Smoking ban on cards for beaches and parks

Health Minister James Reilly wants to ban smoking in parks and on beaches in a bid to discourage children from taking up the habit.

Opening the Irish Heart Foundation’s Council on Stroke in Dublin yesterday, Dr Reilly said he did not want children to regard smoking as a normal practice.

The minister has signalled he wants to ban smoking in cars where children are present, but revealed yesterday he plans to go further.

He wants to follow the lead of New York in banning smoking in parks and on beaches.

Dr Reilly said it was in parks and on beaches where children were likely to observe adult behaviour. “That is where they learn what big people do.”

He intends to pursue the issue with the Cabinet.

“We don’t want children to see adults smoking in public areas. Areas where we would expect lots of children to be present, as in our public parks and on our beaches, should be smoke-free zones, and I will be putting a memo to Government to that effect.”

The minister said he would legislate against smoking in parks and on beaches if necessary. He believed, however, that individual local authorities could introduce regulations to achieve the same end.

Despite the fact that Ireland had been a world first eight years ago in banning smoking in public places, the Irish smoking rate was 29%, which he said was still too high, whereas additional measures to ban smoking in New York had reduced the smoking rate to 22%.

Asked what action he would take on smoking in cars with children present, Dr Reilly said the practice should be banned outright.

He also rejected any suggestion such action was a “nanny state” approach.

“This is a duty of care we have to our citizens and that duty is all the greater to citizens who don’t have a voice — our children.”

Cardiologist and spokes-man for anti-smoking group Ash Ireland, Dr Brian Maurer, said they would welcome any action to tackle the scourge of smoking in the community.

He said Ash Ireland had been calling for a ban on smoking in cars with children present for a long time and welcomed the minister recommitting himself in Government to the task.

Dr Maurer said the campaign group also agreed with the reason given by the minister for wanting to ban smoking in parks and on beaches — children did learn by example from adults.