Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

It is obviously an embarrassment for the Government to be back here only two years after the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2002 was enacted. A catalogue of mistakes were made in a straightforward Act, the first of which was the failure to notify. We are now back dealing with the Bill, some aspects of which amuse me. I do not agree with my colleagues about the idea of banning the retail sale of cigarette packs of less than 20. That would lead to an increase in smoking. The reality is that if one buys 20 sweets instead of ten, one will probably consume them all. I can see the logic of it from one angle but I can also see the other side of the argument, even the fact that it is targeted at children. There will always be someone who wants to scrounge cigarettes and one would be far less inclined to share from a box of ten than a box of 20. I never smoked, as I have enough bad habits between drinking and politics, but I have noticed this among friends of mine who smoke. I always resented that some people felt an obligation to scrounge cigarettes, they never had money to afford their own. That is one downside of a sales ban on cigarette packs of less than 20.

Some of us are getting a little carried away and we are forgetting that we are dealing with humans. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I was amused when Senator Feeney spoke about her son and his decision to quit smoking on 29 March and that from then on he would become an excellent human being. I would love to see a debate in six months among all these smokers who are now going to stop smoking and lead a fantastically healthy lifestyle. I am conscious of this myself. Last year I did a ten mile road race in Ballycotton and promised myself afterwards that I would lose weight and exercise. Next Sunday I will do the same race, unfortunately the same weight as last year if not slightly heavier, with less training done than this time last year in spite of my good intentions. Perhaps I am an exception, but I think I suffer from human frailties like everyone else. I was speaking to a lady in Carlow County Council a few moments ago. She is delighted the ban is being implemented on 29 March because she wants to give up smoking. I joked with her that it might not happen. I do not think it will happen because many people will still smoke. If one asks anyone on the street on New Year's Eve about their new year's resolution, most will say they are going to the gym three times a week at least, they are giving up the drink for weeks on end, eating healthy food and cooking at home. The reality is, however, that by February or March the gyms are fairly empty.

The smoking ban is a smokescreen for the Government's failure in many areas of health. The Minister, Deputy Martin, has got away with blue murder by introducing the smoking ban and diverting people's attention from the real health issues. The Minister will be aware of a case I brought to his attention recently, in which I acknowledge he has been of assistance. The case involved a 48 year old stroke victim from Carlow, who cannot get into the St. Michael's Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire and faces going to Bristol. We have heard nothing recently about the diagnostic health centres earmarked in the health strategy. These are the real health issues but the smoking ban has been used to try to divert the public's attention from them.

I wonder where will we be in six months or a year. I suspect the ban will not be implemented in many pubs. The Minister might correct me but, as far as I am aware, there are 10,000 pubs in Dublin and 10,000 outside Dublin. It appears that 31 health inspectors will monitor the situation, which does not appear adequate. We are very quick in Ireland to introduce legislation but we are very bad at enacting it. Earlier this week, the ban on cocktails was raised in the Seanad, because the legislation was passed but it has not been enforced. There are other issues such as "happy hour" and so on.

I query the ban on advertising cigarettes. The advertisements on cigarette boxes are very graphic. They list the side effects of smoking and indicate that smoking kills. When I ask my friends if it has an impact on them, they say it has not. They choose to smoke, even though they are aware of the health implications. Advertising the health risks makes no difference, because people will still smoke.

It is all very well to talk about banning sponsorship by tobacco companies, which is acceptable in regard to major events. I am conscious, however, that many smaller county football teams, juvenile teams and so on are heavily dependent on such sponsorship. Anyone involved in sporting or voluntary organisations will be aware that one does not have a long line of sponsors knocking on one's door each day offering to sponsor teams. One would be very lucky to get one person to sponsor them. This aspect of the legislation should be looked at again. There should not be an outright ban in this regard because it could have a devastating effect on small rural communities. I can see the logic behind it but I query it.

When the smoking ban is introduced, in reality people will not be allowed to smoke in pubs, therefore, vending machines should not be allowed in pubs. Why put temptation in the way of people? At the beginning of the night, when people are sober, they may adhere to the law, but towards midnight, after a few pints, they might look for a cigarette. Having vending machines on the premises may be putting temptation in their way. We all know the story of Adam and Eve and, unfortunately, we have not learned anything from it.

While I am anti-smoking, I am annoyed about some of the stupid arguments put forward on the smoking ban. The Irish Times quoted a survey carried out in a hospital where 95% of patients were smokers. It concluded that smoking caused these people to be in hospital, which is not the case. There are genetic factors and so on involved, therefore, we should not get too carried away with the smoking ban. We should be careful how we analyse results and figures.

In my 30 years, I have noticed a big change in the gender balance of smokers. Far fewer boys smoke than girls. Perhaps girls smoke in order to lose weight and so on. I am aware that the Department of Health and Children is tackling the issue of obesity and weight management. I do not know how we can prevent girls from smoking. Boys appear to smoke less and less but, unfortunately, girls appear to smoke more and more.

When the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, was last in the House, I asked how the Government plans to deal with the projected loss of revenue from the sale of cigarettes. Perhaps it will save money in the long term in terms of health but that could be in 20 or 30 years' time. In the meantime, if more people stop smoking there will be a severe loss of revenue from the sale of cigarettes. How much revenue does the Minister of State anticipate will be lost?

If the smoking ban is to be successful, it will have to be EU-wide. Given that Ireland holds the Presidency of the EU, has the Minister used his unique position to promote the ban on smoking EU-wide and what has been the reaction in other countries?