News & Comment
Northern Ireland: smoking could be banned in all private cars
Monday 14th November 2011, posted by forest
Northern Ireland's health minister says he will consider banning smoking in all cars and not just those with children as passengers.
Edwin Poots was speaking on an assembly motion proposing a ban on smoking in cars carrying those under 16. He said children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of smoking.
He said he was prepared to ban smoking in all private cars although he was aware some people would see this as a "step too far".
During the debate on the motion, the Sinn Fein's Michaela Boyle said the Department of Health in Northern Ireland spends over £119m each year treating patients with smoke-related illnesses.
The DUP's Jim Wells also said statistics from the Ulster Cancer Foundation showed 300,000 children throughout the UK are being referred to a GP every year as a result of tobacco smoke inhalation. He said 9,500 of these cases led to hospital visits.
Kieran McCarthy of the Alliance Party said figures from Action Cancer revealed that 13,500 children in Northern Ireland are at risk from passive smoke.
Health committee chairperson Michelle Gildernew said a renewed public campaign on the dangers of passive smoking was needed although she felt there would be a difficulty in policing any legislation on the issue.
Earlier, Gerry McElwee of the Ulster Cancer Foundation called for young people to be protected from second-hand smoke.
"Enclosed spaces within a car mean the smoke is much more concentrated," he said. "There are 400 chemicals in tobacco smoke, up to 60 are carcinogenic and the measurements you find in a car are up to 10 times the level you would describe as unhealthy."
Dr James Cant, head of the British Lung Foundation, Scotland and Northern Ireland said: "We find this development highly encouraging. Stormont would be ahead of the curve on this issue if it were to take action to protect children from passive smoke when they are in the car."
Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group Forest, said: "We don't condone people smoking in cars with children present. It's inconsiderate, certainly, but the evidence doesn't support the argument that smoking in cars is a serious health risk to children.
"Legislation is a gross over-reaction. What next, a ban on smoking in the home?"
Source: BBC News (14 November 2011)
Comments:
Posted on Nov 15th, 2011
What, precisely, is a "smoke-related illness"? Is it an illness DIRECTLY attributable to smoking? Is it an illness that has tenuous causal links to smoking (and thus to many other outside influences)? Is it an illness suffered by a smoker, but with no real connection to their smoking habit? If a never-smoker is admitted to hospital with lung cancer, is that counted as a "smoke-related illness"?
These figures, which seem to be accepted without question, always seem dodgy to me.
How are they arrived at, exactly?
I'm over 60, and of all the people I've known over the years, I've seen many of them suffer various illnesses. However, I can't think of one smoker I've known who has suffered any illness that could be linked to his / her smoking.
I remain deeply suspicious of the billions it is claimed that smokers cost the NHS. Does anyone have a link to the source of these figures, and how they are calculated?
Posted on Nov 16th, 2011
Posted on Nov 16th, 2011
Posted on Dec 11th, 2011
Posted on Jan 15th, 2012
