| no caith tobac—good on the irish!
Ireland is the latest country to instigate a ban on smoking in the workplace.[1]
“Health
Minister Micheál Martin said the law had been introduced
in the interest of health and in the interest of Irish people.
“He said there was no dispute over the damaging effects of tobacco
and second-hand smoke.
“Prison cells, hotel rooms, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes
and hospices are exempt from the ban.
“The law will be policed by a team of around 450 inspectors,
100 of whom are Dublin-based.
“Around 340 environmental health officers will monitor the ban
in pubs and restaurants and a complaints hot-line has been set up to
ensure the law is properly enforced.
“Fines of €3,000 will be issued to anyone caught smoking
illegally.”
“The
only workplaces exempt from the ban are those that double as residences:
hotel rooms, prison cells, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes.
“Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, a non-smoker and regular pub-goer,
said he envisioned an Ireland where 'future generations, thankfully,
will never know what it was like to work in an enclosed, smoke-filled
environment'.
“[... ] it would 'take six weeks to two months for the ban to
settle down'. His target, he said, was for more than 90 per cent compliance
within the year.”
Pub-owners had previously threatened several times to go to court, fearing
a drop in their turn-overs. But with only a quarter of their customers
being smokers, they are more likely to see their business improve.
The Irish health minister also predicted that other European countries
will follow suit:
“The
most immediate countries next up are Sweden for next year, Malta
is anxious to go ahead in April, Finland is on the cards to do this
and Holland will also be introducing a form of workplace ban.”
However, the United Kingdom is unlikely to act in the near future.
“Ministers
have made it clear they favour voluntary smoking bans - fearful
that they will be accused of running a "nanny state". ”
[24.10.2003]
related material
abelard.org has reported many times on the noxious effects of smoking.
Many of these reports can be found from
them nasty smoking dummies.
End notes
- Smoking bans have already been instigated in many
places throughout the world. For instance, New Zealand passed the Smoke-free
Environments Amendment Act in December 2003, which extended existing
laws to ensure that all indoor workplaces are smokefree, including bars
and restaurants.Norway has similar no smoking laws,while in the USA,
several states and cities have such ban – for instance, New York,
Boston,
Florida
and California.
In some Californian cities, the smoking ban even extends to some beaches.
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