Hospitality alliance should face the facts and call off its campaign
The workplace smoking ban is a visionary, pioneering initiative that will benefit countless generations of Irish citizens.
The legislation has the support and backing of the vast majority of people of this country including health, social, trade and political organisations.
Why then does the hospitality industry persist with their opposition?
To reiterate the most essential points, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), or second-hand smoke, is a group one carcinogen as documented by the World Health Organisation.
It increases the risk of lung cancer in co-workers by 20-30% and is linked to other cancers.
It also increases the risk of heart disease in co-workers by 25-30% and doubles the risk of stroke.
Essentially, breathing second-hand smoke causes morbidity and mortality from cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease.
All employees have a right to smoke but not to pollute the workspace of their colleagues.
All employees have a right to feel safe in their workplaces from these diseases.
The most senior academic figures in Irish medicine and the healthcare allied professions have publicly welcomed recognition by the World Health Organisation that second-hand smoke is a cause of cancer.
They have also identified tobacco use as the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland and have confirmed that non-smokers live longer and are healthier than smokers.
The pro-health organisations and trade union lobby see the smoking ban legislation as a valuable preventative measure for young people considering starting smoking, as a method of ensuring that smoking declines in social acceptability and decreases in prevalence and as an overall way of reducing tobacco consumption.
We would therefore ask that the hospitality industry cease from questioning this legislation purely from a personal or commercial perspective and resist mounting legal challenges against it.
We would also ask them to cease from promoting a policy of actively breaking the law when the smoking ban is introduced.
Simply put, we would ask them to join the rest of the nation in acting responsibly and in protecting the health and safety of our workers and our citizens from the date of implementation early next year.
They owe it to their staff and customers.
John McCormack, Irish Cancer Society. Michael O’Shea, Irish Heart Foundation. Prof Luke Clancy, ASH Ireland. Dr Prannie Rhatigan, Irish College of General Practitioners. Finbar Fitzpatrick, Irish Hospital Consultants Association. Dr Joe Barry, Irish Medical Organisation.Liam Doran, Irish Nurses Organisation. Oliver Donohoe, ICTU. Bernard Harbor, IMPACT. John Douglas, MANDATE. Joe O’Flynn, SIPTU. Herman O’Brien, Asthma Society of Ireland. Anne-Marie Part, Environmental Health Officers Association. Owen Metcalf, Institute of Public Health. Larry Warren, Alpha One Foundation. Maureen Holden, Irish Countrywomen’s Association.
