Hundreds of lives could be saved if smoking in public places was banned in Northern Ireland, a senior medical consultant urged today.
Dr Seamus McAleer, a consultant oncologist at Belfast City Hospital, said about 1,000 people a year are diagnosed with lung cancer.
However, he warned that if people stopped smoking 800 or 900 lives could be saved.
"It is difficult to get people to change their habits especially if the [British] government are only half hearted in it," he said.
Dr McAleer, who was speaking at an Ulster Cancer Foundation conference in Belfast, said the British government should have moved to ban smoking in public places after their consultation period was finished - similar to the legislation which has been in place in the Republic for the past year.
"Smoking is one of the biggest epidemics around, it is tolerated because the government get money from it," he added.
He said that the death rate could be brought down drastically over the next 20 years if there was encouragement to stop smoking. About 3,500 people die from cancer each year in Northern Ireland, with 8,000 cases diagnosed every year.
He said: "Patients today are doing a lot better, the death rates from breast cancer are down by 30 per cent."
At the conference, Dr McAleer, said one of the biggest challenges facing the treatment of cancer was ensuring new therapies were available to all patients.
PA