Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I recently learned that politics is to be included on the leaving certificate curriculum. I wonder why health matters are not also being included on the curriculum. Education is central to health awareness, whether that education begins at home, in school or at work. Over Christmas I spent some time in the company of 15 young people, ten of whom were smokers. I asked the smokers their opinion of the packaging of their cigarette packages. Two of them said they would continue to smoke regardless of the packaging but the rest thought the picture on the package looked awful. However, the picture on the package is the size of a postage stamp. If we are to promote good health through standardised packaging, we need to put more thought into the image on the box. In my opinion as a non-smoker, the image is too small. I got the sense that the aforementioned young smokers did not understand the health risks, and this is why education is important. It is time that the Minister for Education and Skills examined the way in which health matters are taught, including drug and alcohol addiction.

I agree with Senator Crown that advertising plays an important role. What are the witnesses' organisations doing to disseminate graphic images of the diseases caused by smoking? A massive poster campaign should be developed to reach hospitals, schools, community centres, sports halls and bus stops. The one thing that lives on in our minds is the image. The way a baby learns that an apple is an apple is by looking at a picture. I spent much of the past week in the respiratory unit of St. James's Hospital because my brother is a patient there. I was shocked that some of the patients with COPD and other respiratory illnesses continued to smoke. We need an organised effort to disseminate the graphic images of the effects of smoking.

Two of the aforementioned young people had close relatives who had died of lung cancer. I was appalled that they continued to smoke despite this impact on their families. Education begins at home and extends into our classrooms. All organisations that campaign against smoking need to examine how it can disseminate the message graphically. I did not see one poster with information on smoking in St. James's Hospital.