Council under fire over plans to give smokers ashtrays

A CAMPAIGN by Dublin City Council to tackle the problem of tobacco-related litter has left anti-smoking organisations and the Green Party fuming.

Yesterday’s launch of the campaign by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Royston Brady, which will see 20,000 free ashtrays distributed, was sharply criticised for facilitating cigarette smokers.

The €100,000 Butts Out programme aims to cut the number of cigarette ends on the streets of Dublin.

It is estimated 280,000 people in Dublin smoke around four million cigarettes each day, with up to 20 butts dropped every second in the city.

Mr Brady called on Dubliners to act responsibly as tobacco products are responsible for almost one-third of all litter on city streets.

“We want people to realise cigarette butts are litter and it is unacceptable to throw them on the ground,” he said.

He said smokers who throw cigarette ends on the ground face on-the-spot fines of €125 under the Litter Pollution Act and penalties of up to 1,900 if successfully prosecuted.

Litter wardens are expected to increase enforcement of anti-litter laws following the introduction of the ban on smoking in workplaces from next January.

However, Fenton Howell of ASH said Dublin City Council’s campaign could act as an incentive to smoke.

“We really should be putting the obligation on the tobacco industry to tackle this problem,” said Dr Howell. The Irish Cancer Society said an anti-smoking helpline number should be printed on the ashtrays.

The Greens said the campaign sent out “a totally mixed message” given Health Minister Micheál Martin’s anti-tobacco stance.

The free pocket-sized ashtrays will be available from public libraries, Bus Stop newsagent outlets and selected Tesco and Superquinn stores over the next fortnight. They subsequently can be purchased for €2 each.