Feature

How Ireland kicked butt

Valerie Coghlan describes how Ireland became the first European country to ban smoking in indoor workplaces

March 29, 2004 is a date that will be remembered well into the future in Ireland. This is the day it became the first country in Europe to legislate to prohibit smoking in indoor workplaces, including restaurants and bars. Now, several months later, what is remarkable is that this health initiative is virtually 100 per cent successful.

Background to the ban

Since ASH Ireland was founded in 1992, it has campaigned for the right of employees to work in clean, smoke-free environments. In 1995, a voluntary code of practice was put in place but this proved to be of little use in protecting many employees from passive smoke, and provided no protection for employees working long hours in bars and restaurants.

An all-party Oireachtas (Parliament) joint committee on health and children looked at the issue of smoking and health, and sought submissions from a large number of groups and organisation, including the tobacco industry.

In its findings, the committee advised the health minister to introduce a workplace smoking ban, which led eventually to the present legislation. An Office of Tobacco Control was set up and, with the Health and Safety Authority, it commissioned an independent report to review the evidence on passive smoke. The report was most conclusive about the hazards of second-hand smoke and, in January 2003, at the launch of the report, health minister Micheál Martin announced that enclosed workplaces would become smoke free from January 2004.

Opponents and supporters

Various hospitality groups in Ireland formed the Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance and hired a public relations company to run a campaign against the legislation.

There were forecasts of huge job losses, pub closures and enormous reductions in the number of overseas visitors to Ireland. Tobacco vending machine companies were also strongly opposed to the ban, and publicans called for smoking and non-smoking areas in pubs and promised improved ventilation systems.

The subject was widely discussed in the national media. Public consultative meetings were held around the country, where angry publicans had heated debates with representatives from the Health and Safety Authority and the Department of Health.

The main threat to the success of the legislation was a ‘compromise solution’, which the Hospitality Alliance advocated. The health lobby vigorously resisted compromise at every level.

An alliance was formed representing healthcare organisations, charities and trade unions to support the government. Among the key groups involved were the Irish Cancer Society, Irish Heart Foundation, ASH Ireland, Environmental Health Officers Association, Irish Medical Organisation, Mandate (the bar workers union), the Asthma Society and the Irish College of General Practitioners.

All political representatives were invited to an information briefing on the proposed ban, with each organisation presenting its own data on the importance of the ban for their members. In a recent survey of the media coverage of the campaign, the health lobby had 65 per cent of coverage while the opposition had 35 per cent.

GPs, pharmacists and dentists encouraged smokers who saw the ban as an ideal opportunity to stop smoking to quit, and the national quitline hours were extended to 9am to 9pm, seven days a week.

Implementing the ban

The need for some exemptions to the ban and the requirement to notify the European Commission caused the date it came into force to be changed twice. There was criticism that the legislation might unravel but, in the end, the delay ensured it was thorough and more likely to resist a legal challenge.

When the original start date was postponed, sceptics said that it would never happen. However, the implementation date of March 29 was announced in mid-February.

A campaign was run to inform employers and employees of the legislation. This was mainly through TV and radio advertising, leaflets to employers, and adverts in the media and on the internet.

The legislation outlawed smoking in indoor workplaces, including pubs and restaurants; nightclubs and discos; betting shops; hairdressers/barbers; office buildings and shops; hotel lobbies/reception areas; hospitals; banks/financial institutions; and schools and universities.

Smoking areas are not permitted in any of the above establishments. The maximum fine for an employer who does not implement the ban is €3,000 – and there are also sanctions on individuals who refuse to comply with the law.

But smoking is permitted in prison and police cells; psychiatric hospitals; hotel bedrooms; long-stay nursing homes/hospices; and outdoor smoking areas of pubs/restaurants. Nonetheless, employers must show a ‘duty of care’ to employees in these areas to protect them from second-hand smoke at all times.

Day 1: what happened?

On the night of Sunday March 28, smokers gathered in pubs for the very last time – in many pubs there was a countdown at 11.59pm, with a ceremonial stubbing out of cigarettes at midnight. Souvenir hunters quietly pocketed ashtrays and staff set about cleaning up cigarette butts for the last time.

On Monday March 29, ASH Ireland hosted a smoke-free breakfast, with health minister Micheál Martin as the guest of honour. The breakfast had live national and international media coverage and, for several days afterwards, the legislation was the focus of all key national news and current affairs programmes. But within about 48 hours it was evident that Irish people were fully supportive of the legislation.

How is it working?

So far the ban is working very well. Environmental health officers and health and safety officials charged with implementing the ban have reported high compliance. A special telephone line was set up to allow people to report non-compliance – and an opposition politician was sacked for smoking in a bar in government buildings just two days into the ban.

Some minor difficulties were reported initially in relation to herbal cigarettes, as the legislation refers specifically to tobacco. Most publicans have now banned herbal cigarettes from their premises too. There were worries about increased litter outside pubs, clubs and so on, but this has not materialised due to the installation of large cigarette butt bins outside premises where smoking is prohibited.

The smoking prevalence rate (currently around 30 per cent) is likely to fall, and it is expected that those who continue will smoke considerably fewer cigarettes. Survey results carried out before and after the ban are expected to show a big improvement in air quality in pubs and restaurants.

The future

Other states are showing a keen interest in developments here in Ireland, and in the space of a few short weeks ASH Ireland has made presentations about the ban in Canada, Poland, Sweden and the US, with more to come.

The tourist season is underway with no indication that holiday-makers are changing their plans due to the smoking ban – in fact many holiday-makers have expressed delight that they can enjoy Irish music in a pub and do not leave with their clothes reeking of smoke.

ASH Ireland will follow developments over the coming year and closely monitor the implementation of the ban, but for now we can say the huffing and puffing is over and the smoke-free workplace – be it pub, office, shopping centre or restaurant – is a reality.