Martin to battle for smoking ban
As a hospitality industry group confirmed it was assembling a war chest of €250,000 to oppose the ban on smoking in the workplace coming in from January 1 next year, Mr Martin is planning to tour the country to sell the merits of his plan in the Autumn.
The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance step up their campaign today by heading to the USA to join a catering industry protest against the recently introduced ban in New York.
Playing the powerful pro-smoking lobby at their own game, Minister Martin expects doctors, unions and health organisations to come out at public meetings he plans to hold around the country to advocate their support for the ban.
IHIA spokesman Finbar Murphy estimated the umbrella group, made up of owners of bars, hotels, restaurants and guesthouses, will need €250,000 to gather all the data, surveys and specialist reports it needs to effectively oppose the ban.
Resisting calls from health agencies to reveal the full list of donors to its fund, Mr Murphy said the organisation would not accept donations from cigarette companies.
However, he said the alliance has more than 3,500 members and has received a number of individual donations of €20,000. The alliance would accept money from suppliers to the industry such as vending machines operators, whether they supplied cigarettes or condoms, he added.
But Mr Martin yesterday shot down the alliance’s claim that up to 65,000 jobs in the hospitality industry would be lost once the ban was introduced. He said he understood the general fear people had in the trade but said there would be a significant debate in the Autumn which would drive public health to the top of the agenda.
Strongly putting the case for the ban, Mr Martin said it was a health and safety issue. Although there was hype and hysteria about other causes of death, the Minister said it was about time to face facts on the threat passive smoking posed to people’s health.
The Minister said the cinema industry did not collapse when smoking was banned there and people now flew to the US without smoking.
Mandate, the bar workers union, along with the country’s largest union, SIPTU, also denied the alliance’s claim and urged the Minister to deliver on his commitment.
Dismissing the IHIA’s claims about job losses as scare tactics without any foundation, Mandate said the ban on smoking in the workplace will save lives, not cost jobs.
Health promotion agencies also hit out at the umbrella group for their opposition to the smoking ban pointing out that passive smoking kills.
The Irish Heart Foundation, Irish Cancer Society and ASH Ireland said highly expensive ventilation only removed 90% of passive smoke. The remainder was between 1,500 and 2,500 times above acceptable risk levels.
“An estimated 73% of Irish people do not smoke. Why don’t the hospitality sector consider their needs?” a spokesman said.
Irish Heart Foundation chief executive Michael O’Shea said it was neither an industry or an employment issue.
“The bottom line is that passive smoking kills. Everything else is a smokescreen,” he said.
