Ireland, CONFIRMATION THAT the 2004 smoking ban has not had any appreciable effect on the numbers of smokers in the Republic is disappointing. Dr Tony Holohan, chief medical officer at the Department of Health, told a health conference this month that smoking prevalence, at 28 to 30 per cent, had not changed for the better since the ban was introduced. Although the prime objective of the ban was to protect people from the effects of second-hand smoke, there had been hopes that it would encourage smokers to quit.
A 2002 analysis by anti-smoking campaigner Stan Glantz concluded smoke-free workplaces not only protect non-smokers from the dangers of passive smoking, they also encourage smokers to quit or cut down. He found smoking prevalence reduced by 3.8 per cent after the introduction of a total smoke-free workplace. However, public smoking bans have failed to deliver a reduction in smoking prevalence.
Glantz and his kind lie, lie, lie. Time someone called him out!
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