There is no doubt that the ban on smoking in public places, introduced just two months ago, is working well. Market research commissioned by the Office of Tobacco Control reveals that of 7,500 premises inspected by health authorities during the last month, no less than 97 per cent were found to be in compliance with the law.
The research also suggests that visiting patterns to pubs and restaurants have not altered significantly as a consequence of the ban. The number of non-smokers visiting pubs has increased slightly while the number of smokers visiting has not changed. The research also found that one in five smokers have decided that they will not smoke at all when out socialising. At midnight last night Norway put in place a similar ban. It is only a matter of time until other countries do likewise.
But yesterday's encouraging news on the effectiveness of the ban has to be weighed against the fact that expenditure on tobacco in this State has now reached an astonishing €1.9 billion a year and, according to the Irish Cancer Society, 27 per cent of the population still smokes.
Moreover, there is evidence that while the more affluent in society are less likely to smoke, the opposite is the case for those on lower incomes. Given that the cost of purchasing a packet of cigarettes a day amounts to a cumulative sum of more than €2,000 per annum, there is a real risk that money badly needed by low-income families for food and clothing is being lost to tobacco. Indeed, as much as 10 per cent of household income might be spent on tobacco. So smoking, as well as being the single largest cause of serious illness and preventable death, also contributes significantly to the inequality between rich and poor; no wonder that the theme for yesterday's World No Tobacco Day was "Tobacco and poverty - a vicious circle".
The persistence of smoking among young people, despite repeated advertising campaigns encouraging them to desist, is particularly disappointing. The highest rates are among younger people - running, in lower-income groups, at up to 37 per cent of 15 to 17-year-old boys and 36 per cent of girls.
In formulating a response, the Government must exploit every means open to it including further price increases and more explicit advertising. The symbolic smoke-free measure, announced by UEFA and the EU Commissioner for Health, Mr David Byrne, for the England v France game in the Euro 2004 championships is an example of just the sort of initiative which may go some way to weakening the grip of tobacco.