A LOCAL general practitioner has placed a container outside his practice with a sign asking people to ‘donate to friends…lung cancer’ by placing their cigarette butts in the tub. Dr Richard O’Flaherty said that the public are littering by throwing the ends of their cigarettes on to the ground outside his Cecil Street practice. “I’ve had to sweep them all up time and again,” said the GP. “Its hard to believe how many there are and that so many people still smoke.
“I hate seeing people throwing cigarette butts out of car windows”.
Dr. O’Flaherty has offered his full support to the proposals by Minister for Health Dr James Reilly to introduce new laws that would make it illegal to smoke in a private car.
The potential ban is being considered in the context of the tobacco policy review taking place.
There are two scenarios being examined under the ban. The first involves banning smoking in cars where children under 16 are present.
If this were to prove unworkable, a blanket ban on smoking in private cars would be introduced.
Smoking in taxis, company cars and vans is already prohibited as they are classed as workplaces.
The ban on smoking in the workplace was introduced in 2004.
“I totally agree with this proposal,” said Dr. O’Flaherty. “Passive smoking is terrible”.
He added that the ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces had “significantly contributed to a decrease in lung cancer, deaths from asthma and other lung disease”. Breaching the proposed smoking ban for private cars would be treated as either a road traffic offence or a public health issue.
If imposed, Ireland would be the first country in the world to impose such a ban.
