An agency to step up the fight against smoking is to be established by the Government as part of a new national anti-smoking drive. The Office of Tobacco Control will co-ordinate and monitor Government smoking policy and will help enforce existing anti-smoking legislation.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, told The Irish Times last night that the agency would be operating "in a matter of months". Staff for the new authority is currently being recruited and an office building is being sought.
Mr Martin revealed that from next July all media advertising of tobacco products will be banned in the Republic, a year ahead of our obligations under a 1998 EU directive. The ban will be introduced by way of a statutory instrument.
The Minister said the decision to establish the Office of Tobacco Control was prompted by the fact that enforcement of existing legislation and regulations was poor, especially in the area of the sale of cigarettes to minors and the enforcement of smoke-free zones.
The Minister has also ordered a comprehensive review of all legislation in relation to smoking and the tobacco industry.
"We are very unhappy at the moment with enforcement and compliance and I need to see why current legislation does not appear to be working. I am prepared to introduce tougher laws if necessary to improve matters," he warned.
The Minister has also asked senior officials to review the antismoking health promotion campaigns. "While we have had many campaigns over the year, the fact is that there are more and more people smoking. We have to see how campaigns can be improved."
Mr Martin confirmed that he would be supporting the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, which is seeking powers to summon witnesses and request documentation from the Irish tobacco industry in an effort to find out their knowledge of the harmful effects of tobacco.
The chairman of the committee, the Fianna Fail TD, Mr Batt O'Keeffe, said last night the matter was to be brought before the Cabinet today or next week. "We need these powers to ensure that the full story of the tobacco industry role in covering up the dangers of smoking and their targeting of young people will be made known to the public." Mr Martin said he would be supporting the committee move.
The Minister sent a strong signal to the tobacco industry that one of the main priorities of his ministry will be to cut down on the numbers of people smoking, especially young people. "I want to see us live in a tobacco-free society and will be doing all in my power to achieve this," he warned.
The Minister will shortly be launching the 1999 report of the Department of Health Chief Medical Officer, Dr Jim Kiely, which shows that 7,000 deaths a year in Ireland can be attributed to smoking.
The report will reveal that 30 per cent of all cancers are linked to smoking.
According to the report, cigarettes are the single most common cause of avoidable ill-health. It states that 50 per cent of all smokers will eventually die of tobacco-related illness. Of these, 50 per cent will die in middle age.