A chara, – We read with interest Hugh Linehan’s article “Smoking hot: The strange story behind the return of cigarettes to the movies” (Culture, January 27th) which highlights the dangerous growing trend of tobacco product placement in cinema and TV shows. Following a recent public consultation held by the Department of Health on introducing stronger regulations on tobacco and e-cigarettes, once again tobacco and vaping control policy is back under the spotlight.
The smoking rate among adults in Ireland has stalled at 18 per cent while for the first time in decades, we have seen a rise in the rate of teenage smoking, coupled with an explosion in youth vaping. One in two smokers will die from a tobacco-related disease. To end this public health scourge, we would urge the Government to fast-forward plans for a smoke-free generation, as set out recently by the UK and New Zealand, to banish tobacco from our screens and society altogether. – Is mise,
Prof EMMET O’BRIEN,
ASH Ireland,
Council of the Irish Heart Foundation,
Dublin 6.