Smoky coal - No clean air

Bags of smoky coal don’t come with a health warning attached like you find on packets of cigarettes, but, perhaps, they should.

According to the Asthma Society of Ireland, smoky coal causes seven times more deaths annually than road crashes.

That is a jaw-dropping observation and one that demands an immediate response from all those concerned with the health of the nation.

The ASI estimates that up to 2,000 lives could be saved annually if the all-island ban on smoky coal was implemented. It now appears that pollution levels in rural parts of Ireland are far higher than in cities such as Dublin and Cork, as well as other urban areas where a ban is in place.

So much for the clean air of the Irish countryside. With 470,000 people affected, Ireland has the fourth-highest prevalence of asthma worldwide. That is an alarming statistic and one that should prompt an immediate ban on a product that is almost as dangerous as smoking cigarettes.