Tobacco firms should fund treatment

BLARNEY lived up to the meaning of the word yesterday when the local populace was cajoled and wheedled into making the town Ireland’s first obacco-free zone for the duration of Ash Wednesday.

As he launched a “Kick the Habit” competition for the construction industry, Health Minister Micheál Martin would have been proud of them, as people in pubs, supermarkets, shops, hotels, restaurants and the local garda station warmed to this communal exercise in healthy living.

The notion of a whole town quitting smoking is the kind of positive initiative likely to help individuals cope with the challenge of kicking the habit.