Dr. Lisa McNamee:

I respect that the medical opinion may not be palatable to a general audience in some cases but I appreciate the discussion of it. Politically, it is always difficult to try to find that balance but as medics we have a duty to advocate for patients. On a global scale, we are facing an unprecedented health crisis. People still smoke but the ban on advertising cigarettes and, previous to that, health warnings has meant that those numbers diminished drastically because of those policies. Ireland was a global forerunner in that battle. We went further than most countries at a time when it was politically distasteful. That was a brave decision. We can make similar decisions around health warnings or progress in advertising.