February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Specifically, Smith is interested in the public’s take on three options: that the health service should support those who want to quit, which it currently is; that smoking should be banned in many places including anywhere food is served; that it should be banned entirely in all public places.
Many doctors and politicians in Northern Ireland have called for the more strident universal ban, citing the Republic of Ireland as an example. There, cigarette sales have fallen by 17 percent as a result of the ban.
“It is time to stop looking over our shoulder and take action to protect our population from the effects of other people’s smoke,” Smith said.
The plan addresses more than a smoking ban but a roadmap for “transforming” the health of the North, making a host of recommendations to transform the health of the population.
The Department’s vision of health and well-being addresses a number of issues, including the prevention of illnesses, goals to improve primary and community care areas of the health service, as well as targeted specialist training for staff.
Illnesses such as diabetes and arthritis were also targeted in the plan. Specialist teams will be formed and encouraged to work together to better manage those diseases.
The Department of Health consulted numerous organizations and the public to come up with the recommendations.
The report does not give a date when a ban might be implemented, if given the necessary public support, but the official consultation on the initiative is set to conclude on March 25, 2005.
Smith cites “incontrovertible” evidence that secondhand smoke is harmful to anyone around it while pushing for the ban.
Earlier this month, Belfast city councilors passed a motion calling on the government to introduce a province-wide ban.
Scotland is also eyeing a ban, with Health Minister Andy Kerr having introduced a bill forbidding smoking in pubs, restaurants and clubs starting in the spring of 2006, fueled in part by a recent report that named the Scots among the unhealthiest people in the world.
England and Wales are also said to be considering bands in certain areas.
This summer it was announced that Northern Ireland could be the pilot area to test a proposed UK-wide smoking ban, according to Department of Health officials in London.
Smoking is to be banned in all Northern Ireland government departments from January 2005, although prisons are to be exempt.