Martin gets European award for smoking ban

SCOTTISH First Minister Jack McConnell is to visit Dublin next Tuesday to see how the smoking ban is working.

The visit was confirmed yesterday as it emerged that Health Minister Micheal Martin is to receive the European Society of Cardiology’s (ESC) prestigious gold medal award.

He is the first Irish person to receive the award. It will be presented at the ESC’s annual conference in Munich, Germany, this weekend. The ESC, which represents more than 45,000 heart specialists, said Mr Martin had made a significant contribution to the fight against cardiovascular disease.