interest from the world's media, with
dozens of cameras crews and journalists arriving into Ireland yesterday.
The minister himself had all the appearance of a guy who had been
nervously awaiting his Junior Cert results and had just learned that he
had got eight straight A's.  He told the Irish Examiner that it wasn't
always so. During a critical period last autumn his initiative assumed a
'make-or-break' status that could have had serious political implications.

Mr Martin said Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's support had been crucial.  He
helped steady the nerves of Cabinet colleagues and told publicans that the
ban would not cause the world to end.  Speaking of the potential impact
the row over the ban could have had on his own career, Mr Martin said:
"Initially I did not look at it in this light but as something that was
happening purely in the health arena. Then political commentators became
more interested in a political context and began to look at what impact it
would have on political careers."

He said the turning point came with his successive appearances on The Late
Late Show and the Fianna F=E1il =C1rd Fheis in October. He had not anticipa=
ted
the huge level of support before his appearances. They were "defining
moments", when opposition to the ban wilted and he knew there was "no
turning back".  Mr Martin said he was very happy with the way things had
progressed on the first day.  He said he believed the ban had a "good wind
behind it".